Wanted: James McAvoy Interview

The leading man talks Hobbit rumours, kissing Jolie and much more.

by Patrick Kolan
Australia, July 22, 2008 - Forget The Dark Knight. If you want the most visually inventive action film of this year, you can't go past 'Wanted' - the loose adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by director Timur Bekmambetov of 'Night Watch' and 'Day Watch' fame. IGN AU spoke with lead actor (and sometimes-heartthrob with the ladies) James McAvoy about his role in the film, what it was like to get hot wax poured onto his face repeatedly and those Hobbit rumours. Read on!

IGN AU: Hi there, James! How does it feel to be lead actor in the most inventive action film of the year?

James McAvoy: Aww, fantastic. Thank you very much for saying that. It's nice, man. It's nice to be in a movie that hasn't been absolutely slaughtered by the press. It has received a smattering of decent critical responses and, at the same time, is appealing to the box office as well. It doesn't always happen like that, so it's very, very pleasant.

IGN AU: The viewers who looked a little more deeply into it would've seen much more to the film than violence and, erm, rats. What was your first reaction after watching the final film, with all the effects in place?

James McAvoy: Ah, well - it's never going to be a decent reaction, is it? It's always going to be ... well, it looked okay during the process - but then it's weird when you're watching yourself in a film - you can't really detach yourself from the experiences you've had that day. You're never watching the film as a proper punter.

And when I seem critical of this film - I'm critical of every film I've done. It could all be better.

IGN AU: Was it a particularly taxing shoot for you?

James McAvoy: No, not at all - it was a great shoot! It was very physical, definitely, but it was a great shoot.

IGN AU: Do you get to pick your roles a little more now?

James McAvoy: Nah, I don't have the luxury of choosing my roles like that yet. Maybe I will in the coming future, but since 'Wanted', I've only done one other film. When I did 'Wanted', I wasn't in a position to choose with much freedom. When they offered me this role, nobody really knew who I was - not outside of Scotland. Atonement hadn't come out yet - I'd auditioned for 'Wanted' just before they started shooting Atonement.

IGN AU: I mean, making the jump from Atonement to a hardcore Hollywood-style action film is kind of curious.

James McAvoy: Yeah - that was actually my main reason for doing the film - just to give myself a new challenge - which I've been lucky enough to be presented with every time I take on a new role. I generally get challenged; I haven't been typecast, which is really, really, nice. It's not something that every actor gets, really. It's luxury. Most actors are capable of it, but they aren't afforded the opportunity to express their variety.

IGN AU: Was this a dramatic challenge for you, then? Even though it was superficially an action role?

James McAvoy: Yeah. Doing films like this - and something that I learned from doing a big sci-fi thing years ago [Dune] - is that you've got to commit to this stuff more than you do a serious role. To sell it, you need to believe in it more. The actor in me was satisfied at times - not all the time. You're doing stunt work, which isn't mindless - but it isn't as intellectually engaging as some of the other stuff that I've done. But it is very physically stimulating and really good fun.

IGN AU: You spend a good portion of the film getting punched in the face. How'd you learn to take a punch like that?

James McAvoy: Yep - phworrrrr, I couldn't possibly go into it! Look, I've been in a few fights and I know what it's like to get punched in the face. [laughs]

IGN AU: Well, you were going to join the navy for a while - so are you a hard-arse?

James McAvoy: Ha, no. I'm not a hard-arse at all.

IGN AU: You're shattering your image right now.

James McAvoy: Nah, I wanted to join the navy to get some perspective on the world and explore.

IGN AU: You've joined the list of men who've kissed Jolie and lived to tell the tale. How was it?

James McAvoy: Naw, it was fine. Just another day on the job.

IGN AU: That was so nonchalant.

James McAvoy: Well...

IGN AU: You kissed Angelina Jolie. C'mon. Those things look like marshmallows or pillows or something. And as if you didn't go to the pub with your mates after that scene and drop that into conversation.

James McAvoy: [laughs] Hey listen - I was working too hard on that film to go down to the pub, and also, I was on my own in the Czech Republic! There were no mates to hang out with!

IGN AU: Speaking of which, what kind of a director is Timur Bekmambetov? Is he very hands-on at all times? Or does he like you to experiment?

James McAvoy: He is quite hands-on, actually but he lets you experiment a lot. He's definitely there helming it the entire time - the actors aren't allowed to do whatever the f**k the y want. But yeah, we had a lot of freedom to come up with ideas on the spot, and being the kind of director he is, he does the same all the time. I think he responds to his actors doing that as well, which is kind of fun.

IGN AU: How much prep-work was there for every wax-tank scene? How did it work?

James McAvoy: There was no prep whatsoever - it was just me getting in there and then they poured hot wax over my face! It was horrible, man; I hated it. I was in there for two days and submerged for an hour to two hours at a time. I ended up getting an ear infection from it, actually, from the water.

IGN AU: Sheesh. What was your injury count by the end of the shoot?

James McAvoy: Not that bad, actually: twisted ankle, injured knee, a lot of bruising - but other than that, I was hunky-dory. I did something like 60 percent of my own stunts, and I didn't expect to get to do that much. They let me jump onto the hood of a car that was doing about 30 miles per hour or something. That was pretty cool; we built it up and built it up from one mile an hour to thirty - and that was pretty incredible. Very exciting.

IGN AU: Oh man, I bet your agent was standing on the sidelines just thinking 'don't blow it'.

James McAvoy: They wouldn't let me jump through a pane of sugar glass, in case it would scratch my face a little bit. They wouldn't let me do that, but they would let me jump onto the hood of a moving vehicle! [laughs] It was so strange. And there was no discussion about it - it was just like, 'yeah, go for it!'. I find that very weird.

IGN AU: That's the Russian way.

James McAvoy: Yeah, I think so.

IGN AU: Being a Scott with a thick accent, how did you master the American accent? It's a pretty flawless imitation.

James McAvoy: Thanks, man. Honestly, I wing it. I've used a particular voice coach in the past who was fantastic and I used her for Penelope and Band of Brothers. She wasn't available, so I decided, instead of making a new relationship with another voice coach, I'd just wing it. The thing is, a lot of the time with other voice coaches, they can't do the accent themselves, so they're sitting there trying themselves, and you're like 'for f**k's sake, mate!' But anyway, I thought there'd be enough Americans on-set that I could just walk around behind them and copy them.

IGN AU: Can you set the record straight about The Hobbit rumours?

James McAvoy: I know! It's ridiculous, isn't it? I haven't been approached, I promise you. I'd be the first to tell people if I had, but no. I've not been approached. Those are just internet rumours.

IGN AU: Okay, case closed. Thanks so much, James.

James McAvoy: Cheers, pal.