James McAvoy punched in Toronto bar days after premiere

James McAvoy was punched by a man in a Toronto bar. Photo / Getty Images

James McAvoy was reportedly punched in a bar in Toronto.

A man is said to have struck the 46-year-old actor at random in Charlotte’s Room at around 11.55pm on Monday. It is claimed McAvoy – who attended the premiere of his directorial debut film California Schemin’ at the Toronto International Film Festival with his wife Lisa Liberati on September 6 – tried to de-escalate the situation while the man was being ejected from the venue.

A source told People magazine: “James was having a casual get-together with the producers of his movie and, as he later learned when speaking with the staff, there was a man who drank too much who was getting escorted out.

“James’ back was to him, and the man just punched him.”

Despite the sudden attack, McAvoy remained at the bar and laughed off the ordeal with the staff and other patrons.

California Schemin’ is based on the true story of two Scottish friends, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, who pretended to be an established Californian rap duo called Silibil N’ Brains, who got a record deal and appeared on MTV.

And McAvoy was drawn to California Schemin’ – based on Bain’s memoir – because he feels it highlights how his fellow Scots are held back from achieving success because of their accent.

He told the Hollywood Reporter: “In my journey, in my world, did I feel less than?

“Yeah, a little bit, because to this day, there just isn’t a lot of work out there for people with Scottish accents, unless they’re able to change their accent.

“I understood there wasn’t a lot of work out there for people who sounded like me.

“Rap music is all about the streets that you come from and what made you. And they let that go.

“So could they keep themselves sane? Could they keep their relationship with each other? Could they keep their relationship with their own sanity while forsaking their roots?

“In a less sensational way, that has been my journey for 30 years.”