James McAvoy has revealed he was bullied by a co-star on his first day as a professional actor while filming the 2001 HBO series Band of Brothers. The Scottish actor, 47, said one of his co-stars told other actors on set to point and laugh at him.
Bullying on set
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, McAvoy was asked to rate his experience on the show. Squinting at a photograph from the series, he said: “All these guys were in it for like nine months, 10 months, and they get one line and one episode. And they were all pissed.
“I come in for one episode and I’ve got like an arc and a scene. I’ve got tonnes of lines so one of the guys in that picture decided to bully me on my first day as a professional actor out of acting school.
“He got him and his buddies to just stand point at me and laugh at me for like three minutes. Dexter Fletcher, who now is a great director as well, and a lovely Scottish actor called Robin Laing, they took me aside and they were like, ‘Come hang with us, man’.”
Rating the experience
McAvoy rated that particular day as a two out of 10, but gave the rest of the filming experience a nine out of 10 rating.
Band of Brothers, created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, told the story of parachute rifle company Easy Company, the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from 1942 to the end of the Second World War. McAvoy appeared in the series, which featured a large ensemble cast.
Recent work
The actor recently made his directorial debut with California Schemin’. The film is based on the true story of Bilibil N’ Brains, a Dundonian rap duo who pretended to be American rappers from California to secure a record deal before they were found out.
McAvoy is also known for starring in Shameless, X-Men: First Class and Atonement.
