McAvoy talks about ‘First Class,’ fatherhood and Redford

MCAVOY. “I don’t cut my hair in between jobs.” AP

LOS ANGELES – Like Christian Bale, James McAvoy grows his hair long when he is “unemployed.” “I don’t cut my hair in between jobs,” explained the actor, who is winning new fans and positive reviews for his take on Charles Xavier in “X-Men: First Class.”

So, how long does his hair get? “It depends on how long the period of unemployment is,” he cracked.

James has never lacked projects since he captivated moviegoers as Mr. Tumnus in “The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” But, with the box-office success and good buzz, especially for his chemistry with Michael Fassbender as Magneto, in “First Class,” it looks like he’s going to have more frequent haircuts. Many filmgoers want to see more of James and Michael, who effectively portray how their characters were great friends before they became arch enemies.

Luxury

James’ career took off since he appeared as the faun in “Narnia,” but in our interviews with him over the years, he has stayed the same – genial and down-to-earth. In this recent chat, James, now 32, claimed that he gets “grumpier” as he gets older, but he’s really still Mr. Nice Guy. Maybe he just needs to sleep more, a luxury he hasn’t had since the birth of his son, Brendan, with wife, actress Anne-Marie Duff, last year.

Excerpts from our interview:

Can you talk about Michael Fassbender’s naughty streak?

Michael has a naughty streak, yes – that’s why we both click. It was really important when we were trying to develop a relationship that was going to fuel this movie’s emotional core that we got on. When we first met during the casting, we both felt like, “God, let it be us two.” We both felt that we had an ally in each other. We share a similar sense of humor. We could push things a little more, not get too serious and keep a perspective about it because making these massive, ridiculous movies can sometimes be mind-breaking. Sense of humor is important. Michael definitely has one – and thank God for that!

How did you approach the role, knowing that it has been played in previous films by Patrick Stewart?

I turned more to the comic books, because I thought the fans might appreciate it. I wanted to show a little difference. Since I play the younger Charles Xavier, he’s less in control of his powers. So, maybe, he has little tics and crutches to help him through it. I took a lot of notes on the characterization that already exists, but it was important to me that there’d be something different throughout the movie.

I tried to think what Patrick Stewart was like as Prof. Charles Xavier. He’s a leader, wise and saintly – so, I tried to make him un-saintly and unwise, a little bit of a lady chaser and a drinker just to show that he’s younger and less focused. He’s not yet this man with a mission, not yet a servant of the world. He’s a servant of his personal whimsy.

In the movie, you have a genetic mutation-related pickup line. When you were single, did you have a good pickup line?

Relationship

I’ve been in a relationship for a long time. My pickup lines before that time weren’t very well executed. They were quite lame.

What was your conversation starter?

“What do you do for a living?” You see, I’m not very good at this. You can see why I’m very happily married.

Matthew Vaughn directed this film but with Bryan Singer, who directed the first two “X-Men” movies, as one of the producers, how much input did Bryan give?

What Bryan was brilliant at was knowing when he could help and leaving Matthew to make his own decisions when everything was fine. When Bryan needed to step in and help Matthew, that’s what he was there for – to execute what Matthew wanted to do. Bryan saw a boundary where he probably thought, “That’s not my actor. He’s Matthew’s actor.”

Restraint

There was so much restraint exhibited there, because with Bryan’s back catalogue and the fact that he helped originate “X-Men” on film, he could have strolled in and started calling the shots. But, he really left us to build a relationship with Matthew, which was clever of him.

Can you talk about being directed by Robert Redford in “The Conspirator”?

Robert Redford was probably the most calming influence I’ve ever had as a director. Bob’s greatest and most used note to me was, “Do less.” It sounds rubbish, like a cliché to do less, but the way he directs is to strip away all the work and let the story come out – you don’t need to do anything else. The story is so strong that you just help tell it. Don’t get in the way of the story. That was quite a scary thing as an actor to begin with, because you’re usually trying to make scenes more interesting. Bob’s point as a director is that you don’t have to make anything interesting.

How was your first year being a father?

When people say, “If you don’t have children, you won’t understand,” that’s not true. The lack of sleep is the thing that you don’t understand. I’m still coming to terms with that. The bags under my eyes – that’s the biggest thing I’ll take away from the first year.

What are your best and worst qualities?

My worst quality is that I’m sometimes very grumpy. I’m getting grumpier the older I get. I never used to think of myself like that. My best quality is, I try to respect everyone. But, with my newfound grumpiness, it doesn’t take long to see if this person doesn’t deserve respect.

Since you used to be a baker, can you share a pastry recipe?

I was very bad at pastry. I did the final decorating for a lot of cakes. However, I recently discovered a recipe which I’m very fond of, because it allows me to make cookies within minutes, from the moment I say, “I want a cookie!” I can have cookies made and ready to eat within 25 minutes and they’re really good. You just need a good mixing bowl and a strong arm. You get the butter out of the fridge warmed up. It’s just self-raising flour, sugar, honey and dried apricots – they go really chewy. No eggs.

What has been your weirdest encounter with a fan?

I don’t want to make the girl feel bad, but she’s a very lovely fan, who made some beautiful things, written a song and put together a Photoshop of my pictures. I didn’t realize that the lady was a fan, but I was talking to her for about 20 minutes. I thought she just happened to be standing next to me in a bar. But I realized that I was being followed there! So, that was kind of weird, though there was nothing strange or threatening. It was just the shock of realizing, “Oh wow, I’ve been tailed.”

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