James McAvoy says meeting crush Jennifer Aniston ‘wasn’t great’

‘It was rough,’ the actor said

James McAvoy has shared his embarrassment over the first time he met his celebrity crush Jennifer Aniston during the early stages of his career.

The Scottish actor, 45, who has been celebrated for his roles in films such as The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, and Filth, encountered the Friends star while attending a Hollywood party with the Charlie’s Angels actor Lucy Liu when he was 22.

McAvoy expressed regret over the words he exchanged with Aniston but said The Morning Show star had been “lovely” despite his awkward moment.

Speaking on Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, McAvoy said: "I did meet her and it wasn’t great. Not because she’s not great."

The Split star explained: “I was at a party when I was really young, I was like 22 in L.A., and I met Lucy Liu. And Lucy Liu was really, really nice to me and she was like, ‘Come meet my friends.’"

He continued: “I got parked right beside Jennifer Aniston. And just as [Liu] was like, ‘Hey, guys, meet my new friend James,’ instead of saying that, she got pulled aside by a guy she went to high school with.

“She went away and I was just left standing with all these people going, ‘Hey, what’s up, I’m new in town.’”

Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green in ‘Friends’ (NBC/Getty)

McAvoy then grimaced as he recalled turning to Aniston and saying: “‘So, you’re Jennifer Aniston and you’re in Friends.’”

The Atonement star admitted: “It was rough. But she was lovely.”

McAvoy’s next project is Speak No Evil, a dark thriller in which he plays half of a couple who invite another couple to their holiday house.

It’s a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name, Speak No Evil also stars Aisling Franciosi, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy.

James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi in ‘Speak No Evil’ (Universal)

In another interview, McAvoy revealed that his “toxic” character in the film was inspired by misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate.

McAvoy said: “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.’”