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 James McAvoy
Interview By: Stephen Snart
The Last King of Scotland takes a look at Idi Amin, an African army officer who held office from 1971 to 1979 as the 3rd President of Uganda. Amin seized power in a controversial coup that resulted in an initially warm reception but soon became associated with tyranny and murder. Kevin Macdonald’s film views Amin through the eyes of a fictitious Scottish doctor named Nicholas Garrigan. Garrigan, Amin’s personal physician, is played by doe-eyed Scot James McAvoy. At 26 years old, McAvoy appears poised to conquer Hollywood as the next Paul Bettany, or maybe even Hugh Grant. After notable roles in a series of British films like that found mild crossover appeal in America, such as Bright Young Things and Rory O’Shea Was Here, McAvoy finally found international celebrity with his scene-stealing role as the loveable faun, Mr. Tumnus in last winter’s breakout blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. McAvoy admits that he wasn’t always confident about the film adaptation of the beloved C.S. Lewis tale’s fate. “I hoped it would become very successful, [but] I was worried it wouldn’t,” he states candidly. After raking in just over $290 Million dollars at the US box office alone, McAvoy can rest peacefully about both the film and his individual ability to connect with American audiences. Choosing The Last King of Scotland for his follow-up to his frolic in Narnia looks to be a wise decision on McAvoy’s part. In one respect, he avoids over saturating his celebrity image by allowing respected thespian Forrest Whitaker to dominate the publicity as the magnanimous Amin. However, McAvoy is also given the opportunity to serve as the film’s omnipresent stabilizing point, “I was never not working when I was in Africa. I was on the set every day, six days a week, for two and a half months… I was literally in every single scene of that film.” Even so, McAvoy recognizes Amin as the veritable instigator at the film’s center. “My character is much more of a device than Amin is. Amin is an object, he’s immovable. But Nicholas is a device through which the audience sees Amin. He’s also a device that represents my country. He represents the British public, the British government in one character. And at the same time as that, it’s all told in a personal relationship.” McAvoy regards the close relationship between Nicholas and Amin in a rather engaging sort of way: “I always felt like it was a bit of a love story,” he puts forth with a chuckle. “Or at least that’s the way to approach something that could be heavily politicized. You have to conflict that somehow. So, it was played like a love story, but you know, not sexually,” he elaborates, avoiding any sort of a Crying Game déjà vu for co-star Whitaker. The rapport between Nicholas and Amin seems to have transcended the screen, both in McAvoy’s respect for Amin and ... |
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