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March 31, 2026, 8:44 p.m. ET
James McAvoy is a dad again.
The 46-year-old actor let slip in an interview with The Guardian, published on March 31, that he and his wife, Lisa Liberati, share a son. While news of the “X-Men” actor growing his family is new, the famously private actor’s youngest child is school-aged now.
“Having a kid at 42 is definitely easier in some ways,” McAvoy said. “I worry less. I’m a bit more philosophical. But it’s also harder, because you’re just older and [more tired].”
In a 2022 interview with the same newspaper, McAvoy revealed he and Liberati were recently married, years after they met on the set of “Split,” where his wife-to-be worked as director M. Night Shyamalan’s assistant.
The couple is based in London, but they also spend time in Liberati’s hometown of Philadelphia.
The acclaimed stage and screen actor, who has starred in blockbusters (“It: Chapter Two” and “The Chronicles of Narnia”) and award-winning films (“Atonement” and “The Last King of Scotland”) alike, married his “Shameless” costar Anne-Marie Duff in 2006. They announced their divorce in 2016 and coparent their son, Brendan, 15.
Why James McAvoy stays out of the spotlight
When asked in 2011 whether he’d act alongside his then-wife in another project, McAvoy told USA TODAY: “I’m very big in saying that I don’t agree that if you put yourself in the spotlight, you have to accept it. I do think if you work together as husband and wife, you’re kind of asking for it.”
“We’ve played it very cautiously. We don’t take free [stuff]. It’s who we are individually and it’s also a strategy,” McAvoy added. “We respect the media, and we use it respectfully to sell movies and sell theater.”
He continued: “We don’t like going to parties or premieres if we’re not involved. If my career isn’t going that well, I’d rather it flounder than desperately trying to show up on red carpets: ‘I’m for hire! Remember me?'”
The Glasgow-born actor is promoting his directorial debut, the musical “California Schemin’,” which is based on the true story of the Scottish rap duo Silibil N’ Brains. It is set to be released on April 10 in the U.K.
“I’m really proud of it,” he told the BBC. “It’s definitely the film I wanted to make, but it was mega stressful and a real eye-opener into what all these directors that I’ve worked with for 30 years must be going through, trying to get me to do exactly what they want me to do. They go, ‘Action!’ and then I don’t do it.”
“I thought I’d be some sort of actor whisperer with 30 years of acting behind me,” McAvoy added. “But I learned that doesn’t necessarily translate into me being brilliant at talking to actors.”
https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2026/03/31/USAT/89411285007-james-mc-avoy-and-lisa-liberati-son.jpg?crop=4715,2652,x210,y114&width=3200&height=1800&format=pjpg&auto=webp
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2026/03/31/james-mcavoy-wife-lisa-liberati-son/89411203007/
KiMi Robinson
Almontather Rassoul
