James McAvoy is opening up about a medical procedure gone wrong that nearly cost him his life.
The 47-year-old actor recalled suffering a collapsed lung following a botched biopsy in 2017, which left him hospitalized for weeks as he prepared for his role in the 2019 film “Glass.”
During the Monday, Oct. 12, episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, McAvoy explained that doctors discovered a suspicious shadow on his lung and wanted to check whether it was cancerous.
“I had a lung puncture because they saw a shadow in my lung, so they wanted to biopsy it to see if it was cancer, which it wasn’t, which was great,” McAvoy said.
“But that was botched, and I nearly died,” he continued. “I was at home two days later, my lungs just collapsed in bed one night, and I was on my own as well, so it was crazy.”
James McAvoy Recalls Hospitalization After Botched Biopsy
McAvoy said he spent approximately two to three weeks in the hospital after developing an infection that doctors struggled to treat.
“They tried everything to clean [it] out,” he recalled, explaining that the initial treatments weren’t working.
Doctors eventually determined that he needed a more invasive procedure to clear the infection.
The Scottish actor previously discussed the health scare in a November 2022 interview with British GQ, revealing that he had been dealing with sarcoidosis, a condition that causes small patches of swollen tissue to develop in the body.
However, it wasn’t the illness itself that nearly killed him. Instead, complications from the biopsy resulted in an infected surgical scar and collapsed lungs.
McAvoy recalled waking up in the middle of the night while home alone and calling the U.K.’s NHS 111 medical helpline. He was reportedly barely able to speak while seeking assistance.
Despite the frightening experience, McAvoy admitted that nearly losing his life didn’t completely change his outlook.
“I didn’t get an epiphany of like, every day is so precious, I need to live it to the max. It’s not like that,” he said.
James McAvoy Faced a Difficult Recovery Before Filming “Glass”
McAvoy’s health scare happened shortly before he was scheduled to reprise his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb, who has multiple personalities, including the superhuman Beast, in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass.”
The actor needed to build a muscular physique for the character, who appeared shirtless throughout much of the film. However, his hospitalization had left him physically weakened.
McAvoy revealed that he returned to the gym just three weeks after leaving the hospital, although his recovery was far from easy.
“I couldn’t run to the end of the road and back for like, four or five months,” he previously told GQ. “But weirdly, I could lift f—ing 160 kilos.”
To prepare for filming, McAvoy hired personal trainer Magnus Lygdback, who initially focused on helping him regain his mobility and strength.
During his recent podcast appearance, McAvoy explained that the first four weeks of training were dedicated to rehabilitation and functional movement before he could begin building muscle.
“The guy that worked with me was amazing,” McAvoy told Shepard.
Once he was physically ready, his trainer helped him gain the muscle needed for the demanding role.
“He did a lot of rehabilitation and functional movement, and then put the pounds on me really fast,” McAvoy said.
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James McAvoy Reveals He Nearly Lost His Life After Botched Medical Procedure