His Dark Materials Star James McAvoy's Relationship With Anne-Marie Duff: 7 Facts About Him

James McAvoy is a Scottish actor prominent for his performance in numerous well-known movies. 

He has been working in the movies and television series since 1995 and has spent almost 25 years in the industry. Here we will discuss seven exciting facts of James McAvoy.

7. James Concealed his Glaswegian Accent 

James McAvoy, born on April 21, 1979, is currently 40 years old. He grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, with his parents and siblings. McAvoy's father, James McAvoy Sr, worked as a builder while his mother, Elizabeth Johnstone, worked as a psychiatric nurse. 

After his parents divorce, McAvoy lived with his maternal grandparents, Mary Johnstone and James Johnstone. 

Spending his formative years in the Glasgow, he developed a Glaswegian accent. However, while going for the audition, in hopes of securing the roles, he would conceal his accent and convince the directors and producer about being English. 

He definitely utilized his histrionic ability as he was able to fool the Split producer M. Night Shyamalan into believing he is an English actor. 

As a matter of fact, James's sister, Joy McAvoy, is also an actress and has worked in the movie Filth alongside her brother.

6. Is Active in Social Media

The 40-years old actor who stands 5 feet 7 inch (1.7 meters) uses Instagram to connect with his ardent fans. He has 3.8 million followers in his official Instagram account. His Instagram username is @jamesmcavoyrealdeal.

On January 2, 2020, McAvoy celebrated his decade long theatre performances with a post. In the post, he also urged his fans to watch the production Cyrano de Bergerac where he played as Cyrano. 

5. Pursued Acting Because of his Crush 

The Atonement actor wanted to enter the Catholic priesthood as a child. In an O&A session with New York Magazine, the 40-years old actor talked about realizing the need of an adventure in his life and thinking of Christianity as a way to explore the world. 

Later, he decided to follow other paths to do so instead of 'selling his soul to God.' 

His interest in acting sparked when he was 16 years old after a visit to the actor David Hayman's school. But even after landing a role in his first film The Near Room, McAvoy was still unsure of pursuing acting full-time. 

Nevertheless, everything changed after he started developing feelings for co-star Alana Brady. In an interview with Daily Star, he talked about joining the theatre class Brady was in, stating,

"I liked a girl on the set, Alana Brady, and I followed her to a drama group. From that I got a tiny bit more work and realised I could make a career out of drama."

Brady also gave a sweet response to McAvoy, 

"It is nice that he remembered. We did both like each other but we were just teenagers. It was a long time ago."

4. Was Injured While Filming for Wanted

McAvoy had initially screen-tested for the role of Wesley Gibson in the movie Wanted back in early 2006, he was rejected for not having a conventional leading man looks and physique. 

Nevertheless, he bagged the role in October of 2006; but started working out to enhance his physique for the movie's action scenes. 

But while shooting for the scene, McAvoy suffered from a twisted ankle and an injured knee. Apart from the injury, he also end up getting an ear infection while filming the wax-tank scene. 

3. Shared Two Common Role with Patrick Stewart

The 40-years old actor played as Macbeth in the 2005 mini-series ShakespeaRe-Told: Macbeth. Later, in 2010, English actor Sir Patrick Stewart portrayed the Macbeth character in Great Performances: Macbeth. 

Moreover, Stewart had portrayed the character of Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movie franchise. James appeared as the younger version of Stewart character in X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool 2, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

2. Has One Child with Anne-Marie Duff 

The It Chapter Two actor met actress Anne-Marie Duff while both were working in the movie Shameless. McAvoy and Duff tied the knot on November 11, 2006. 

During an interview with Ryan Seacrest, McAvoy had talked about “the world seeming less scary and starting to like himself a little bit more" following his wedding with Anne. 

On May 13, 2016, the couple amicably separated, six years after the birth of their first child, Brendan McAvoy.

1. McAvoy Plays as Asriel in His Dark Materials

In an interview with Radio Times, the 40-years old actor revealed that he was not the first choice for the role of Lord Asriel Belacqua in the series His Dark Materials. He stated,

 "It was actually very last minute. I happened to be chatting to the casting director, who is a friend of mine..... she called me up and said ‘Do you think you can start on Monday?’ That was on the Friday! I think they had possibly been let down by a couple of people last minute."

Nevertheless, the charming actor has undoubtedly not let anyone down with his phenomenal performance. Moreover, his love for the author Philip Pullman made the work even more comfortable, adding,

"I know that character inside out, I know the books inside out, so I just hit the ground running.” 

In the series, McAvoy ex-wife, Anne, plays as Ma Costa. The series features other prominent actors like Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Clarke Peters, James Cosmo, Ariyon Bakare, Will Keen, Lucian Msamati, Gary Lewis, Lewin Lloyd, Georgina Campbell, and many more.