James opens up on why lobbying process put him off Oscars

James McAvoy opened up about his refusal to campaign to win an Oscar which led to him not scoring a nod for his work on 'Atonement' (2007), reported a media quoting from an interview the actor gave to a British magazine.

McAvoy said that he saw firsthand what it took for Forest Whitaker to land his leading actor Oscar for his work on 'The Last King of Scotland', a film both actors starred in. McAvoy was seemingly not overjoyed with the way actors have to cozy up to members of the Academy to get a nod or a vote to win, according to the reports.

"With 'The Last King of Scotland' campaign, it was made clear to me that I was doing it for the benefit of other people. And I was totally down with that," McAvoy told 'GQ'.

He added, "But by the time 'