James McAvoy did “30 push-ups, five seconds before take” on ‘Speak No Evil’ to make his “neck thicker”

James McAvoy has revealed the extreme lengths he went to in preparation for his menacing role in the new horror film Speak No Evil.

In the film, McAvoy plays Paddy, the patriarch of a British family that hide a dark secret. The actor has spoken previously about the basis of the character’s toxic masculinity, revealing that he was inspired in part by Andrew Tate.

In order to conjure the physically imposing aura of the character, McAvoy has told The Guardian what he did to get in the zone: “30 push-ups, five seconds before the take, just to pump my shoulders out, make my neck thicker, get the veins going”.

He continued, explaining the tactic was to make him look “more animalistic, to look like I could really do some damage.”

“Because I’m a 5ft 7 guy,” he added, “you’ve got to project a lot.”

Elaborating on the connection to Tate, McAvoy has previously explained: “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 dick to have a drink with me?’, Or, ‘I’m sorry, this is too much for you because you’re not real enough.’”

“Even though Paddy is all masculine and throwing his dick around, he’s just a bit softer,” McAvoy explained. “Almost a Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast vibe: ‘I don’t mind if my belly’s sticking out, because that’s how comfortable a man I fucking am.’”

Speak No Evil – which is an American remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name – is out in cinemas on September 13. Written and directed by James Watkins (The Woman In Black, Eden Lake), the film also stars Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi and Scoot McNairy.

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