James McAvoy made a significant impact in the movie Atonement, and he has since carved out a remarkable career, featuring in the X-Men series, M. Night Shyamalan's Split, It: Chapter 2, and numerous other titles. Interestingly, he almost secured a major part much earlier in his career. McAvoy auditioned for the role of Tom puzzles in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but his agent convinced him to pass on the opportunity, which ultimately went to Christian Coulson.
In the course of a dialogue centered around the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy shared that he was close to having a role in the Harry Potter franchise. He had auditioned for the character, and there was interest in retaining him for potential casting. At at that juncture of his professional journey, his contributions were limited, yet they wanted to keep him on standby along with several other actors for future consideration.
He mentioned that the offer was quite substantial for him at the time, amounting to around 40 thousand pounds, a considerable sum. However, accepting the role would have meant he couldn't work on other projects for approximately seven months.
Many fans wonder how McAvoy would have interpreted the character of the Dark Lord had he taken on the role. This casting could have transformed the direction of his professional journey and the overall dynamic of the beloved franchise.