Fear of Fame

BB Guns and Sci-Fi

And if not her, then how about Jesse Spencer?

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Several years ago, Spencer shared a house with McAvoy in London, where the two had met on the set of the BBC drama "Lorna Doone" in 2000. Now, Spencer lives in Los Angeles, playing Dr. Robert Chase on the popular Fox series "House." It's a much safer existence, he says.

"There were four guys living in that house, and we used to put on sunglasses and have these BB gun wars that went on for hours," Spencer says. "We wound up turning the house into a war zone, turning tables onto their sides, building forts. We used to wait for the guy who wasn't home and two or three of us would ambush him when he walked in the door. We screwed around a lot.

"So yeah, James is serious and thoughtful, a very deep guy who has a lot to say about certain things. But he's also a lot of fun to be around. He's a clown."

And when he wasn't firing BB guns in the house, McAvoy watched a lot of television, Spencer says.

"The funny thing about James is that he's so good at dramas and comedies, but what he really loves watching on TV is crappy sci-fi. He'd sit there for hours and watch it. And I'd go: Why do you like that? What's in it for you? But he loves it. I really wouldn't be surprised to see him as the captain on the USS Enterprise."

Or how about the chief engineer? Internet rumor: McAvoy is going to play Scotty in the upcoming "Star Trek" movie directed by J.J. Abrams.

Only, McAvoy says, it's "sooooo not true." For now, it's a sharp turn post-"Atonement," when McAvoy stars in "Wanted," an action flick based on a comic-book mini-series. He plays an office grunt who becomes an assassin. He was initially rejected for the role. Didn't project as a leading man. Then the producers changed their minds. "They wanted someone geeky," he says. Filming wrapped over the summer.

Co-stars: Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, not necessarily in that order. "It's good entertainment," McAvoy says. "And the fact that Angelina's in it, being violent, killing a lot of people, that's gonna save us." He laughs.

McAvoy, who speaks with a thick Scottish brogue (do becomes "dewwww," etc.), scrubbed his accent for the part, though he won't demonstrate upon request.

Between the releases of "Atonement" and "Wanted," McAvoy might be busy with something else. Awards season is coming up. The ground is vibrating with whispers. McAvoy is trying to tune them out, but . . .

"We've heard a lot of that kind of stuff," he says. He frowns.

Nominations are announced in January. The Academy Awards are in February. Already, McAvoy is annoyed.

"When people start talking about you, it's like: Oh, [expletive] off! You have to walk away from it."

"Don't get me wrong, if it happened, I'd be over the moon. But I dunno. Just because somebody says you might be nominated for an Oscar . . . ehm . . ."

And then, McAvoy's handler arrives, and the actor vaults from his chair.

James McAvoy, on the verge of stardom, is ready to get out of here.