Helen Mirren nominated for an Olivier Award TELEGRAPH

By Daisy Bowie-Sell

1:45AM GMT 26 Mar 2013

She has won an Oscar, a Bafta and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of The Queen, and now Helen Mirren will have the chance to add an Olivier to her list of awards won for playing Elizabeth II.

Mirren has been nominated in the Best Actress category this year, for her role in the new play The Audience, directed by Stephen Daldry.

The Audience opened to a string of favourable reviews earlier this month, with Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph's theatre critic, calling Mirren's performance 'Magnificent'.

The actress will be competing for the award against Hattie Morahan, who won this year's Evening Standard Theatre Award for her role as Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House, Billie Piper for The Effect and Kristin Scott Thomas for Old Times.

In the Best Actor category Mark Rylance has been nominated for his acclaimed, cross-dressing performance in Twelfth Night. He is up against Rupert Everett in The Judas Kiss, James McAvoy in Macbeth, Rafe Spall in Constellations and Luke Treadaway in The Curious Incident.

READ MORE:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-news/9953945/Olivier-Award-nominations-Helen-Mirren-nominated-for-best-actress.html

Ewan Mcgregor - Ewan Mcgregor Defends James Mcavoy Over Theatre Criticism 25 March 2013 (CONTACT MUSIC)

Ewan Mcgregor has stepped up to defend fellow Scottish actor James Mcavoy over criticisms theatre bosses are "dumbing down" by hiring him to star in a new London production of Macbeth.

The comments have riled MCGregor, who has now spoken out in defence of MCAvoy and called the criticisms "ridiculous".

In a post on Twitter.com, he writes, "Hardtalk moaning about celebs in theatre. Using James McAvoy as an (example). Ridiculous. Don't they know he's a brilliant actor. Come on Bbc!"

READ MORE: http://www.contactmusic.com/news/ewan-mcgregor-defends-james-mcavoy-over-theatre-criticism_3575120

James McAvoy helps a collapsed audience member during a Macbeth play By Gavriella Tjandra, 3/23/2013

James McAvoy helped a collapsed audience member during his performance of Macbeth in Trafalgar Studio 1, London.

The X-Men: First Class actor stopped in the middle of his performance, went down the stage, and assisted the audience member, who, according to eyewitnesses, had fallen ill, E! News reported.

A theatergoer tweeted, "Saw James McAvoy stop mid culmination scene in #Macbeth to help a collapsed audience member..."

"...crack a joke or 2, then continue with the same intensity. Top guy," the fan continued.

After helping the audience member, McAvoy reportedly called the emergency personnel, and finished the scene he had previously abandoned.

Despite an interrupted performance, the 33-year-old actor pulled it together, and gave an over-the-top act.


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James McAvoy Gives Us X-Men Sequel Deets! (PEREZ HILTON)

It's starting to look like the next X-Men installment is going to be far from Second Class!

Seksy star James McAvoy just read the script and he says:

"It’s great. It’s really good and strong. I think fans will love it. I think people who have never seen any of the X-Men films before are going to be really into it.

I think it’s satisfying and giving people what they want, while at the same time being challenging and giving them something different, new, and unexpected."

We know one of the new things about Days Of Future Past is the element of time travel! So we'll get to see our favorite 60s mutants hanging with our faves from the new millennium!

READ MORE: http://perezhilton.com/2013-03-20-james-mcavoy-x-men-first-class-sequel-days-of-future-past#.UUvF7hwp_3M

James McAvoy, Anne Marie Duff - SHAMELESS - lovely couple, on and off screen (If My Heart Was A Home)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcu-wFg1yfY

Ria Harris

Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy: Neverwhere - BBC Radio

London Below
Episode 1 of 6
Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: Saturday 16 March 2013

Beneath the streets of London there is another London. A subterranean labyrinth of sewers and abandoned tube stations. A somewhere that is Neverwhere.

An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world under the streets of London. Stopping to help an injured girl on a London street, Richard is thrust from his workaday existence into the strange world of London Below.

So begins a curious and mysterious adventure deep beneath the streets of London, a London of shadows where the tube cry of 'Mind the Gap' takes on new meaning; for the inhabitants of this murky domain are those who have fallen through the gaps in society, the dispossessed, the homeless. Here Richard meets the Earl of Earl's Court, Old Bailey and Hammersmith, faces a life-threatening ordeal at the hands of the Black Friars, comes face to face with Great Beast of London, and encounters an Angel. Called Islington.

