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Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity
Daisy Phillipson
James McAvoy is an absolute powerhouse in the Hollywood world, but the iconic actor has decided to slow down on the acting front.
The 43-year-old has barely stopped in recent years, proving to be a truly versatile talent with his range of roles on both the big and small screen.
From his epic turn in M. Night Shyamalan's Split and the X-Men franchise to his work on TV projects such as His Dark Materials and The Sandman, it's safe to say he's got a hefty CV.
But McAvoy is slowing down with his acting career, with one of the key reasons being to make more time for family.
In an interview with The Observer, he was asked about the reason for his decision, joking: "Because I'm old!"
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The actor continued: "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.
"The film industry or the TV industry, they’re just using you up."
McAvoy went on to say that he would end up doing 18 or 24-hour shoots due to time constraints, adding: "And you’re like: how is this f**king legal, man? How is that guy allowed to drive home at the end of the night? And people die!
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"I’m not saying that’s the whole reason I’ve got a problem with it, but it’s part of it."
Elaborating on the family side of things, he explained: "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."
The Observer went on to point out that there have been reports of McAvoy welcoming a baby boy into the world with his new wife Lisa Liberati, Shyamalan's assistant who he met on the set of Split.
He already co-parents his 12-year-old son Brendan with his ex-wife and fellow Shameless star Anne-Marie Duff.
This detail is obviously yet to be confirmed, although the outlet speculated whether this too had something to do with him 'taking that foot off the pedal'.
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That being said, the It: Chapter Two star isn't completely done with acting.
As well as a 'smaller part in something in Italy', he said he's 'working on a film with Phil Barantini, who made Boiling Point with Stephen Graham' and a 'thing in Scotland'.
Obviously he can't give away too many details at this point, although no doubt the fans will be pleased he doesn't plan on leaving our screens for good.
In short, he wants to find balance - and you can't really argue with that.