James McAvoy reveals he ‘nearly died’ after ‘botched’ lung biopsy

By Alejandra García • October 13, 2026

James McAvoy has revealed he “nearly died” after his lungs collapsed following a “botched” procedure.

The actor described his “crazy” health scare during his appearance on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast Tuesday.

“I had a lung puncture [sic] … 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, 47, said.

James McAvoy (pictured above on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast) revealed that he “nearly died” after his lungs collapsed following a “botched” procedure. Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/ Youtube
“I had a lung puncture [sic] … 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. Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/ Youtube

“But that was botched, and I nearly died,” he continued. “I was at home two days later, and my lungs just collapsed in bed one night. And I was on my own as well, so it was crazy.”

The “California Schemin’” actor went on to explain that he spent the following two to three weeks in the hospital, where doctors tried “everything” to clear his lungs, but nothing seemed to work.

“They were like, ‘We’re going to need to cut you open big style, go in with, like, dish soap basically and just clean you out, scoop it all out,” he recalled.

McAvoy said the biopsy was “botched” and that he “nearly died,” adding, “I was at home two days later, and my lungs just collapsed in bed one night. And I was on my own as well, so it was crazy.” Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/ Youtube
McAvoy explained that he spent the following two to three weeks in the hospital, where doctors tried “everything” to clear his lungs, but nothing worked. Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/ Youtube

McAvoy also discussed having to get back into shape for “Glass,” the 2019 sequel to the psychological thriller “Split,” while he was still recovering from the medical emergency.

He reprised his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 24 distinct personalities, in the sequel, but said he spent most of “Glass” portraying “The Beast.”

“Unlike ‘Split,’ I was ‘The Beast’ [for] most of the movie, and I was just outside in broad daylight as well,” McAvoy recalled. “So I was like, ‘I’m really going to need to do the real thing. I’m going to need to go for it.’ I remember saying to [M. Night Shyamalan], ‘You’re going to need to get me a trainer.’”

McAvoy also discussed having to get back into shape for “Glass,” the 2019 sequel to the psychological thriller “Split,” while he was still recovering from the medical emergency. (McAvoy is seen above as Kevin Wendell Crumb in “Glass.”) ©Universal/courtesy Everett / Everett Collection
McAvoy said he spent most of “Glass” portraying “The Beast,” one of Crumb’s 24 distinct personalities, and recalled telling director M. Night Shyamalan that he would need to get him a trainer. ©Universal/courtesy Everett / Everett Collection

Shyamalan, who directed both films, offered to arrange for McAvoy to work with a trainer at a local gym, but the actor said he needed someone who could “make [him] look like a Greek f–king figure from mythology.”

“The guy that worked me was amazing,” he added. “For the first four weeks, he rehabilitated me. I could walk, but I couldn’t run, couldn’t cycle, couldn’t jog … so he did a lot of rehabilitation and, sort of, functional movement, and then put the pounds on me really fast.”

McAvoy recently revealed that he was “bullied” by a “Band of Brothers” co-star during an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” on Monday.

Shyamalan offered to arrange for McAvoy to work with a trainer at a local gym, but the actor said he needed someone who could “make [him] look like a Greek f–king figure from mythology.” (McAvoy is pictured above in a portrait taken at the 2025 TIFF.) Ben Trivett / Shutterstock
McAvoy (seen above at Variety’s 2026 Future in Focus event) recently revealed that he was “bullied” by a “Band of Brothers” co-star during an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” on Monday. Variety via Getty Images

During the interview, Andy Cohen showed viewers a cast photo featuring Donnie Wahlberg, Kirk Acevedo, Scott Grimes, Neal McDonough, Adam James, Frank John Hughes and Ross McCall.

“All these guys were in it for nine months, 10 months, and they get one line in one episode and one line 10 episodes later. They were all pissed,” McAvoy recalled. “I come in for one episode, and I’ve got an arc and scenes. I’ve got tons of lines.

“One of the guys in that picture decided to bully me — on my first day as a professional actor out of acting school,” he continued. “He got him and his buddies to just stand pointing at me and laugh at me for, like, three minutes.”


Source link

The new era of interactive journalism