Mmmm, James McAvoy. James M--well, you know... the faun "Mr. Tumnus" from The Chronicles of Narnia. Not that I'm a furry (or whatever they're called) but that's when I, personally, first took notice of this Scottish charmer. Post-Narnia it's getting hard not noticing him. His name is popping up with deserved frequency in casting rumors. I say deserved because if you've caught any of his work you'll undoubtedly want to see more of him. And you will. You'll see lots more of him, in fact, in The Last King of Scotland. That buzzing film, opening September 27th, will certainly make an Oscar nominee of Forest Whitaker who kills in the role of brutal Idi Amin, the infamous Ugandan president. But McAvoy also gets quite a workout onscreen as Amin's personal doctor. And I don't just mean in his scenes with Whitaker which have a completely charged physicality to them: even when the two men are just talking, no moment is ever played safe, every hug or back slap feels like it could go horribly wrong. McAvoy's doctor is also seen running around, firing a gun, practicing extreme medicine, playing sports with Ugandan children, and rutting like a damn fool every chance he gets. And the rutting is often very very foolish. You'll see.
McAvoy has such an easy physicality in this picture that I wasn't surprised at all to read that he is abundantly physical in real life. He's a trained gymnast and boxer. I never saw the Children of Dune miniseries but apparently that role was also athletic. And shirtless.
McAvoy might well be the sexiest Scotsman since Ewan Macgregor. Or maybe he's the sexy Scottish version of Tobey Maguire. Not altogether ungeeky, but still potently erotic: a pleasing combo.
After Scotland you'll be able to catch McAvoy in the Christina Ricci film Penelope and next year he'll be seen opposite Anne Hathaway in Becoming Jane, a biopic of Jane Austen, and Keira Knightley in the adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement.
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James McAvoy, movies, film, Oscars
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17 comments:
I saw him last week. IN PERSON.
And also screened all three of his latest films. How much do you hate me?
he looks busy... ehehehe
Saw Last king of Scotland personally i liked him more than whitaker, whitaker 's character was kinda overacting
has nothing to do with james mcavoy, but nathaniel, go. see. brick. now. hurry. wow.
McAvoy starred as Macbeth in a one-hour modern adaptation screened on the BBC last year in the UK. He's sensational, and damn hot strutting about in his leather pants!
Yes Yes Yes!!!
Oh, Stephen G, you're talking about the Shakespeare Retold, right? Did you see the Taming of the Shrew version? great fun!
I've been a fan since Children of Dune, in fact, so I feel somewhat justified that everyone else is catching up to me on him. Just remember who was here first!
Meh.
But the B for Scotland is encouraging. Surprising to see a B- grade for Dahlia considering how mauled it's getting.
Ooh, I didn't know about an Atonement movie. That will make for a tricky adaptation. I'm not generally a fan of Keira Knightley's, but I could definitely see her as Cecilia. Have you read the book, Nathaniel? If not, you MUST. It's amazing.
Oh, yeah? Well I first saw him in the adaptation of "White Teeth" with Naomie Harris. So there! He's mine.
I secretly loved McAvoy in Narnia. Ugh.
And Oprah just called Whitaker's performance one of the greatest of all-time. Maybe that'll give McAvoy and the film a boost.
alanna,
i'm reading it now. but i'm still near the beginning.
"And Oprah just called Whitaker's performance one of the greatest of all-time. Maybe that'll give McAvoy and the film a boost."
No offence to Ms Winfrey, and at the risk of being politically incorrect - anything that has to do with africa or african americas is on the shortlist for 'greatest _____ ever' with her.
I'd love to be able to take Oprah's word for it (I'm sure he's quite fantastic) but that woman would say Martin Lawrence was a great ambassador if she could.
Went to the Last King premiere tonight at the Academy. Spoke with James at length, and I was half-tempted to tell him "Nat said hi." ;)
Very cool and charming guy, by the way. And engaged...sorry kids.
kris, why u wanna hurt us? ;)
He is indeed very hot. Aside from Swinton, he was definitely the best thing about Narnia, even though I kept wishing whenever he was onscreen that the movie around him was better.
Yes, he was hot in Children of Dune in that young princely kind of way. He was just coming into manhood.
For Atonement I think he needs to be more robust than he appeared at the Toronto Film Fest. It doesn't look like he's beefed up for the part.
Robbie should be a rougher version of Julian Sands in Room With A View. He should seem like a strong country lad used to hard work, but with an intelligence that will raise him above his class. He also has to be a leader of men in the Dunkirk episodes.
It will be challenging. McAvoy has the dynamism for it. I hope it works.
How's the reading going Nathaniel? Atonement is my favorite novel of the last decade. I re-read it last year and enjoyed it even more.
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