James McAvoy has admitted he remains hurt by a scathing review of his performance in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class, which described him as 'chubby'. The 47-year-old Scottish actor, who played Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise, said the personal nature of the criticism has stuck with him despite the film's commercial and critical success.
Speaking on The Romesh Ranganathan Show podcast, McAvoy recalled: 'I've received incredible reviews and the only thing I can remember is that one bad review. Isn't it nuts? It got to me because it was personal. It wasn't even that bad a review of my performance, but it described me as the Chubby McAvoy. And that's all I remember of any review for X-Men.'
The review, published in 2011, referred to 'chubby young Professor Xavier' and described McAvoy's portrayal as 'a nerdy, slightly CS Lewis-ish Oxford academic'. Despite the jibe, McAvoy reprised his role in three subsequent X-Men films: Days of Future Past (2014), Apocalypse (2016), and Dark Phoenix (2019). Days of Future Past became the sixth highest-grossing film of 2014 and the second highest-grossing in the franchise.
Fans have rallied behind the Glasgow-born actor on social media, with one commenting: 'Very strange comment since James McAvoy has never been chubby. Especially not in X-Men: First Class.' Another added: 'Seems a bit unnecessary.' McAvoy, a father of two, was nominated for awards for his work in First Class, which grossed over $353 million worldwide.
