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With his co-star Angelina Jolie occupied with the impending birth of twins, James McAvoy has been working overtime to promote the new film “Wanted.”
James was spotted heading into the Today Show studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City this morning looking ruggedly handsome in a black v-neck t-shirt, dark jeans, and a leather jacket.
Out in NYC following Thursday’s Los Angeles premiere of his new movie “Wanted”, James McAvoy and wife Anne-Marie Duff were spotted enjoying a romantic walk around Soho on Saturday (June 21).
Strolling around hand-in-hand, the 29-year-old Scottish actor and his actress wife of two years are currently away from their London home as James takes on the promotional duties for “Wanted” while co-star Angelina Jolie readies for the birth of her baby twins.
While his costar Angelina Jolie is busy preparing to give birth to twins, James McAvoy found another beautiful gal to hang with at the Hollywood premiere of his new film Wanted: his wife, Anne-Marie Duff.
The Mann Village Theater in Los Angeles, California was the place to be last night to catch a first glimpse of the new suspense flick. And McAvoy looked dashing in a black leather jacket overtop a black v-neck with dark jeans and black shoes.
The J.R.R. Tolkien classic The Hobbit, a prequel to the Lord of the Rings series is set to be made into another blockbuster filming later this year. Word is that James McAvoy will be playing the original hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who is eventually uncle to Elijah Wood's Frodo Baggins from the LOTR trilogy.
I think James would make a great hobbit! With cute furry feet! Doesn't he already look super whimsical in that bubble photo below?
James just needs to be aware that Elijah Wood hasn't really done anything since the trilogy -- but does he really need to? You know that kid made enough bank from playing a hobbit to support him and his future children the rest of their lives.
Seriously. Wake up and get that paycheck already, James!
More photos of James McAvoy from Mean magazine are after the jump.
The new Lord of the Rings prequel movie The Hobbit, has a director but is still searching for it’s star.
Scottish actor James McAvoy is rumored to be the lead candidate to play the role of hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
The J.R.R. Tolkien novel is hoping to be the next blockbuster hit and will be directed by Guillermo del Toro. Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf is already on board for the prequel.
But the big speculation is who will play the starring role of Bilbo Baggins. During the previous Lord Of The Rings film, Bilbo was played by Ian Holm, but the studio is looking for a new star for the prequel.
An industry insider tells the Daily Express,
“A number of names have been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black, but James [McAvoy] is the one the film’s bosses really want. They’re expected to have talks soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future.”
Director del Toro, hasn’t revealed his choice but indicates there is a favorite: “I can tell you it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. For our first choice, completely magically we all have the same name.”
Actor James McAvoy has been notoriously tight-lipped when asked about his family. The actor, 29, has garnered a lot of attention lately for his starring role alongside Keira Knightley in “Atonement,” for which he won a BAFTA. He’s also gotten a lot of press for his low-key lifestyle - he and his wife, actress Anne-Marie Duff, 38, live in an apartment they bought several years ago for 178,000 (about $346,000 USD), share a ten-year-old Nissan Micra that’s worth less than $2,000, and admit to rarely leaving their apartment. James has actually said that he purposely tries to avoid “celebrity bullshit,” and I can think of few actors who’ve stuck to an ideal so thoroughly. Even Matthew McConaughey eventually gave up his Airstream trailer – but McAvoy has adamantly stuck to his beliefs. The Daily Mail has written a surprisingly thorough article on McAvoy, in which they hypothesize that the reason he lives such a low-key existence is that he doesn’t want to draw a lot of attention to his family.
After McAvoy won his BAFTA, he thanked his mother, grandparents (who raised him), and wife, yet made no mention of his father or half-brother. It turns out that James has not spoken to his dad, James McAvoy Sr, in 21 years. His parents divorced when he was seven, and his father, who works as a roofer - claims that that eight-year-old James pulled away from him after he started seeing another woman.
“Our son took it hard,” says McAvoy Snr. “He just wasn’t the carefree little boy he’d been before.” At first, father and son continued their relationship, with James Snr taking his son swimming or to watch Celtic football team. But when a year later James Snr moved in with a new lover, Mary McKinnon, the eight-year-old McAvoy refused to have anything to do with his father.
“I think James still had hopes of me and his mum sorting things out,” claims McAvoy Snr. “He started refusing to see me because he didn’t like Mary. In the end I took a step back rather than upset him.”
The young McAvoy demonstrated his steely nature when a few years later he was larking around in the playground of the St Thomas Aquinas secondary school in Drumchapel and spotted his father working on the school roof. “James just looked away without saying a word,” recalls his father sadly.
[From the Daily Mail]
That appears to be their last encounter. James has a half-brother named Donald from his father’s relationship with the aforementioned woman. Donald was recently sent to jail after stabbing a man eight times.
