James McAvoy Says He Turned Down ‘Tons of Money’ for ‘Harry Potter’ Role.

“It was crazy, I hadn’t done any work. And I, and I think maybe 10 other actors or something, wanted to put us on a stand so they could hold us and let us choose later. It was a really strange thing,” he added.

McAvoy said they offered him “a ton of money” to take the job. “It was like £40,000 ($52,000) or something, and I did very little work.”

However, there was a catch, he said. Had he agreed to the detention, he would have been unable to work for about seven months.

On the advice of his agent, who he still has, the actor turned down the offer and went on to take a lower-paying theater role, which he said was his “making” as an actor.

“I did that instead and got paid, I think, £275 ($360) a week,” he said, adding that he was “booed by a homophobic gentleman” in the audience while performing the piece.

McAvoy would later gain widespread acclaim for his roles in films such as Atonement, opposite Keira Knightley, and The Last King of Scotland, starring Forest Whitaker.

While McAvoy didn’t seem very interested in being a part of HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” TV reboot, he said there are a few genres he’d like to take on more.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I’m really missing in terms of what I’ve covered. I don’t think I’ve done enough sci-fi just because I love it,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ve done enough comedy, but I’ve managed to be funny in things that aren’t comedy. I always try to bring the gags,” he added.