Actor James McAvoy from the popular X-Men franchise has been told he’s too short for certain film roles. The Scottish actor seems to be one of the busiest working actors in Hollywood these days, starring in three big budget films just this year. It: Chapter Two was one of the most talked about films of the fall with an all-star cast which included Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader, and it brought in $91 million on its opening weekend alone. Audiences definitely also took notice of his role in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split and 2019’s Glass, in which he played a man with 23 different personalities living inside of him — along with a very dangerous beast-like 24th, which they hoped wouldn’t emerge.
Unfortunately, along with every big name in the acting game, there are usually one or two unexpected flops which come along their way. This summer’s Dark Phoenix, which starred Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence, among many other talented actors alongside McAvoy, ended up taking the title of the lowest grossing X-Men film to date. It was such a flop at the box office the movie even left people wondering if there was any future left for the X-Men franchise.
Now, Cinemablend reports that even though James McAvoy has found much success as an actor, he’s also found it hard at times thanks to his height of 5’7″, which saw him being told he’s “too short” for certain roles. Another issue that he finds is, even when he gets cast in a project, often he’s told the filmmakers are “going to have to do something about [his height]“ as “nobody would believe” someone his size would be with whoever might be playing his attractive Hollywood costar.
Even though he wouldn’t reveal a name, McAvoy even spoke about the time when a female costar expressed her displeasure in being cast opposite him, with her implying he was too short to work alongside with. He spoke about how such comments made for an interesting and “tough” time on set, as it was eight weeks of pretending to really like one another when there were obviously hard feelings under the surface. He admits sometimes even the busiest working actors are made to feel like they’re “not good-looking enough” to get the roles they apply for.
Earlier this year, McAvoy had expressed interest in playing The Riddler in the upcoming DCEU’s The Batman, stating DC always does “really good bad guys” in their films. Unfortunately for him, it was announced earlier this fall Paul Dano will play The Riddler in the upcoming DC film. This kind of thing happens a lot in Hollywood though, not just to James McAvoy. Actors express their interest in certain projects or roles in a public forum and producers, directors and casting agents end up going in a different direction for all sorts of reasons. Luckily for McAvoy though, he’s had many hit films behind him and he’s sure to have many more (although probably less X-Men related ones) ahead of him — no matter where his head reaches on the measuring stick.
Source: Cinemablend