James McAvoy claims Band Of Brothers co-star bullied him on set

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By JACQUELINE LINDENBERG 19:18 13 Oct 2026, updated 00:50 14 Oct 2026

James McAvoy claimed that one of his Band Of Brothers co-stars had bullied him while on set of the 2001 war drama miniseries.

The 47-year-old Scottish actor got candid about the incident during Monday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live.

The star had been asked by host Andy Cohen to rate his experience on a number of projects, with the HBO miniseries quickly coming up.

McAvoy took a moment before standing up to get a closer look at a cast photo that had popped up on a screen nearby before saying, ‘Is he in there? No, I don’t think he is in there – Ah! Yeah he is.’

The photo showed cast members Philip Barantini, Donnie Wahlberg, Kirk Acevedo, Scott Grimes, Neal McDonough, Adam James, Frank John Hughes and Ross McCall.

After going back to his seat, he then explained: ‘On my first day on set, there was like a ton of actors. It was one of those scenes with everybody in it, and we’re at a bar.’

McAvoy added: ‘I had a scene and all these guys were in it for like nine months, 10 months, and they get one line in one episode, and one line 10 episodes later. And they were all pissed.’

The Atonement star continued: ‘And I come in for one episode and I’ve got like an arc and scenes. I’ve got tons of lines.

‘And so, one of the guys in that picture decided to bully me on my first day as a professional actor out of acting school,’ McAvoy claimed.

He further alleged that the co-star, whom he did not name, ‘got him and his buddies to stand, point and laugh at me for like, three minutes.’

Cohen cut in to add with dismay, ‘That’s terrible!’

The star added that Dexter Fletcher and Robin Laing ‘took me aside, they were like, “Come hang with us man.”‘

McAvoy expressed that the experience of working on the project had been a nine out of 10. However, the day he was allegedly bullied on set had been a two.

The actor then told Cohen that David Schwimmer had not been the individual that bullied him.

The Daily Mail has reached out to reps of McAvoy, Barantini, Wahlberg, Acevedo, Grimes, McCall, McDonough, James, Hughes and HBO for comment, but has yet to hear back.

McAvoy had appeared in the fourth episode titled Replacements in Band Of Brothers.

He had taken on the role of Private First Class James W Miller in the 10-episode project, which went on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries.

The show was created by both Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, with other cast members including Colin Hanks, Dominic Cooper and Damian Lewis.

McAvoy has been keeping busy and recently celebrated his directorial debut with the biographical musical film titled California Schemin.’

The premise is: ‘Two Scottish lads from Dundee conned the music industry by pretending to be an established Californian rap duo, bagging a record deal and appearing on MTV until their scam unraveled,’ per IMDB.

The project had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and the movie officially released in the United States on October 9.

‘What I’ve found in becoming a director, even though I’m not directing anything right now, is that my unpaid workload has doubled,’ he explained during an interview with Empire.

I’m Andrew Court, LA Showbiz Editor and celebrity connoisseur.

I’ve spent the past decade chasing down celebrity scoops and scandals, and now I’m bringing the best of them straight to your inbox.

‘Now I’m reading scripts as an actor and reading scripts as a director; I’m developing things for other people.’

McAvoy added: ‘It’s great. It’s very creative. But I’m also like, “When’s the bit where I get to sit in my pants at 3pm and watch a film again?”‘

The actor also told The Hollywood Reporter that the film ‘was the right piece of material for me.’

‘I’ve always wanted to tell stories about people from working-class backgrounds who don’t have the opportunity that’s afforded to other people.’

The star further told the outlet: ‘I’ve wanted to tell stories that are entertaining and aspirational.

‘They’ve got humor, and they are movies, not just gritty black-and-white films.’

Other recent projects under the actor’s belt include the 2026 supernatural drama Faith, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Earlier this year in March, McAvoy revealed that he secretly welcomed his second son with wife Lisa Liberati four years ago.

The actor is also dad to son Brendan, 15, whom he shares with ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff.

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