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James McAvoy recounted what he called a “rough” first meeting with Jennifer Aniston over twenty years ago when he first moved to Los Angeles.
During a Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen appearance on Wednesday, September 11, the 45-year-old actor shared his awkward encounter from his early years in Hollywood with Aniston, among other celebrities.
McAvoy, who was in his early 20s at the time, recalled to Cohen how he attended a showbiz party where he found himself next to The Good Girl actress, 55, after being introduced (or actually, not introduced) by Lucy Liu. Despite Liu’s efforts to include him, she was soon pulled away by an acquaintance before actually introducing the two, leaving McAvoy alone with Aniston and a few others.
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“I was just left standing with all these people going, ‘Hey, what’s up? I’m new in town,'” McAvoy said in the episode. “So you’re Jennifer Aniston, and you’re in Friends,” he recalled saying to the actress, admitting that the situation was uncomfortable, but despite that, Aniston was “lovely” to interact with.
McAvoy recently discussed the U.S. remake of Shameless, the American adaptation of the British series where he originally played Steve McBride. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy admitted it felt “weird” to see his character portrayed by Justin Chatwin in the U.S. version, which premiered in 2018.
Despite his initial discomfort, he mentioned how he was “glad” the show was remade for American audiences. The Glass actor explained that while the original U.K. version was a cult hit, its British quirks made it less accessible to American viewers. He also mentioned that seeing other roles reinterpreted, including that of Lip Gallagher by actor Jeremy Allen White, was unusual, saying, “Was it weird for me to watch? Totally. There was a guy playing my part, I think he’s the guy in The Bear now, and he was doing stuff that I improvised on the day.”