Press release -
James McAvoy talks X-Men, His Dark Materials and directorial debut at MCM Birmingham Comic Con
The excitement kept building at Birmingham’s NEC today as Day Two of MCM Birmingham Comic Con brought in thousands more eager pop culture fans for the biggest ever edition of the Birmingham show. For official photography from Day Two of the event, please click HERE.
Hollywood star James McAvoy discussed his celebrated career on the MCM Birmingham Live Stage. During his panel he of course spoke about his time in the X-Men franchise as Professor Charles Xavier.
“Those X-Men movies that we made were great fun and I felt like I got to do some decent acting, at least in the first couple you know?” the Scottish actor said. Reacting to some laughs in the crowd, he added: “Well you know you don’t think you’re going to get an acting exercise and an acting workout in something like X-Men: Days of Future Past, but then you get the script and you’re like, wait a minute, this is this is actually quite a psychological examination of a person who’s going through trauma, and who’s been abandoned.”
When asked about his take on the iconic role, McAvoy said: “One of the most exciting things to me when I started playing Charles, was to take it as far away from the version we’d seen on screen before. Patrick [Stewart] was wise and selfless and sort of sage, and so it was really clear for me that I should try and be selfish and foolhardy and self-centered.
“In Days of Future Past we got to do something that was about trauma response and recovery, PTSD in a way, and then for the next two movies it was about playing with a line of’ how much is he trying to save the world and how much does he think he’s the saviour’. Does he have a god complex and playing with that. It was really fun to do.
“While Patrick gave an incredible performance it was less exciting to me to go and try and have to copy that. So to get to play with the god complex and messiah complex thing, that kept it my own.”
McAvoy also spoke about His Dark Materials, telling the audience, “First of all, His Dark Materials, if you haven’t read it by Philip Pullman, well it’s one of my favourite books of all time… trilogies actually.” He then joked, “And then, if you haven’t seen the TV show that I’m in, it’s really good. And it is really, really exceptional.”
When asked about what he learned from the role of Lord Asriel as a father himself, he went on to describe a moment from the series involving his on-screen daughter. “There’s a bit where I am shouting at my daughter while in a scene and then she storms off, and aside, another character goes ‘she’s special, you know?’ and my character goes ‘everybody’s special.’ I mean, it’s the truth, everybody is special, but for a father not to recognise how special their own child is is really cold and that particular scene stuck out for me."
Towards the end of the panel, McAvoy discussed his upcoming directorial debut, California Schemin'. He explained that the film follows “a couple of guys from Scotland” who are initially rejected by a music label for rapping in Scottish. In response, the characters commit fully to rapping as California skater dudes, McAvoy recalled, “24/7, seven days a week, 365 days a year.” He described the film as “a really funny movie” and teased that fans should “keep a look out on Monday or Tuesday next week and there may be something along the lines of a trailer”.
Day Three will see more amazing celebrity guests appear. All panels are free to attend for MCM ticket holders.
- 11:00 - 11:45 - The Art of the Voice in Clair Obscur - Gaming Stage
- 12:00 - 12:45 - In Conversation With Damien Haas - Gaming Stage
- 12:15 - 1:10 - Jamie Campbell Bower Spotlight - Live Stage
- 14:00 - 14:45 - Unearthing Silent Hill 2 - Gaming Stage
- 14:15 - 15:00 - Voicing Wallace: A Conversation with Ben Whitehead - Live Stage
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About MCM Comic Con
MCM Comic Con Birmingham is held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, annually. The show is produced by ReedPop and welcomes tens of thousands of fans every year. At MCM Comic Con, attendees can expect to find everything from celebrity panels and exclusive premiers, to cosplay, comic book writing workshops, independent artists, live action role play. All these features, and more, make MCM Comic Con the ultimate celebration of pop and geek culture.
For more information visit: mcmcomiccon.com
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About ReedPop
ReedPop is a boutique group within RX – one of the world’s leading event organisers. Launched in 2006, the group has become the number one producer of pop culture events globally and a full-service digital content provider and media company. Delivering once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences curated specifically for localised audiences, ReedPop currently features events in North America, Europe and Asia, including MCM Comic Con, Eurogamer Expo (EGX), New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), PAX West, East, and Unplugged, Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), Star Wars Celebration, MagicCon, and more. In addition to organising and managing events, ReedPop owns and operates the pop culture news site, Popverse, which is the exclusive home for livestreams from all of ReedPop's major comic cons. The staff at ReedPop are a fan-based group of professionals uniquely qualified to build and serve the communities with whom they share a common passion. (www.reedpop.com)
