James McAvoy Talks Wanted ... and Hobbits!

Three years ago, only smart moviegoers knew who Scottish actor James McAvoy was. Then along came The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the part of the beloved faun, Mr. Tumnus. However, things didn’t change overnight for young McAvoy, now 29; he followed his first blockbuster up with a slew of critically praised movies that most would call this side of “artsy,” including The Last King of Scotland and last year’s Best Picture Oscar nominee, Atonement. McAvoy wound up screwed out of a Best Actor nomination for Atonement to make room for Johnny Depp’s lame nomination for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (shouldn’t you at least be able to sing when starring in a musical?), but he followed that snub up with his first foray into the big-budget comic-book movie genre with Wanted, a move that will surely propel him into the A-list stratosphere alongside co-star Angelina Jolie. I recently sat down with the actor to discuss his role as Wesley Gibson, a nebbish cubicle jockey turned super-assassin, as well as some pesky rumors about a possible move into a mythical shire.

Cole Haddon: Do you take as much joy as an actor from a commercial shoot-'em-up like Wanted compared to a dramatic role like, say, Robbie in Atonement?

James McAvoy: I don’t know if I take joy in what I do. I like what I do and I’m very lucky to do it. But I apply myself the same way, with the same level of seriousness and commitment.

CH: Then what about the joy you take from the end result of such wildly different movies?

JM: The satisfaction I get from watching the movies is different. I find watching something like Atonement very difficult, partly because I’m very emotionally connected to that character and what happens to him is so awful. Whereas watching something like [Wanted] –- as much as some of things that happen to [Wesley] are incredibly awful –- it’s a piece of entertainment. It’s kind of hilarious to watch myself do things and being made to look much cooler than I could ever possibly be. So it’s much easier watching a movie like this.

CH: You’ve mostly worked in dramas obviously, though. Do you enjoy action movies very much?

JM: I do like serious film. My favorite type of film is not the action film. I’ll be honest. But I do like a really good action movie. When an action movie is bad, it can be like going to the dentist. When they’re good, though, they can be really fun.

CH: What was the last good action movie you’ve seen, besides Wanted, of course?

JM: I think the last one I really enjoyed was Mission: Impossible III because J.J. Abrams did a great job of making you care and feel scared.

CH: This is your first starring role in a summer blockbuster, and the movie has franchise written all over it even though the storyline is left pretty wrapped up. Do you think there’s a future for your character?

JM: I think the character has someplace to go. It’s a dark place to go. Half the fun of this film is watching him change, so how do you do another one?

CH: And what about hobbits? Any chance you'll be spending a couple of years in New Zealand in your near future?

JM: Ah, man, no, that’s not true. It was just internet discussions, I think, that caught the imagination of some people.

CH: Is it flattering that an “entity” like the internet could generate such interest in you playing a role like Bilbo Baggins?

JM: The fact that people think that someone like Guillermo del Toro or Peter Jackson would be interested in hiring me is very flattering. It would be even more flattering if it was true.

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