James McAvoy recently shared an intriguing “what if” scenario from the early days of his career during an interview on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast with Josh Horowitz. While promoting his upcoming horror film, ‘Speak No Evil’, the X-Men actor revealed that he was on the verge of joining the Harry Potter franchise. He had auditioned for the role of young Tom Riddle, who later becomes Lord Voldemort, in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’. Despite the significant financial offer, McAvoy decided to withdraw from consideration based on his agent’s advice.
McAvoy explained, “I was almost in Harry Potter. I auditioned, and they wanted to put me on a retainer. At the time, I had done very little work, and they were considering keeping several actors on hold for the role.” He added that while the role promised a substantial paycheck—about £40,000, a considerable sum for him then—it also came with a long waiting period of approximately seven months.
Image Courtesy: People
Following a discussion with his agent, McAvoy was advised against taking the role. His agent suggested, “Absolutely not. Don’t do that. We’re going to pursue other opportunities.” McAvoy then chose to perform in a play, where he encountered some negative reactions from an audience member. He humorously noted, “I got booed by a homophobic gentleman, but it was part of my growth.” At that time, he earned £275 a week from the play, contrasting sharply with the Potter offer.
Ultimately, Christian Coulson took on the role of Tom Riddle in the film, with other actors playing younger versions of the character. Although McAvoy missed out on Harry Potter, his career flourished with roles in ‘Atonement’, ‘Split’, ‘Glass’, and four X-Men films. Reflecting on his career, McAvoy expressed no regrets, viewing the experience as a formative part of his journey. His latest film, ‘Speak No Evil’, was released on 13th September.
–Farheen Ali