James McAvoy was sucker-punched by a man at a bar in Toronto while attending the Toronto International Film Festival. He was with the producers of his latest film when a random man at the bar, Charlotte’s Room, attacked the actor. According to PEOPLE, he was having a quiet night at the bar on Monday night when the man caught him off guard.
The other attendees, along with the actor, quickly tried to remove the man. The X-Men actor de-escalated the situation. He tried to calm down the man before he was removed from the bar. A source who is close to McAvoy and allegedly witnessed the incident told PEOPLE:
James was having a casual get-together with the producers of his movie and, as he later learned when speaking with the staff, there was a man who drank too much who was getting escorted out. James’ back was to him and the man just punched him.
The Split actor didn’t sustain any major injuries from the punch to the face. He stayed at the bar with his colleagues and even laughed off the incident. There were no official complaints reported about the incident, suggesting that it was the end of things.
James McAvoy Was Premiering His Directorial Debut at TIFF
James McAvoy attended the premiere of his directorial debut, California Schemin’, with his wife Lisa Liberati at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday. His film was based on the true story of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, two aspiring Scottish rappers, who rebrand themselves as the bad-boy rap duo, Silibil N’ Brains, for the American audience.
It is based on Bain’s autobiography, Straight Outta Scotland. The screenplay was adapted by Archie Thomson and Elaine Gracie. McAvoy earlier shared his experience as a debutant director during a chat with PEOPLE at the festival. He shared that it was “stressful” but “amazing.” He shared:
I’ve loved telling stories as an actor for 30 years. It’s an extension of that. I now love telling stories as a director because I get more tools with which to tell those stories. It was a privilege.
McAvoy also shared with Variety that he was a big fan of Bain and Boyd, despite their elaborate con. He compared them to folk heroes like Robin Hood. He shared, “Nobody cares that they got caught. Nobody cares that they never made it. We just love that they fucking went down there and played the system.”
The film starred Séamus McLean Ross and Samuel Bottomley as Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain, joined by Lucy Halliday, Rebekah Murrell, and McAvoy.
This Isn’t the First Time that James McAvoy Got Punched in the Face
James McAvoy often takes things too far for an authentic portrayal of his characters. We have heard stories about him fainting on the set of The Last King of Scotland after filming a torture scene that went too far. During the filming of Filth, he went for a realistic action shot where he got punched hard on the face by a woman.
The report that emerged during the filming of Filth shared that he had allegedly asked a German escort to punch him. However, the actor clarified to Riverfront Times that his scene partner was not an escort but a German actress. He admitted that he did ask her to punch him in the face for real. He described that his co-star was “rather good” with the punch.
The actor further shared that the pain from the punch didn’t affect him as much as another scene in the film. He shared that the most difficult scene in the film was his character forcing a 15-year-old girl to perform a s*xual act with him. McAvoy shared, “After that there really isn’t any scene in the film that I had any trouble with.”
What do you think of the incident that happened at the Toronto bar? Let us know in the comments below.
