James McAvoy is sending shivers down our spines with his chilling performance in the 2024 horror thriller, Speak No Evil, which has surged into Netflix's Top Ten list.
The eerie film follows an American family who, after befriending a charismatic British couple during a holiday in Italy, accept an invitation to stay at their secluded country estate. What begins as a relaxing escape quickly spirals into a terrifying psychological ordeal as the hosts' true, dark intentions surface.
© Alamy Stock PhotoJames, 47, has established himself as a household name through iconic roles in The Chronicles of Narnia, Atonement, and the X-Men franchise. His career breakthrough arrived at 24 in the comedy-drama Shameless, just four years after he graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in his native Glasgow.
The Filth star was raised alongside his sister, Jo – also an actress – by their grandparents in a residential district James once described as "dicey". Keep reading to find out more about the BAFTA winner's formative years.
James McAvoy's upbringing
James and his sister, Joy, were brought up by their maternal grandparents in Drumchapel in north-west Glasgow.
© Dave Benett/WireImageThe siblings were sent to live with their grandfather James and grandmother Mary after their parents split and their mother was suffering from chronic ill-health.
Recalling his childhood, James, who was seven years old when his parents separated, told The Guardian earlier this year: "My grandparents were fairly strict about my movements because it was a bit dicey, I guess."
© WireImageHe added: "But I loved where I grew up and I had a really good time."
Discussing the effects of being raised in a disadvantaged area, James formerly told The Talks that his grandparents limited his freedom until he was 16 due to concerns about Drumchapel's "shady side" and his safety.
"My grandparents sort of didn't allow me a lot of freedom until I was about 15, 16 because they were just scared for me, I think," he explained. "They wanted to protect me from what was happening in the street. But it was a good upbringing because I don't feel entitled. I feel like I've taken the same amount of success as a lot of other people are given but I've taken it and I appreciate it but I don't feel entitled, I don't feel like I deserve things, I feel like I deserve them as much as anybody else."
© Getty ImagesHe added that being "deprived of culture" in his youth was a "massive problem."
James's estranged father
James was reportedly estranged from his father, James Snr, for years before his death.
Following James' 2006 BAFTA Rising Star Award win, his father reached out through the Sunday Mirror, expressing his desire to reconnect with his son.
© Mike MarslandResponding to his father's attempt to bridge the gap in an interview with The Guardian, James remarked: "I can't really be bothered with it. If I was less secure in myself, I might be more interested. But I know what made me, I know why I am the way I am. I don't need to go hunting for missing answers."
He continued: "I know what happened and I know what didn't happen, and I know who I want to be and how to get there."
