James McAvoy – yes, our favorite mind-bending, X-Men-shaping, Scottish superstar – was this close to being part of the wizarding world. In a plot twist worthy of a J.K. Rowling novel, James has revealed that he nearly played the angsty teenage version of Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. That’s right, the Dark Lord himself almost had a Scottish accent. Can you even imagine Voldemort saying, “Yer a wizard, Harry… and ye owe me a pint!”?
In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (which is basically just “James McAvoy spills all his almost-career moments”), the 45-year-old actor shared this near-magical moment from his early career. “I was nearly in Harry Potter. Almost,” James said, clearly still haunted by the what-could-have-been of wizardry and broomsticks. Apparently, he was in the running to play Tom Riddle, the guy who’d later go bald, lose his nose, and start a snake cult.
But alas, the real villain in this story wasn’t Voldemort. It was… James’s agent. (Cue dramatic music.) According to James, she swooped in like Dobby in a bad mood and said, “Not today, Potter!” The reason? They wanted to put young McAvoy on a retainer. Now, for non-Hollywood, a retainer means “we’ll pay you to sit around and do nothing for seven months while we decide if we actually want to use you.” Sounds like a dream, right? Seven months of lounging about, drinking Butterbeer, and practicing your best “Avada Kedavra” face.
Well, apparently, James’s agent thought otherwise. She looked at the fat stack of cash (£40,000, aka wizarding world galleons) and said, “Absolutely not. We’re going to do something better.” And by “better,” she meant a play where James was booed by a homophobic gentleman. Clearly, the Wizarding World missed out on that gem of an experience.
James shared that while the money sounded like a mountain of gold to young, nearly-broke McAvoy, the downside was that he wouldn’t be able to do any other work for seven months. So, following his agent’s very bold advice, he passed on becoming the teenage Voldy. Instead, he went on to star in a play that paid him the grand sum of £275 a week. Yup, you read that right: £275. That’s like, what… a new pair of glasses and a couple of pints? No flying brooms for James.
And how does James feel about his decision now? Full of regret? Sobbing into his Gryffindor scarf at night? Nope. He’s totally cool with it. “It was part of the making of me,” James said, with all the Zen of someone who has clearly moved on to much more terrifying roles (hello, Split). He doesn’t seem too broken up about not playing Voldemort Jr., which, to be honest, would’ve been a bizarre crossover with Professor X. The X-Men fighting Death Eaters? Actually… let’s write that movie.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering who snatched the role of young Voldy from James’s grasp, it was Christian Coulson. Yeah, exactly – Google him. No shade to Christian, but we’re just saying… James McAvoy as Tom Riddle? That would’ve been magical.
In the same interview, McAvoy also spilled the tea about landing his role in Split. Apparently, he only got it because an Oscar-winning actor decided to drop out at the last minute. Who that actor was, we may never know – but we’re sure James sent them a bouquet of flowers for flaking.
James McAvoy, almost a wizard, but destined for something even weirder – fighting bad guys in a wheelchair and battling 24 personalities in one body. Ain’t life full of surprises?
