'X-Men Days of Future Past' Movie 2014 Cast and News: James McAvoy Interview Reveals On-Set Injury, Meeting With Patrick Stewart
If James McAvoy keeps trying to do his own stunts, he may end up in a wheelchair like the character he portrays in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
The 34-year old Scottish actor gave an interview to The Daily Record, where he confessed that he might be getting too old for these action scenes.
"I'm getting older," McAvoy said. "I reckon I've only got four or five more years of doing that kind of s*** before it's like, 'Whoa! We'll be getting the stunt double in here.'"
McAvoy will be reprising his role as Professor Charles Xavier, the telepathic leader and founder of the X-Men. In the previous movie, X-Men: First Class, Xavier was left paralyzed and resigned to a wheelchair. Even so, McAvoy still managed to find a way to injure himself.
In a plane scene, McAvoy hurt his leg:
"I cracked my knee quite badly on the third take, but that was just my own fault," he said. "The plane wasn't even throwing me around. I just tripped over a camera. I'm going to be limping for a week."
McAvoy is not a stranger to action roles. He began his career filming more serious dramas such as The Last King of Scotland and Atonement but soon expanded his acting repertoire with blockbuster roles such as Wanted and First Class. That's probably why the actor felt confident enough to do the scene without rehearsing.
"I'm quite bendy, quite bouncy, I usually land well," he joked.
McAvoy also talked about his surprise in getting to work with Xavier's future self, played by Patrick Stewart.
"When I took over the role of Charles, I never thought that I'd be working with him," said McAvoy. "I certainly never thought that I'd be giving a very different performance to him to his face. Kind of going like, 'Yo, what you got, man? Show me your big nose!' We've both got big noses!"
McAvoy will star alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, and Peter Dinklage, among others, when the film hits theaters on May 23.