James McAvoy

Biography

• McAvoy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, his mother Elizabeth was a nurse, and father - James McAvoy, Sr., a builder.

• He attended a Catholic school, and briefly considered joining the Catholic priesthood. In a 2006 interview, McAvoy said that he considered becoming a priest as a child because it seemed to be a way to explore the world via missionary work.• When he was 16, a visit to the school by actor David Hayman sparked an interest in acting. Hayman offered him a part in his film The Near Room (1995) but despite enjoying the experience McAvoy didn't seriously consider acting as a career. He applied instead to the Royal Navy and had already been accepted when he was also offered a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Career Breakthrough

• Playing a faun named Mr. Tumnus, McAvoy scored a career breakthrough with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005).

• Prominent opportunities followed, including roles in The Last King of Scotland (2006), Becoming Jane (2007), Atonement (2007), Wanted (2008) and X-Men: First Class (2011).

Career

• Since then, he is notable for playing the young Professor Charles Xavier in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class, a role he reprises in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).

Awards• McAvoy also starred in the 2013 crime

comedy-drama film “Filth”, a part for which he received a Scottish BAFTA for Best Actor, a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor, a London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actor of the Year and an Empire Award for Best Actor.

• His performance in Kevin Macdonald's drama The Last King of Scotland (2006), where McAvoy portrayed a Scottish doctor who becomes the personal physician to dictator Idi Amin while in Uganda, garnered him several award nominations.

• The critically acclaimed romantic drama war film Atonement (2007) earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination.