James McAvoy quotes
Born
21 April 1979, Glasgow, Scotland.
Occupation
Actor.
James McAvoy is a Scottish actor.
Movies
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Glass (2019)
Split (2016)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
I’ve spent a long time giving people the benefit of the doubt, and I’m tired of it.
– James McAvoy
A story about my life would be utterly dull.
– James McAvoy
I kind of embarked on a fruitless search to find information about my character, Frederick Aiken. And it was fruitless, unfortunately, because there’s so little about him.
– James McAvoy
I think fear is one of the natural states of most actors, to be honest.
– James McAvoy
As an actor sometimes you can be a bit emotional and forceful, and that’s not always the way to be.
– James McAvoy
I think the most romantic thing you can do is just turn up. Turn up when it’s difficult for you. Travel halfway around the world or just up the road. Whatever it is, just be there.
– James McAvoy
Passing my motorcycle theory test gave me a disproportionate feeling of greatness.
– James McAvoy
I don’t know if anybody’s ever ready for another award season. It’s kind of like Christmas.
– James McAvoy
I’m instinctively very suspicious and guarded, and I try to counteract it so much. I find reason allows you to be open, and my only sort of ambition in life is to try and be as open as possible.
– James McAvoy
Since my worldview has expanded, I don’t consider myself working class anymore, and I’m attracted to playing characters who go through a similar evolution.
– James McAvoy
I judge people very quickly.
– James McAvoy
I want to be like Matt Damon and do a hugely successful thinking-man’s action franchise like ‘Bourne.’
– James McAvoy
Until I’m on the set of a film, to me it’s still not for real.
– James McAvoy
Nobody can be whatever they want to be. No kid can do whatever they want to do. It’s a total lie. But they have the right to try and do whatever they want to do. That’s their right, to aim to do whatever they want to do.
– James McAvoy
I wanted to be a doctor at one point and I also wanted to be a pilot. I think if you grow up in a dodgy area, reality often beats down those ambitions as you get older. But with me that never really happened.
– James McAvoy
Filmmaking is a miracle of collaboration.
– James McAvoy
Distance is a bad excuse for not having a good relationship with somebody. It’s the determination to keep it going or let it fall by the wayside; that’s the real reason that the relationships continue.
– James McAvoy
For me, Charles Xavier is a monk. He’s like a selfless, egoless almost sexless force for the betterment of humanity and mortality.
– James McAvoy
I still take work if I think it’s good. If I like the script, I’ll do it. If I don’t, I won’t.
– James McAvoy
I’ve never worked as hard as when I was at drama school. It’s the most professional environment I’ve ever been in.
– James McAvoy
I’d like to keep work work and life life. It means you’ve got your life to come back to, somewhere to come home to at night that isn’t invaded by your day.
– James McAvoy
I like reading about the past. I’m definitely not a history buff, but I do read a bit of history now and again, and to do that for work is really exciting.
– James McAvoy
I’ve cried a lot because of women. I cry a lot, as a person.
– James McAvoy
I don’t know why we’re not interested in seeing good people. I think we like seeing good people, but only if bad things happen to them. Which is weird, isn’t it?
– James McAvoy
I take a lot of pride in being myself. I’m comfortable with who I am.
– James McAvoy
I’m probably more dangerous in a car than I am on a motorbike; on a bike I’m very mindful of the fact that if you make a mistake, you’re dead.
– James McAvoy
If my career isn’t going that well, I’d rather it flounder than desperately trying to show up on red carpets: ‘I’m for hire! Remember me!’
– James McAvoy
That’s the main thing that attracts me – characters who have big journeys. I like playing those people.
– James McAvoy
The minute you start to strategize too much, the more you start to think you’re in control of your own fate. And you’re not, really.
– James McAvoy
I don’t mind playing somebody who’s not likable, or makes the audience feel slightly conflicted.
– James McAvoy
As I get older, I want to do more films for kids because they’re the best audience around. Just putting a smile on a kid’s face is the best thing.
– James McAvoy
People come up to me and they’re usually nice, but as it goes on you realise that some people aren’t nice. Some people are not nice at all.
– James McAvoy
Fear is really powerful; it’s really useful to me.
– James McAvoy
I considered becoming a priest very seriously. I wanted to travel the world. By the time I turned 16, I realized I was only in it for selfish reasons. And, more importantly, I didn’t want to sacrifice the ladies!
– James McAvoy
I also really liked playing Mr. Tumnus in ‘Narnia’. I got to play my favorite character in children’s literature, which I loved. You don’t get the chance to do that in other jobs.
– James McAvoy
Because technically actors are just public servants really. They just tell stories because people need to be told stories. That’s all it is. And yet we get treated as though we’re important.
– James McAvoy
I love going to art galleries. The Tate Modern is one of my favourite things to do. But I don’t invest in the history of it and I don’t read up on it. I am a guy who would buy a print rather than buy an original.
– James McAvoy
I like playing a variety of characters. I feel like I’ve been able to play different kinds of characters – I’ve done a lot of period pieces – but I’ve never had to play the same type of character too much.
– James McAvoy
Basically, every character I’ve ever played, I’ve based entirely on internal conflict. And I love doing that, because I think it’s very human.
– James McAvoy