James McAvoy (born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish stage and screen actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in 1995's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until the early 2000s. His notable television work includes State of Play and Shameless. Besides screen acting, McAvoy has appeared on stage with Three Days of Rain in 2009 and done voice work for animated films including Gnomeo and Juliet (2011).Starting in 2003, McAvoy began to build his film resume with Bollywood Queen. That film was followed with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), a commercial hit. His performance in Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland achieved him not only critical praise, but several award nominations. 2007's critically acclaimed Atonement marked the breakthrough in McAvoy's career. It also earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination. Another big point in the actor's career was starring in Wanted (2008). Since then, he is notable for playing Professor X in X-Men: First Class.
James McAvoy was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a psychiatric nurse, and James McAvoy Senior, a builder. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic. His parents divorced when he was seven, which McAvoy took hard. McAvoy's mother suffered from poor health and subsequently decided it was best that he live with his maternal grandparents, Mary and butcher James Johnstone, in the nearby Drumchapel area of Glasgow in a terrace council house. His mother lived with them intermittently. To date, the actor regularly visits his grandparents. He has one sister and a younger half-brother named Donald. McAvoy has not been in contact with his father since childhood. According to his father, McAvoy avoided any contact with him after he moved in with his new lover. Nonetheless, the actor had a good upbringing. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill, Glasgow, a Catholic school, and briefly considered joining the Catholic priesthood. In a 2006 interview, the actor admitted that part of the reason why he considered becoming a priest was that he wanted to use it as an excuse to travel. During his education, he worked at a local bakery.
