Day one as a professional actor turned ugly for James McAvoy on 'Band of Brothers'
James McAvoy says a co-star’s bullying wrecked his Band of Brothers first day — and he’s spelling out why.
On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, James McAvoy said his first day on HBO ’s Band of Brothers went sideways fast. During a crowded bar scene, he recalled, one unnamed co-star rallied others to point at him and laugh — and it went on for minutes. Fresh out of drama school and filming his very first professional job, McAvoy said he rated that day “two out of ten,” even though he still calls the overall Band of Brothers experience a nine.
“One of the guys in that picture decided to bully me, on my first day as a professional actor out of acting school,” McAvoy said.
McAvoy didn’t name the person. When Cohen held up a cast photo, McAvoy said the bully was one of the men shown — and specifically ruled out David Schwimmer, who wasn’t in that shot.
Where he fit into Easy Company
McAvoy appears in Episode 4, “Replacements”, a standout hour that tracks the friction between Easy Company’s battle-tested vets and the green troops dropped in to fill the ranks. The men briefly regroup in England before parachuting into German-occupied Holland for Operation Market Garden, aimed at liberating Eindhoven and capturing key bridges.
He plays Private First Class James W. Miller, one of the new arrivals assigned to Staff Sergeant Denver “Bull” Randleman’s squad. Unlike some regulars who spent nine or ten months on the shoot and only snagged a line here or there, McAvoy’s single-episode turn came with an actual arc, multiple scenes and plenty of dialogue — a contrast he said existed on set as well.
Even with that rough welcome, McAvoy told Cohen he still looks back on Band of Brothers as a nine-out-of-ten experience. The HBO World War II drama, from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, premiered in 2001.