James McAvoy has credited his grandmother with helping him not to be afraid of failure.

The 45-year-old actor spent a lot of time with his beloved granny as a child and lived with her for a time after his parents' divorce - and he believes she gave him the tools to survive the tough side of working in the entertainment industry.

He told the Guardian newspaper: "I’m really lucky in a lot of ways, mainly that my granny’s all over me. I’ve definitely got a large dose of what she has ...

"She doesn’t really give a f*** about what anybody thinks of her. So it liberates her. I’m definitely capable of being embarrassed, but I don’t feel embarrassed about being masculine enough, I don’t feel embarrassed about getting it wrong, or not being clued-up, not knowing something that other people know."

James went on to add: "I think I’m desensitised because I’ve spent my life on screens and stages being either clapped or booed, and it’s a gamble. I don’t always come off winning that bet. I can deal with criticism because I’ve failed, badly, on both platforms, and I’m good with it."

James will be next seen on screen in 'Speak No Evil ' - a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name - and he recently admitted he based his toxic character Paddy on infamous influencer Andrew Tate.

He told Empire magazine: "The thing I thought I could exploit in the character was, he thinks he’s a bit of a ... West Country Andrew Tate.

"He’s like, ‘I’m going to teach you what it’s like to be a man again'. But there’s a sort of polite face on it that isn’t quite Andrew Tate, enough of a sheen of, ‘I’m not one of those guys'.

"[Paddy’s] challenging you, ‘Do you have a big enough d*** to have a drink with me?’, Or, ‘I’m sorry, this is too much for you because you’re not real enough'."