Actor James McAvoy reportedly got sucker punched in a Toronto bar late Monday by a stranger who was being shown the door.
The unprovoked, out-of-the-blue blow blindsided the “Speak No Evil” actor, who was in town for the world premiere of his directorial debut “California Schemin’ ” at the Toronto International Film Festival. McAvoy and wife Lisa Liberati had attended the screening Saturday, and he was chilling at the bar Charlotte’s Room with his producers when the boozer bushwacked him from behind.
“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 in McAvoy’s circle told People, which first reported the incident. “James’s back was to him, and the man just punched him.”
The two had not interacted at all, and it was not clear whether the hammered patron knew who had been at the business end of his fist.
Caught off-guard, McAvoy leaped to his feet with a “WTF?!” look on his face, sources told TMZ. But the “X-Men” star quickly regained equilibrium and de-escalated the situation to avoid needless drama as others hastened the drunk’s departure. McAvoy was basically unhurt, and police were never called, TMZ noted.
In fact, the newly minted director stayed at the bar, laughing the incident off with the staff and other patrons while refusing free drinks from the bartenders, TMZ said.
“California Schemin’ ” tells the tale of two Scottish blokes who masquerade as Americans — complete with fake backstories — to take aim at hip-hop stardom. Based on a true story that’s about as improbable as McAvoy’s getting ambushed in a bar, the movie follows the duo’s ultimately doomed journey amid the ever-tightening web of lies underpinning their hip-hop hoax.
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