James McAvoy reacts to Christopher Abbott’s casting as Professor Xavier in new ‘X-Men’ film (exclusive) - Entertainment Weekly

Once again, Scottish actor James McAvoy has put himself into the Star Trek conversation, with another pitch to play a younger version of Sir Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. James McAvoy has had a varied career garnering awards and accolades in dramas like The Last King of Scotland, as well as more mainstream outings like playing a young Charles Xavier in several prequels to the X-Men films featuring Sir Patrick Stewart in the same role. McAvoy is an avowed Star Trek fan, and when Star Trek: Picard was in development, he volunteered his services on more than one occasion to play a young Jean-Luc Picard, noting he was uniquely qualified.

James McAvoy is opening up about a traumatic moment early on in his acting career. The “X-Men” actor was asked to rank experiences on set during a stop by Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live” earlier this week. During the bit, McAvoy was asked about his stint on “Band of Brothers.” “Alright so ― I’m not gonna tell you who it was, [but] on my first day on the set there was a ton of actors. It was one of those scenes with everybody in it, and we’re all at a bar,” he shared, before explaining why tensions could’ve been high on set. James McAvoy was ready to spill the tea. Bravo via Getty Images“And I had a scene. And all these guys were in it for like, nine months, 10 months, and they get one line in one episode, and one line 10 episodes later,” he said. “And they were all pissed. I come in for one episode, and I’ve got, like an arc and scenes ― I’ve got tons of lines.”McAvoy looked at the photo of “Band of Brothers” castmates on the screen and confirmed that one of the actors who bullied him was indeed in the picture. “One of the guys in that picture decided to bully me. On my first day as a professional actor out of acting school,” he said as the audience oohed and aahed.

See more of our coverage in your search results. James McAvoy’s only “consistent” residuals come from his 2016 movie “Split.”

He's booked & busyPublished Oct 11, 2026•1:00pmGregory Pace/ShutterstockIf you started watching Netflix’s East of Eden and immediately thought, “Wait, I know that guy,” you’re definitely not alone. Christopher Abbott has been working steadily for more than a decade, popping up in everything from HBO dramas to Oscar-winning movies, and his latest role is one of his biggest yet. Abbott stars as Adam Trask in Netflix’s seven-episode adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic 1952 novel. Created by Zoe Kazan, the series follows the Trask family across generations, with Florence Pugh playing Cathy Ames and Mike Faist as Adam’s brother, Charles. Abbott’s Adam is a morose Army veteran who falls for Cathy and heads west with her to California, where his life takes some major turns. COURTESY OF NETFLIXBut if Abbott’s face is giving you major déjà vu, there’s a very good chance you remember him from HBO’s Girls. Abbott played Charlie Dattolo, Marnie Michaels’ on-again, off-again boyfriend, appearing in 13 episodes between 2012 and 2016. Charlie starts out as the sweet, devoted boyfriend before the relationship gets considerably more complicated.

The teaching staff adjusts to all the new roles as Abbott Elementary is back on ABC on Wednesday night for Season 6. It’s not quite a Guns N’ Roses moment, but Abbott Elementary returns for its Season 6 premiere, welcoming viewers to the “Jungle Classroom,” airing on Wednesday night on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET. It is going to be all laughs tonight as Scrubs returns for an all-new episode at 8 p.m. ET before Abbott. This Emmy-winning comedy has been renewed for 22 more episodes in Season 6, and the biggest news is that Janine and Gregory are officially back together after a falling-out over not being able to plan and agree on a vacation destination. But everything is right again at our favorite elementary school, and some major job shifts are coming this season. Last season, several other public schools shut down, and Abbott had to absorb some of them. While those extra faces will bring a lot more work to the staff, it gave Gregory a chance to come one step closer to his dream of becoming a principal. Gregory was promoted to Assistant Principal, and maybe he can bring some balance to Principal Ava’s unorthodox style.