The Charles Xavier depicter in Fox's 'X-Men' franchise has reportedly welcomed his second child and wants to take a break from acting to spend more quality time with his family.
- Dec 12, 2022
AceShowbiz - James McAvoy wants to step back from acting. According to The Observer on Sunday, December 11, the "Filth" actor, 43, recently had a son with his new wife Lisa Liberati and is keen to to spend more time with his family.
"I put in the work quite a lot and I love it. But I don't want to live to work. The industry is great and it's given me an amazing life. But it survives on the sacrificial nature of performance," James, who already has a 12-year-old boy called Brendan with ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff, told the publication.
"The film industry or the TV industry, they're just using you up. Do I keep chasing, do I keep progressing, do I keep trying to climb the ladder, the mountain, all that kind of stuff. Or do I just continue to enjoy the act of acting - but taking the foot off the pedal."
"And not feel like I'm never gonna work again. Or than I'm gonna lose momentum, which arguably I have, if I just don't take every great job that comes my way. You need to slow down a wee bit. 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."
"Theatre's different - if you do tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of theatre, you're out six nights of the week, invariably. But you're there more during the day. It's really film and telly - it just f****** drains you. It's also a joy and I love it. But I can't spend all my days on set."
James also shared his fear of winding up like Bill Murray's jaded film star character in "Lost in Translation", which shows him "estranged" from his wife and kids.
It was confirmed earlier this year The 'X-Men' actor had married Lisa after they started dating in 2018 after they met on the set of "Split".