Born in Glasgow in 1979, James McAvoy was brought up by his maternal grandparents in Drumchapel after his mother suffered from poor health following her divorce from her husband.
He was educated at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in the Jordanhill area of the city and briefly considered becoming a priest, but instead opted to join the Royal Navy.
He changed his mind when he was offered a place at Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, before moving to London to pursue an acting career.
It didn’t take him long to find success in television, with early roles in the likes of State of Play, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, and Shameless.
His big screen breakthrough came playing Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005.
He has since gone on to star in a string of hit films including Wanted, The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, the X-Men series, Filth, Split, Glass and It Chapter Two.
He’s also had a recent telvision hit in the form of His Dark Materials, and has also had success on the stage, receiving four Olivier nominations for best actor, most recently for playing the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac in 2020.
And this year has seen him win more acclaim, for his perfomance in horror film Speak No Evil.
Here are his 11 best movies - according to online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
1. Arthur Christmas
James McAvoy's most highly-rated film only features his voice. He plays the title role in Aardman Animation's (of Wallace and Gromit fame) festive story about the youngest son of Santa Claus. When a technical issue means a girl looks like missing out on her Christmas present, Arthur takes direct action, aided by his grandfather, an elf and a few reindeer. It scores a fresh 92 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. | Contributed
2. Starter for Ten
In second place, with an approval rating of 90 per cent, is Starter for 10. The 20026 film sees McAvoy play a working class student who wins a place on Bristol University's team for the BBC quiz show University Challenge. A young Benedict Cumberbatch also stars in the film. | Contributed
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past
McAvoy's second foray into the superhero world of the X-Men comes second equal, with a tomatometer rating of 90 per cent. The Scot once again plays a young version of Charles Xavier - the character played by Sir Patrick Stewart in the earlier (and sometimes later) films. It sees Wolverine voyage back in time to 1973 to save the world (again). | Contributed
4. The Last King Of Scotland
Kevin Macdonald's 2006 drama The Last King of Scotland won Forest Whitaker the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ugandan President Idi Amin. McAvoy plays a Scottish doctor who gets to know General Amin after treating his injured hand following a car accident. It has an approval rating of 87 per cent. | Contributed