James McAvoy on Fatherhood in His 40s: "I Worry Less" as an Older Dad

The actor has shared that he "worries less" and is "more philosophical" after becoming a dad again in his 40s, reports 'Female First UK'.

The 46-year-old actor has a son, who was born in 2010, with his ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff and he became a father for a second time in 2022 when he welcomed a little boy with his second wife Lisa Liberati, now James has opened up about how his experience of parenting is different now he's in his 40s.

He told 'The Guardian', "Having a kid at 42 is definitely easier in some ways. I worry less. I'm a bit more philosophical. But it's also harder, because you're just older and tireder".

James has also stepped behind the camera to direct his first film, California Schemin', and he admits taking on a new job in his 40s has also come with a lot of extra stress which has kept him awake at night.

He said, "I'm getting all that first-timer stress in my 40s. When we were shooting the film, I'd wake up at 2.30am with the film buzzing in my head. That's the time that you work your socks off, burn the midnight oil, run the extra mile, and usually when you're doing that, you're in your 20s".

As per 'Female First UK', the film tells the true story of two Scottish rappers who ditch their accents and pretend to be American in a bid for success, and James admits the plot and the film itself represent an ongoing struggle for Scottish entertainers.

He said, "If I was making this film set in Boston about the exact same age group, there'd be two movie stars (rather than less well known actors Samuel Bottomley and Seamus McLean Ross) playing those roles. There's maybe five actors in Scotland who could get stuff (movies) greenlit, and not definitely, if it's set in Scotland, Gerry, Karen Gillen, me, Richard Madden".

"And we're all over 35 and only one of them is a woman. I don't know why that is, because it's not like we don't make actors. So where's that 21-year-old movie star?", he added.

- IANS