To understand the extent of his transformation, perhaps we should look at McAvoy’s 18-year-old half-brother Donald, currently languishing in Polmont Young Offenders’ Institution near Falkirk. Donald - James Snr’s son from his now-ended relationship with his lover Mary - has never met James the actor.
But no one could blame the star for distancing himself from his violent, alcoholic brother. Just a fortnight ago, Donald was sent to Polmont for stabbing a man eight times and, in a separate incident, threatening a 14-year-old with a hammer.
James Snr, who lives in a dingy first-floor flat, sighs: “I am standing by one son who’s a maniac, but can’t stand by my other son, who has done so well.” According to Mr McAvoy, Donald’s problem stems from his penchant for alcohol: “He’s a polite boy who doesn’t cause trouble until he has been drinking.”
[From the Daily Mail]
It sounds like James McAvoy (Jr) isn’t so much distancing himself from the unsavory side of his family - he simply has no relationship with them and never has. He’s not under some obligation to acknowledge them now that he’s doing well. They haven’t been a part of each other’s lives for a long time – and in the case of his half-brother, they’ve never even met. James himself has admitted to struggling with alcohol, and credits his wife with helping him straighten out his life, noting in his BAFTA acceptance speech, “she taught me to respect life.” Having no relationship with his father is sad, but his dad doesn’t say anything that implies he tried to reconnect with his son before he was famous – he even said he “took a step back” from their relationship rather than upset James, which makes no sense to me. McAvoy clearly has a lot of talent and a great head on his shoulders, and has made a lot of his life already. His family history is sad, but it explains why he doesn’t want to talk about them and has insisted on moving forward.
Here’s James McAvoy at the 2008 Wonder Con in San Francisco on February 22nd. Images thanks to PR Photos.
Reese Witherspoon, Christina Ricci, James McAvoy and Amanda Bynes were among the stars at last night’s premiere of Penelope, a modern romantic fairy tale about a girl born with the nose of a pig. Christina Ricci stars as Penelope, with Witherspoon as her rough ‘n tumble sidekick friend. Witherspoon also produced the film. James McAvoy is the love interest who is able to look past the physical imperfections to the girl underneath. The film is getting mixed reviews, with some saying that it’s not cohesive. Many other reviewers call it charming and quirky.
Some commentors on Oh No They Didn’t note that the film has been out for some time, as it premiered at film festivals including Toronto in 2006 and Cannes in 2007. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be a commercial success, though, as it seems to be the type of cute film that movie-goers enjoy. I had high hopes for a box office success for Sweeney Todd over the holidays, but it only took in $52 million domestically. That’s nothing to scoff at, but it isn’t that high either, and the film may have suffered from its dark subject matter as well as the fact that it was a musical. Penelope seems to have broader appeal, and we’ll have to see how it does at the box office.
Penelope is out in US theaters on January 29.
It’s cute how Reese and Christina both have the same hairstyle with bangs and pulled back hair. Reese’s outfit is looking a little too casual for a premiere but maybe she didn’t want to upstage Christina Ricci. Rachel Taylor is also shown, and she’s wearing a very odd sack-like dress. Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.
Look at all of these tanner-free faces. Here are a bunch of stars in Los Angeles, at the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts tea party. The event is usually held on the evening of the Golden Globes, but since the awards show was canceled, things were more sedate this year--as if a tea party could somehow be made even more sedate. According to Golden Globe nominee, Anna Friel of "Pushing Daisies" (in the thumbnail to the far left), "It's like it's a ghost town." And now that I'm realizing for the first time that Ed Westwick of "Gossip Girl," is British, his outfits make more sense to me--you know, "oh, he's just European." I hope everybody got crazy with crumpets and pinky fingers up in the air, waving them all around like they just didn't care. It's a tea party, bitches!
Photos: Getty Images
23 more photos from BAFTA/LA's 14th Annual Awards Season Tea Party at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills featuring Anna Friel, James McAvoy, Ed Westwick, Saoirse Ronan, Saffron Burrows, Julian Schnabel, Eddie Izzard, Haley Mills, Allison Janney, Jamie Bamber, Marg Helgenberger, Elijah Kelley, Lauren Holly and Jason Reitman are after the jump.
Scottish actor James McAvoy is heating up screens this fall with his role in "Atonement" co-starring Keira Knightley. The actor is receiving Oscar buzz for his latest role, and made People's list of "Sexiest Men." McAvoy spoke about his beautiful co-stars, Keira Knightley and Angelina Jolie (he appears opposite Jolie in the forthcoming "Wanted"). "They're considered to be the most beautiful people in the world, and I'm clearly not," McAvoy says. "I don't think I've been hit by the ugly stick or anything. I think I'm a fairly decent-looking guy, but I'm not up there with that." He describes himself a "nonalpha male."
While he may not possess the natural hotness of a Brad Pitt or George Clooney, his wife seems to be pretty happy with her man.
More photos of James McAvoy after the jump.