James McAvoy
Interview By: Benjamin Lee
Rapidly rising as one of Britain's hottest exports, James McAvoy is one of Hollywood's rarest beasts ' an untamed animal. He pretty much does what he wants, says what he likes and doesn't care if you like him or not.
Okay so he's not got quite the bad boy reputation that Colin Farrell arrived with back in 2000, but after some heavy drinking and heavy partying splashed around on Page Six he'll be there. McAvoy really started to garner mainstream attention with his performance as the lovable faun in the least notorious film imaginable ' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
This led to the film that everyone's still talking about. I'm speaking of course about The Last King of Scotland where McAvoy starred opposite red hot Oscar favorite Forest Whitaker. With his profile now enviably high, it's perfect timing to see how well McAvoy can handle a film all of his own. The romantic teen comedy Starter For Ten sees him star as a student attending university in the 80s. But for anyone wretching at the words 'teen comedy', McAvoy is keen, in his own inimitable way, to persuade you that this one is different.
'It's a teen comedy set in a college that isn't about wanking into fucking apple pies' McAvoy tells, 'Or people having sex with people when they're unconscious and vomiting on their bums. I mean for fuck's sake guys.' He's right though of course. Starter for Ten has no fart jokes, no kegs and no bets that go horrible wrong. It's also set in England and has an English sensibility that would be impossible to transport to an American setting. Set in the 80s. it's very much of it's time, something McAvoy relished.
'It was fun' he admits, 'I got to do it in the 80s which was nice. I loved a lot of the 80s movies, Class, The Sure Thing, Mannequin and lots of those John Hughes movies. All my film and all my music references were from the 80s when I was a teenager.' The film also gave McAvoy the chance to explore a genre much lighter than in his last outing.
'I like doing comedy' he confesses, 'I did probably fall over in at least 20 scenes in this film and they've all been cut out. I do like broad comedy so the challenge was for me to make it less broad I suppose.' The character McAvoy plays is just fresh off to university ' still making a mess of things as he goes. McAvoy believes it's a stage in life we can all relate to. 'I think he's just a bit hapless' he believes, 'He's just sort of growing into himself. It's that stage when teenage boys, their bodies are all a bit weird. Emotionally when you're 18 it's still happening. But he's all heart and he's all optimism.'
The film also broaches the tough situation many find themselves in when trying to balance the friendships at home with those at college. McAvoy found the film scarily close to his real life experience. 'I had a really similar situation' he admits, 'I had quite a traumatic split-up from my two best friends. They didn't really understand why I wasn't around so much. It took about 3 or 4 years before we were friends again.'
The movie also contains his character's pursuit to be part of a UK TV quiz programme called University Challenge. In the film, he's a general knowledge whiz, in real life'not so much. 'I'm awfully bad' McAvoy laughs, 'When University Challenge comes on TV, I'm lucky if I get one!' But surely the movie must have taught him plenty, right' 'I couldn't really tell you if I remember any of the answers I gave!'
McAvoy is also keen to talk about his role in The Last King of Scotland. It's a film he's very passionate about, even if it's taken everyone else a little longer to feel the same way. 'The film's been on release for 6 months' he sighs, 'It's only in the last month that anybody has gone to fucking see it. I gladly wrote it off. You can't get bitter about every movie that doesn't get sold aggressively to the public.' The film has scored a lead acting Oscar nom for his co-star Forest Whitaker, even though McAvoy's character is very much the lead in the film. 'I don't begrudge it at all' he states, 'I think sometimes you get performances that are so powerful that they warrant that sort of extra attention.'
When looking ahead for the young actor, it's an exciting future to look forward to. His career so far has been successful but not at the sake of his dignity as an actor. Although he admits that he's very careful not to over-plan what happens. 'I've been very lucky up until now without strategizing' McAvoy stresses, 'It's a waste of time because if everybody could successfully strategize then everyone would be successful. A job's a job and you just wait to see what comes your way.'
Next up for McAvoy is the fantasy Penelope, starring opposite Reese Witherspoon. But don't anyone go expecting another Narnia. 'It's a fable to do with the celebrity mad world we live in' he tells, 'This body fascist way we treat people through magazines and the media. It's meant to be for pleasure but it actually ends up being bullying.' As for his role in the Narnia sequel, McAvoy admits, sadly, that he has no part in it.
'I'm devastated about it' he confesses, 'My character appears in the last book which is 7 books away. I love those guys and I'm gonna be filming in Prague the same time that they are so I'm gonna be able to go see the kids.'
Fantasy films' Kids' Maybe I was wrong about McAvoy and his edgy reputation. But then the topic of politics arises. 'When you're an adult you read the paper and get terrified by the world in which you live' he says, All this bullshit that we're being sold that we're in a war, the way we treat immigrants, the way we shit upon the third world What the fuck are we doing''
