James McAvoy
James Andrew McAvoy (* April 21, 1979 in Glasgow, Scotland ) is a British theater and film actor.
Life and career
McAvoy was born in Glasgow's Scotstoun. When he was seven years old, his parents separated, and he grew up with his grandparents James and Mary Johnstone. His sister, Joy, however, remained with his mother, the contact with his father tore in the following years from completely. McAvoy attended St. Thomas Aquinas School in Scotstoun and grabbed an early stage the decision to become an actor. In 2000 he graduated from the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama graduating and worked for a while as a baker.
Am Theater McAvoy gained experience in such well-known pieces such as Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast and West Side Story. It was followed by appearances in British television series and films, and in 2001 in the international production Band of Brothers. In science fiction miniseries Children of Dune 2003 he played the role of Prince Leto Atreides - and, ironically, the film Son of Alec Newman, after both had shown their peers in the British comedy drama Bright Young Things from the same year. The role of Steve in the British hit series Shameless (2004 ) increased further McAvoy's popularity. In 2005 he played the Mr. Tumnus in the literary adaptation The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, the first part of the Narnia Chronicles film series.
In 2006, he was next to Forest Whitaker to be seen in the highly acclaimed film drama The Last King of Scotland about the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin as his personal physician, which earned him, among others, a nomination for the European Film Awards 2007. He played his most successful role in the 2007 film adaptation of the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan on the side of Keira Knightley and directed by Joe Wright. The role of Robbie Turner brought him, among other nominations for the Golden Globe Award in 2008 and the 2008 European Film Awards. In the same year he was also in the film biography of Jane Austen, Becoming Jane, Anne Hathaway to see next. In 2008 he was seen in the action-thriller Wanted along side Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. In 2009 he played alongside Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren and Paul Giamatti young secretary of the writer Leo Tolstoy in the German - Russian film production The Last Station.
McAvoy lives with his wife, actress Anne -Marie Duff, in London, and since the early summer of 2010 the father of a boy.