James McAvoy is taking a break from the silver screen to return to the stage, currently starring in a new production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” in London’s West End.
Discussing his latest project with The Telegraph, the conversation turned to his many movie roles, with McAvoy getting candid about the importance of physical appearance when being cast in a movie.
“Sometimes you’re made to feel like you’re not good-looking enough to get a role,” he admits. “I was told once by an actress that it was an interesting choice, my casting, because nobody would usually believe that I would be with somebody like her. That was a kick in the nuts! I was like, ‘All right, now I’ve got to pretend that I really like you for eight more weeks. This is going to be really tough, because you’re so far up yourself.’ It got really interesting, that relationship.”
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The same hold true when it comes to height. “And as a shorter man, I sometimes get told I’m too short for a role,” says McAvoy of his five-seven stature. “Or even when I get a role, I’m made to feel like, well, of course, we’re going to have to do something about that.”
During the interview, McAvoy — who’s starred in four “X-Men” movies — weighs in about Martin Scorsese’s controversial declaration that movies based on comic books are “not cinema.”
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“I would hope he’s watched every single one of them to make that statement,” McAvoy fires back. “Some of them are s**t and some of them have really moved me. I think that you’ve got to take it on a film-by-film basis.”
However, he adds, “I’m not offended by it. He’s Martin Scorsese — he can say what he likes. And he’s not going to break the machine by saying it.”