LISTEN TO THE PREVIEW HERE

ACCESS BBC RADIO 4 HERE

Benedict Cumberbatch sings - a clip from Neverwhere (BBC Radio 4)

HEAR A CLIP OF BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH SINGING, AS THE ANGEL ISLINGTON, FROM NEVERWHERE

Tom Hiddleston, Sinead Cusack and Jeremy Irons (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) CAITLIN MCBRIDE – 13 MARCH 2013 (INDEPENDENT WOMAN)

It's safe to say Hollywood heavyweight Jeremy Irons and his Irish wife Sinead Cusack are rock solid. The high profile couple made a rare public outing together at the prestigious South Bank Sky Arts Awards at The Dorchester in London last night, and after 34 years together, looked as happy as ever.

Jeremy has been incredibly honest about their marriage in the past, describing their relationship as "dysfunctional", and they are believed to be in an open relationship. The couple have often been photographed kissing and cuddling in public.

The high brow ceremony saw Jeremy as one of the guests on honour alongside his Tony award nominated wife. Actor James McAvoy was also in attendance alongside Anne Marie Duff, Richard E Grant, Grayson Perry,  Felicity Kendall and Akram Khan.

READ MORE: http://www.independent.ie/woman/jeremy-irons-shows-off-his-true-leading-lady-29127876.html

James McAvoy says having sister co-star in Filth was most uncomfortable moment of his career (DAILY RECORD)

THE Scots star's younger sister Joy, known for her appearances in The Angels' Share and The Wee Man, falls victim to McAvoy's crazed character in the Irvine Welsh adaptation.

JAMES McAVOY says the most uncomfortable moment of his career was threatening his little sister Joy on camera.

The pair feature together for the first time in the movie version of Filth, the best-selling novel by Irvine Welsh.

McAvoy, 33, plays crazed policeman Bruce Robertson and Joy is a florist who he confronts when she becomes a murder suspect.

He said: “It was weird.

“I had to threaten her violently and ever so slightly sexually as well. That was well weird.”

McAvoy said he is proud of his sister, who is carving out an impressive reputation thanks to roles in The Angels’ Share and The Wee Man.

READ MORE: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/james-mcavoy-sister-co-star-irvine-1755511

James McAvoy Admits He's Had A 'Mental and Physical Breakdown' (E.)

BY HANNAH LANE ON MARCH 7, 2013

The Atonement star is pushing himself to the limit with three new films and a sold out theatre show.

James McAvoy seems unstoppable at the moment! After becoming a Hollywood star with films like The Last King of Scotland and X-Men: First Class, the 33-year-old actor has just finished a flurry of new films and performs every night to packed audiences in London.

The Scottish actor's fame looks set to sore further after the release of some of the most highly anticipated films this year.

McAvoy is starring in British crime thriller Welcome to the Punch alongside W.E actress Andrea Riseborough, Danny Boyle's Trance and a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's controversial novel Filth.

He has also just completed a two-part film with Oscar nominated redhead Jessica Chastain called The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.


READ MORE: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/107525/James-McAvoy-Admits-Hes-Had-A-Mental-and-Physical-Breakdown

New photos of Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy and the cast of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (RADIOTIMES)

An exclusive first look at shots of the star-studded cast of the Radio 4/4 Extra fantasy drama, also featuring Natalie Dormer, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo, Christopher Lee and Bernard Cribbins

Paul Jones
10:08 AM, 04 March 2013
London Below is slowly coming to life. With less than two weeks to go until Radio 4/4 Extra opens a portal to the magical realm in fantasy drama Neverwhere, we have a gallery of exclusive shots of the star-studded cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy and Natalie Dormer.

McAvoy is Richard Mayhew, a young businessman drawn into the subterranean world of London Below after he comes to the aid of a girl named Door, played by Dormer. In a place where famous landmarks take on a life of their own, Benedict Cumberbatch is the Angel Islington, an actual angel who watches over the city beneath the city.

VISIT THE BBC NEVERWHERE SITE HERE

READ MORE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-03-04/new-photos-of-benedict-cumberbatch-james-mcavoy-and-the-cast-of-neil-gaimans-neverwhere