Scottish actor James McAvoy has undergone a major transformation for his role in the adaptation of Frankie Boyle’s novel Meantime.
Last year it was announced that Sky would be adapting Boyle’s debut novel into a TV series.
Aside from it being produced by Expectation – the production company behind BBC’s Bafta-winning Alma’s Not Normal and Amazon Prime Video’s Clarkson’s Farm – we didn’t know much about it at the time.
Now, we know that McAvoy is playing the lead role in the comedian’s darkly funny crime novel set in Glasgow.
In newly released photos we see the 46-year-old actor looking disheveled on set as Felix McAveety – the Valium addict and aspiring writer who is trying to solve a murder.
He can be seen in a creased grey suit with a beige shirt in one scene, and grey jogging bottoms plus a beige knitted jumper in another.
The novel, released in 2022, follows McAveety as he investigates the killing of his best friend Marina who is found dead in a Glasgow park.
As a suspect in the police’s search to find her killer, he embarks on his own mission with neighbour Donnie to get to the bottom of what happened – albeit with the help of some mind-altering drugs.
McAvoy, who like Frankie Boyle is from Glasgow, is known for playing characters with complex mental health needs.
In 2016 he starred in Split, playing a character who struggled with dissociative identity disorder and had 23 different personalities.
And in 2013 he played the lead in the adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Filth, a story about a drug-taking police officer who abused his power in pursuit of a promotion.
On top of this, McAvoy has played memorable roles like Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Charles Xavier in X-Men.
More recently, he made his directorial debut with California Schemin’, a film about a rap duo from Scotland who pretended to be from the US to secure a record deal.
Speaking to Empire at the end of last month, McAvoy reflected on his busy schedule: ‘I’ve got two acting jobs back to back now, the Paul Andrew Williams film and a TV adaptation of Frankie Boyle’s novel Meantime.
‘Maybe after those two I’ll be like, “Yeah, I don’t want to act anymore.” Or maybe I’ll be like, “F***, I miss acting. I’m never going to direct again.”’
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