James McAvoy Wanted to Capture Charles Xavier's Empathy for 'X-Men'

James McAvoy takes a moment to pose for a photograph while arriving at the ITV Studios to make an appearance on This Morning on Monday (May 12) in London, England.

The 34-year-old Scottish actor recently opened up about wanting to replicate elements of Patrick Stewart‘s portrayal of Charles Xavier for his X-Men films.

“The biggest thing I took away from his portrayal of Charles was his empathy. It poured out of him,” James told THR. “It needs to pour out of the character, but it also pours out of him as an actor and a performer and that was something I wanted to take into my performance as well.”

“I think the job of doing First Class and even doing this one was not redefining him for the sake of it and not just because it’s a reboot but because you’re showing him at a different time of his life,” James continued. “If he was just the same it would be deeply uninteresting. So it was important to me to find a reasonable and believable different take on him, and ultimately I’ll be much more like him and moving towards his performance.”

10+ pictures inside of James McAvoy leaving the ITV Studios…