Film assassin James McAvoy on the landlady at the top of his personal hit list

Jul 6 2008 By Toby Mcdonald

THERE'S a certain landlady in London who just might be regretting ripping-off an unknown Scots actor.

James McAvoy has revealed his hatred for the woman who fleeced him and his pals for s600 rent.

McAvoy, who plays an assassin with Angelina Jolie, in new box office smash Wanted, said: "I've got a lot to hate her for. I can't believe she kept our money."

It's seven years since the Glasgow-born star was ripped off but he obviously knows how to hold a grudge.

He now commands s1million a movie but back in 2001 McAvoy was a struggling actor who had just landed his first significant role - in Steven Spielberg's World War Two mini-series Band Of Brothers.

He moved to London where he rented a rundown flat with mates from Glasgow but when they moved out the owner kept his s600 deposit claiming the place had been wrecked.

James, 29, said: "I moved to London when I got the part on Band Of Brothers.

"I had been kipping on people's floors because the show paid nicely - but it didn't pay hugely. Finally some friends from Glasgow showed up, and we decided to rent this house together.

"But it was an absolute dive-a horrible place.

"The landlady was a right demon - one of those woolly liberals who make a big show of reading the Guardian but then turn into a capitalist monster.

"After we moved out, she kept the deposit, saying we damaged the floor in the bathroom but it was damaged when we got there."

McAvoy, who paid for training at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow by working in a bakery, has gone from strength to strength since his small role alongside David Schwimmer, Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis in Band Of Brothers.

After several minor TV parts, he landed a role in Channel 4 hit Shameless, where he met actress wife Anne-Marie Duff.

He moved into film and scored massive hits with critically-acclaimed performances in The Last King Of Scotland and Atonement.

New film Wanted is set to be one of the biggest summer blockbusters.

'She was a demon and her place was a dive..I've got a lot to hate her for'

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