People

James McAvoy

Acting · follow into films and chains

Biography

James McAvoy (born April 21, 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in The Near Room (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes the thriller State of Play, science fiction miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune and the channel 4s BAFTA award-winning series Shameless (British TV series). He has performed in several West End productions and has received four nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, and has also done voice work for animated films including Gnomeo & Juliet, its sequel Sherlock Gnomes, and Arthur Christmas. In 2003, McAvoy appeared in a lead role in Bollywood Queen, then in another lead role as Rory in Inside I'm Dancing in 2004. This was followed by a supporting role, as the faun Mr. Tumnus, in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). His performance in Kevin Macdonald's drama The Last King of Scotland (2006) garnered him several award nominations, including the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. The critically acclaimed romantic drama war film Atonement (2007) earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination. He later appeared as a newly trained assassin in the action thriller Wanted (2008). In 2011, McAvoy portrayed Professor Charles Xavier in the superhero film X-Men: First Class, a role he reprised in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018), and Dark Phoenix (2019). McAvoy starred in the crime comedy-drama film Filth (2013), for which he won Best Actor in the British Independent Film Awards. In 2016, he portrayed Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 23 alternate personalities, in M. Night Shyamalan's Split, for which he received critical acclaim, and later reprised the role for the sequel Glass (2019). Since 2019, he has portrayed Lord Asriel Belacqua in the BBC/HBO fantasy series His Dark Materials.

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

Starter for 10

Appears in a KinoChain journey

The Last King of Scotland

Appears in a KinoChain journey

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

As Mr. Tumnus

X-Men: Days of Future Past

As Charles Xavier

X-Men: Apocalypse

As Professor Charles Xavier

Dark Phoenix

As Charles Xavier / Professor X

It Chapter Two

As Bill Denbrough

Split

As Dennis / Patricia / Hedwig / The Beast / Kevin Wendell Crumb / Barry / Orwell / Jade

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

The University of British Cinema

From the dreaming spires of Cambridge to the redbrick campuses of the provinces, a journey through the British university film and what it reveals about class,...

8 films

The Weight of Command: Eight Faces of Authority

From courtroom to battlefield, from boardroom to the Oval Office, these eight performances explore the many masks of power and the human cost of wearing them.

8 films

Topics

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Comedy Coming of Age Romance

Related people

Acted

Speak No Evil

2024 · Paddy

The Book of Clarence

2024 · Pontius Pilate

It Chapter Two

2019 · Bill Denbrough

Dark Phoenix

2019 · Charles Xavier / Professor X

Glass

2019 · Patricia / Dennis / Hedwig / The Beast / Barry / Heinrich / Jade / Ian / Mary Reynolds / Norma / Jalin / Kat / B.T. / Kevin Wendell Crumb / Mr. Pritchard / Felida / Luke / Goddard / Samuel / Polly