"It was really last minute"— James McAvoy talks about taking Split role two weeks before shoot after Joaquin Pheonix quit

James McAvoy recalled his "last minute" preparation for the 2016 thriller Split after Joaquin Phoenix dropped out from the project two weeks before filming.

In the September 13 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy explained how he took over the main antagonist role with 23 different personalities in the movie. He stated:

"I think he [Phoenix] ditched it like two weeks before they started shooting. It was really last minute. I had two weeks."

For the unversed, McAvoy featured in the in 2016 psychological thriller by M. Night Shyamalan. His character, Kevin, kidnaps three young girls. Diagnosed with 23 different personalities, he is known by his many names—Dennis, Patricia, Hedwig, The Beast, and more.

The project was a commercial success and reached $40.2 million during its opening weekend with a budget of around $10 million, a per Variety. It garnered 78% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it Shyamalan's third-best scorer.

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James McAvoy said that it took him "a bit longer" to find some of the characters in Split

Explaining his preparation for the film in the podcast, James McAvoy noted that the Split script was "well put together" and that made things pretty clear for him "straight away." However, the actor shared that some of the characters took him "a little bit longer" to find. He explained:

"Patricia came really quick, Dennies came really quick. Hedwig took a little while."

James McAvoy also recounted in the podcast how he was "really nervous" during the read-through. He mentioned that he had to do 15 characters in front of Universal Studio execs and producer Jason Blum.

The Glass actor previously shared how he caught the Split director's eye years ago, eventually giving him a chance to try out for Kevin's role in the movie. During the EW Comic-Con in July 2024, he said that he was at an "EW party in 2017 or maybe 2015" on the roof that "got crazy," where one of his mates "ended up getting knocked out."

He said that the fight caught Shyamalan's attention, leading to the filmmaker looking over at him and wondering if he could play "the guy in Split." As for the famed director, he recalled the same event at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. Shyamalan said that the run-in with McAvoy, who had a buzz-cut look at the time, helped him see the actor as a potential Kevin.

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In related news, James McAvoy's latest horror thriller, Speak No Evil, is out now in movie theaters. He plays a villain named Paddy, a charming but "toxically masculine" family man. He invites an American couple whom he met during a vacation to his family estate in rural England only to terrorize them.