“I like reading about the past. I'm definitely not a history buff, but I do read a bit of history now and again, and to do that for work is really exciting.”

Scottish actor and director

James McAvoy is a Scottish actor and director. Born in 1979, he made his acting debut as a teenager in The Near Room (1995) and spent much of the early part of his career working in television before his film career began in 2003. His television roles include the thriller State of Play (2003), the science fiction miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003), and the drama series Shameless (2004 to 2005). He is known for work across film, television, and stage, with performances that often move between drama, suspense, and character-driven stories.