James McAvoy unexpectedly revealed that he had welcomed a son in secret four years prior in a recent interview with The Guardian. The His Dark Materials actor, who is married to Lisa Liberati, opened up about becoming a father for the second time in his 40s, after welcoming Brendan, 15, with his ex-wife, Anne-Marie Duff.
"Having a kid at 42 is definitely easier in some ways," he explained. "I worry less. I'm a bit more philosophical. But it's also harder, because you're just older and tireder." James currently lives in London with Lisa and their four-year-old son, whose name is yet unknown, and they make frequent trips to her hometown of Philadelphia to see her family.
James and Lisa met on the set of 2016's Split, when he was the main star, and she was working as director M. Night Shyamalan's personal assistant.
© Getty ImagesThe lovebirds kept their nuptials under wraps until 2022, when James let slip to The Guardian that they had secretly tied the knot years earlier. While James has largely kept quiet about his fatherhood journey, he did share insight into his parenting style with Screen Rant in 2021.
"I think that sometimes we try and protect our kids from way too much, and we end up not preparing them for the world that they're going to have to step into," he said. "Which is why they're all staying with their parents until they're 35 at the moment. I want mine out the door when he's 18."
The star added that he was "a loving, cuddly parent", and that he thought "we worry too much about what we're letting our kids hear". The 46-year-old keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to his family, and told Mr Porter in 2017 that he and his ex-wife were on the same page about privacy.
© Getty Images for BAFTA"My life has changed massively," he said, referencing his 2016 divorce. "At the same time, so much has stayed the same. One of the things that's stayed the same is that I still don't talk about my personal life, really."
"Me and Anne-Marie, when we were together, it was our policy not to speak about each other in public," he continued. "We rarely broke that, and if we did, it was for tiny things – 'Yes, we are cooking turkey this Christmas' – and that policy still stands."
© David M. Benett"Even separated, we're still respectful of each other and committed to doing that publicly and personally," he concluded. James and Anne-Marie were married from 2006 to 2016, and the actress made a rare comment about their split on the BBC's Desert Island Discs.
© Dave Benett/WireImage"This sounds ironic, of course, but sometimes in a marriage you are never closer than the moment at which the two of you decide it's time to finish," she explained.
"There is such pure intimacy in that moment and honesty and truth and kindness in all its many versions. So I suppose I picked this song because it tells me, 'Yeah, I can love, and I can hurt. But I can love again.'"
