James McAvoy was assaulted by a random man at a bar during the Toronto Film Festival.
The “X-Men: First Class” actor, 46, was sucker-punched by an intoxicated patron while out celebrating his directorial debut, “California Schemin,’” on Monday, Sept. 8, The Post can confirm.
People was first to report the news, with eyewitnesses revealing the incident happened at Toronto bar Charlotte’s Room around 11:55 p.m.
The “Split” star was caught off guard when he was struck by the stranger from behind. He tried to de-escalate the situation while others jumped in to remove the man from the late-night establishment.
“James was having a casual get-together with the producers of his movie and, as he later learned when speaking with the staff, there was a man who drank too much who was getting escorted out,” a source close to the actor told the outlet, noting McAvoy’s “back was to him and the man just punched him.”
He was not hurt from the punch.
McAvoy stayed at the bar and later learned that bar staffers had asked the intoxicated man to leave before he took his frustration out on the star.
The “Glass” actor had a good laugh about the incident with other patrons and continued enjoying his time at the bar, The Post can reveal.
McAvoy’s reps were not immediately available for comment.
“California Schemin’” debuted at TIFF on Saturday, Sept. 6.
McAvoy’s musical biographical film is based on the true story of Silibil N’ Brains, the Scottish hip-hop duo consisting of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, who posed as Americans to fulfill their dreams of becoming superstars.
Séamus McLean Ross plays Bain alongside Samuel Bottomley, who stars as Boyd. McAvoy also has a small part in the film. Other cast members include Lucy Halliday and Rebekah Murrell.
McAvoy recently discussed his experience as a first-time director.
Calling the task “stressful” but “amazing,” he told People, “It’s the most creative thing I’ve ever done.”
He said it was a refreshing experience to flip the script.
“I’ve loved telling stories as an actor for 30 years. It’s an extension of that. I now love telling stories as a director because I get more tools with which to tell those stories. It was a privilege,” McAvoy shared during the interview held at TIFF on Sunday, Sept. 7.
He explained how his decades-long acting career helped him in the director’s chair.
“I want them to give me them. And you can’t tell somebody how to be them,” McAvoy explained. “Yeah, they’re playing a character, but really what I want is them — bare, open, vulnerable as a performer and as a person so the audience can see inside them. You can’t direct them to that. So you’ve gotta make the space to let them become that.”
The Scottish star also revealed how he knew this was the right story for his directorial debut.
“I realized I needed to tell a story about a hometown that felt like my hometown, an economic background that felt similar to mine,” McAvoy said. “People who had a lack of opportunities like the people in my neighborhood had, who had very confined, close horizons that you couldn’t physically get out of. But art can get you beyond them.”
