Claim: James McAvoy was the main character in State of Play.

James McAvoy -LRB- -LSB- ˈmækəvɔɪ -RSB- born 21 April 1979 -RRB- is a Scottish actor . He made his acting début as a teen in 1995 's The Near Room and continued to make mostly television appearances until 2003 , when his feature film career began and he continued to work in both areas from then on . His notable television work includes the drama show State of Play , the adult comedy-drama Shameless , and the science fiction show Frank Herbert 's Children of Dune .   Besides screen acting , McAvoy has performed in several West End productions , receiving three nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor . He has also done voice work for animated films including Gnomeo & Juliet and Arthur Christmas -LRB- both 2011 -RRB- .   In 2003 , McAvoy appeared in a lead role in Bollywood Queen , a British Indian take on the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet , directed by Jeremy Wooding . This was followed by a supporting role , the faun Mr. Tumnus , in The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe -LRB- 2005 -RRB- . His performance in Kevin Macdonald 's drama The Last King of Scotland -LRB- 2006 -RRB- garnered him several award nominations . The critically acclaimed romantic drama war film Atonement -LRB- 2007 -RRB- earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination . He appeared opposite Angelina Jolie as a newly trained assassin in the action thriller Wanted -LRB- 2008 -RRB- .   Since then , he is known for playing the young Professor Charles Xavier in the 2011 superhero film X-Men : First Class , a role he reprised in X-Men : Days of Future Past -LRB- 2014 -RRB- , and X-Men : Apocalypse -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . McAvoy starred in the 2013 crime comedy-drama film Filth for which he won Best Actor in the British Independent Film Awards . In 2016 , he portrayed Kevin , a man with 23 personalities in his body , in M. Night Shyamalan 's Split , for which he received critical acclaim .