James McAvoy speaks out on ‘taking the foot off the pedal’ of his acting career

Virgin Radio

13 Dec 2022, 08:43

James McAvoy has revealed that he intends to ‘slow down’ when it comes to acting.

The His Dark Materials actor is known for his many movie roles, including starring as Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise and alongside Keira Knightley in 2007’s Atonement, but he has told The Observer about his decision to step back a little bit. 

“I put in the work quite a lot and I love it. But I don’t want to live to work,” he explained. “The industry is great and it’s given me an amazing life. But it survives on the sacrificial nature of performance. The film industry or the TV industry, they’re just using you up.” 

In the interview, he spoke about actors being required to “do another 18-hour day. Do a 24-hour day.” 

The Atomic Blonde and Filth actor added: “I don’t want to just be that guy who was Bill Murray’s character in Lost in Translation, where he’s basically not got a life because he did the movies – and he can’t remember any of the movies. And yet he’s estranged from his wife and kids.”

In the interview, he explained that he had to make a decision between continuing “trying to climb the ladder, the mountain,” or simply trying to “enjoy the act of acting – but taking the foot off the pedal, and not feel like I’m never gonna work again.”

He added: “You need to slow down a wee bit.”

The Observer reports that James has recently welcomed a son. He told the publication: “It’s just not possible to be a present family member if you are a filmmaker every week of the year, every month of the year.”

Whilst he’s taking a step back, the actor won’t be disappearing forever. The actor, who recently joined the cast for The Sandman, is set to feature in upcoming epic film The Book of Clarence.