From zero to hero

James McAvoy never thought of himself as an action movie hero. The 29-year-old Scottish actor, whom audiences have seen recently in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Last King of Scotland” and “Atonement,” admits it came as a bit of surprise to be cast as the hero in “Wanted,” the story of a secret fraternity of superpowered assassins.

“Doing straight dramas was definitely easier than this,” McAvoy said during a visit to Japan. “The level of energy and commitment needed to make this sort of movie is so much higher. You have to make audiences believe that the characters are actually doing what they seem to be doing and it is really testing physically. I woke up in pain every morning.“

Based on Mark Millar’s graphic comic book novel series and directed by Russian Timur Bekmambetov, “Wanted” tells the story of Wesley, a stressed-out office drone and human doormat. One day, his world changes when he is recruited by an ancient band of assassins who inform him that “he is the one.” With juiced-up DNA he didn’t know he had, Wes is soon learning the killing techniques from a vixen assassin named Fox (Angelina Jolie) and the group’s paternal leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Along the way, he masters some neat tricks like shooting bullets that swerve around people he doesn’t want to hit.

McAvoy said he learned a lot from his two co-stars. “Morgan Freeman really does have the voice of God,” he joked. “When I was in doubt over a scene, I’d just do it or say it like Morgan. As for Angelina, she was fantastic to work with because she doesn’t take herself or the movie seriously. It’s just entertainment and we had a lot of fun.”

The Scottish star said his biggest challenge was to find a balance between who his character is at the start and who he is at the finish. “There would have been no point in casting me if it was just going to be another superhero movie with a tough guy. Wes doesn’t have any powers. He starts off as a wimp and sort of reinvents himself.“

He hastened to add that “Wanted” is not a film for kids like so many other action movies are nowadays. “It’s a violent fantasy for grown-ups, but with a terrific sense of humor. I’ve never made a film like that before, especially with the way that Timur was changing ideas before, during and after we’d shoot scenes. He would often shake scenes up by asking us to imagine obstacles. Some weird stuff came out. It was actually an exciting experience for me to view the final version 9 months after I finished work on it to see how it turned out.”

An added treat for McAvoy during his visit to Japan was meeting singer Daigo (the grandson of former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita). Daigo provides the voice for Wes in the Japanese version of "Wanted," as well as singing the closing theme song (for Japan only). “I was really impressed when I saw a snip from the Japanese version,” said McAvoy. “I’ve done voice-over work and it is really hard to get it right in action movies. Daigo did a fantastic job, especially in that scene where I am sitting in a car that is being flipped over.”

Now that McAvoy has cut his teeth in action films, what’s next? Perhaps he could be a future James Bond? “Ah, no, I don’t quite see myself as 007. I could be 008 who gets killed at the beginning. But thanks for asking.”

© Japan Today