James McAvoy Recounts Near-Fatal Lung Collapse and Bullying Incident

Actor James McAvoy has revealed that he nearly died following a collapsed lung incident that occurred after a medical procedure. He discussed the health scare during an appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast.

McAvoy explained that doctors performed a biopsy on his lung after discovering a shadow, which fortunately turned out not to be cancerous. However, the procedure was 'botched,' leading to his lungs collapsing a couple of days later while he was at home alone. He spent two to three weeks in the hospital as medical professionals attempted to clear his lungs, with one suggested treatment involving a surgical cleaning.

During his recovery, McAvoy focused on his physical transformation for the 2019 film Glass, the sequel to Split. He reprised his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a character with multiple personalities, notably portraying 'The Beast' for much of the film. McAvoy sought a trainer to help him achieve a physique suitable for the role, describing his goal as looking like "a Greek f**king figure from mythology." The trainer initially focused on rehabilitation, as McAvoy could only walk and not run or jog, before helping him gain weight rapidly.

In a separate incident, McAvoy also recently discussed an experience of being bullied on the set of the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers. He recalled that on his first day as a professional actor, a co-star and his friends targeted him, pointing and laughing for several minutes. McAvoy noted that other actors, Dexter Fletcher and Robin Laing, intervened and offered him support. Despite this negative experience on one day, McAvoy rated his overall time working on the project as a nine out of ten.