'Speak No Evil' Exclusive Interview: James McAvoy

Moviefone talks to James McAvoy about 'Speak No Evil' and playing his character. "Paddy's a lion searching for the beast that he can take down the easiest."

Opening in theaters on September 13th is the new psychological thriller ‘Speak No Evil’, which was directed by James Watkins (‘The Woman in Black’) and is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name.

The movie stars James McAvoy (‘X-Men: First Class’ and ‘Split’), Mackenzie Davis (‘Terminator: Dark Fate’), Scoot McNairy (‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’), and Aisling Franciosi (‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’).

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James McAvoy stars in 'Speak No Evil'.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with James McAvoy to talk about his work on ‘Speak No Evil’, his first reaction to the screenplay, his approach to his character and his motivations, working with the cast, and collaborating on set with director James Watkins.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and director James Watkins.

(L to R) Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) in 'Speak No Evil', directed by James Watkins.

Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and why did you want to be part of this project?

James McAvoy: There are two things. I really liked the fact that there was this couple that were good people, and they were unhappy, and they had a relationship that you would never wish on your worst enemy. Then you've got these bad people who are so incredibly deeply, passionately in love, and you know they're having sex every other minute, and It's the kind of relationship you could only dream of. I thought that was such a good juxtaposition to have the bad people be the thing you aspire to, and the good people be the thing you would never want to be.

MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing Paddy and what are his true motivations?

JM: I mean, his motivations are completely selfish and self-serving, and he's a complete narcissist, and he's a sociopath. He's toxically masculine and happy about it, which is the key thing I think, was that as much as he's all these bad things, he does have one thing that not everybody does. Lots of good people don't have this. He has the secret to being happy. He's got loads of rage issues, he's got loads of anger, all that, and he's abusive and he's manipulative, but he's happy and that is such a draw for people to be around. You can go like, how’s that person got there? I want to get there because so many good people don't have that capacity, it seems.

(L to R) Agnes Dalton (Alix West Lefler), Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) in 'Speak No Evil', directed by James Watkins.

MF: What was it like working with Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy?

JM: Mackenzie and Scoot were incredible, as was Aisling who played Ciara, Paddy's wife, but I think Louise played by Mackenzie is less vulnerable. She sees the problem that Paddy could present much earlier. Ben is played by Scoot, and he gives an incredible performance. Scoot is much more like Paddy in real life than I am, not sociopathic or dangerous, but he's a man of the woods. He hunts and he can fix things and can build his own house. He's much more Paddy than me, and he plays this injured, kind of hurt masculine creature so well, and so he's much more vulnerable. If Paddy's like a lion searching the herd for the lame beast that he can take down the easiest, when he sees Ben, he’s like, “That's our mark. That's who we want”. He's just so ripe for the brainwashing that Paddy wants to perform.

MF: The film deals with some dark subjects but also includes kids in the cast, what was it like working with them on set?

JM: They were great. They had the summer of their lives. It was like two kids, similar age, running about a big farmstead with loads of countryside around us, searching for bugs and doing arts and crafts and doing class, and then coming in every now and again and doing a really messed up scene about abuse. So, it was interesting and strange to see just how relaxed and okay they were. We were constantly checking in with them, constantly checking in with their families and their chaperones to make sure everything was okay. But they seemed great, and so professional, admirably professional like up there with Saoirse Ronan when she was 12 years old professional. They were brilliant.

(L to R) James McAvoy (as Dalton) and Director James Watkins on the set of 'Speak No Evil'.

MF: Finally, what was James Watkins like to work with as a director on set?

JM: He’s free, open, really welcoming of ideas and suggestions, but at the same time, tightly calibrating and orchestrating this tightrope walk, which on one side of it has a lot of comedy, and then the other side has a lot of scares and fear and horror, but you can't really jump either side until the end of the movie. You've got to stay on that tightrope so that both things are always possible. But he was brilliant. He had it so tightly wound.