James McAvoy says unnamed co-star bullied him on Band of Brothers first day
James McAvoy says a co-star bullied him on his first day on the set of Band of Brothers, and he still will not name the person.
McAvoy told the story on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Bravo's late-night interactive talk show, while playing a game called Spill the IMDb-tea. The game asks guests to look back at past projects. McAvoy appeared alongside Peter Krause in Season 23, Episode 163, according to Bravo's episode listing. Bravo
It was his first day as a professional actor out of acting school. He said he was shooting a bar scene with a large ensemble cast when the incident happened.
The unnamed actor, he said, got McAvoy and his own friends to stand up, point at McAvoy and laugh at him for about three minutes. McAvoy described it as bullying and declined to identify who did it. Deadline
Two other co-stars stepped in afterwards. McAvoy said Dexter Fletcher and Robin Laing invited him to hang out with them after the incident.
He still rates the job highly. He gave his overall Band of Brothers experience a 9 out of 10. That first day, he said, was a 2 out of 10.
Host Andy Cohen pressed him for a name. Cohen said he would ask again during the commercial break, but McAvoy said he would not confirm who it was. McAvoy did rule one person out, saying it was not David Schwimmer. While he spoke, producers showed a group cast photo that included Donnie Wahlberg, Kirk Acevedo, Scott Grimes, Philip Barantini, Neal McDonough, Adam James, Frank John Hughes and Ross McCall. McAvoy did not identify anyone in that photo.
Band of Brothers was a 2001 drama series created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, based on Stephen E. Ambrose's non-fiction book of the same name.
What makes this stand out is the contrast. For a newcomer on day one, three minutes can feel very long. For fans, this means little change to a series finished more than two decades ago, except a clearer picture of how that first job felt.
