James McAvoy has admitted he had something of a baptism of fire on the set of his first major Hollywood production.
After a handful of small roles early on in his career, the Bafta winner landed a part in the miniseries Band Of Brothers, co-created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
There, he told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, he was on the receiving end of bullying from one of his more established co-stars.
During the interview, the host flashed up a photo from the Band Of Brothers set, with James recalling: “I’m not going to tell you who it was, but on my first day on set, there was, like, a tonne of actors, it was one of those scenes with everybody in it, and we’re all in the bar.
“And I had a scene! All these guys were in it for nine or 10 months, and they get one line in one episode, and one line 10 episodes, and they were all pissed [at me] – I [have] come in for one episode, and I’ve got an arc and a scene and tonnes of lines.
“So, one of the guys in that picture decided to bully me. On my first day as a professional actor out of acting school. He got him and his buddies to just stand, point at me and laugh at me. For, like, three minutes.”
He did, however, praise co-star Dexter Fletcher and Robin Laing for taking him aside and encouraging him to “come hang with us”.
“Apart from that day, it was a nine, but that day it felt like a two,” he said of the overall experience.
The publicity photo shown on Watch What Happens Live featured cast members Donnie Wahlberg, Kirk Acevedo, Scott Grimes, Frank John Hughes, Adam James, Ross McCall, and Neal McDonough.
While he refused to name the star in question, James also ruled out David Schwimmer, pointing out that he wasn’t in the photo.
Band Of Brothers premiered in 2001, and was met with huge critical acclaim.
It went on to win seven Emmys and a Golden Globe, and is still considered among the strongest TV series of all time.
