James McAvoy says a co-star bullied him on his first day as a professional actor on HBO’s “Band of Brothers,” though he declined to say who.
The 47-year-old recalled the episode Monday on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” during a game of “Spill the IMDb-Tea” with host Andy Cohen and fellow guest Peter Krause. Shown a photo of the series cast, McAvoy said he would keep the name private but described what happened. “One of the guys in that picture decided to bully me,” he said. According to McAvoy, the actor enlisted friends to stand, point and laugh at him for about three minutes.
McAvoy had just left acting school when he joined the 2001 miniseries, created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. He played Pfc. James W. Miller in the fourth episode, “Replacements.” The incident came during a crowded bar scene.
He offered an explanation for the hostility. Many cast members had spent nine or ten months on the production for a single line in an episode, he said, while he arrived for one episode with an arc and plenty of dialogue. He said resentment built among them.
Cohen and Krause guessed at the culprit, but McAvoy confirmed none of the names. He did rule out David Schwimmer, who did not appear in the photo shown on screen. Cohen called the story terrible.
McAvoy also credited two colleagues for easing the day. Dexter Fletcher, now a director, and Scottish actor Robin Laing took him aside and invited him to spend time with them. He rated the production a nine out of ten “apart from that day,” and said the day itself felt like a two.
The account rests on McAvoy’s word alone, and he named no one, so the claim remains unverified. The series went on to win several Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. It follows a company of U.S. Army paratroopers through World War II and is based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s book.
During the same appearance, McAvoy reflected on his 1995 film debut, “The Near Room.” He spent about six months in New Zealand on a different production but worked 20 days, and used the downtime to hike and camp.
