James McAvoy Alleges Bullying by Band of Brothers Co-Star
The actor recounted an incident on the set of the 2001 HBO miniseries where a fellow cast member allegedly singled him out.
Actor James McAvoy has claimed that a co-star on the acclaimed 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers bullied him on his first day of filming. McAvoy, 47, shared the anecdote on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, recalling an instance where he felt targeted by a fellow actor.
During a segment where he was asked to rate his experiences on various projects, the miniseries came up. McAvoy identified a cast photo and pointed out that one of the individuals present was the alleged bully. He explained that on his initial day on set, which involved a scene with numerous actors at a bar, he had a significant number of lines and a storyline arc. This contrasted with many other actors who had been involved for months and had only minor roles with few lines.
"And so, one of the guys in that picture decided to bully me on my first day as a professional actor out of acting school," McAvoy stated. He further alleged that this unnamed co-star orchestrated a situation where he and others stood, pointed, and laughed at McAvoy for approximately three minutes.
McAvoy noted that actors Dexter Fletcher and Robin Laing intervened, taking him aside and offering support. Despite this negative experience, McAvoy rated his overall time working on Band of Brothers a nine out of ten, though he described the specific day of the alleged bullying as a two.
When host Andy Cohen expressed dismay, McAvoy clarified that David Schwimmer was not the individual involved. The Scottish actor played Private First Class James W. Miller in the fourth episode of the 10-part series, which was created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and later won an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries. While McAvoy did not name the co-star, a photograph displayed during the interview included cast members such as Philip Barantini, Donnie Wahlberg, Kirk Acevedo, Scott Grimes, Neal McDonough, Adam James, Frank John Hughes, and Ross McCall.
McAvoy has recently been involved in other projects, including celebrating his directorial debut with the film California Schemin'. He also shared in March that he and his wife, Lisa Liberati, had secretly welcomed their second son four years prior. He is also father to a 15-year-old son from his previous marriage.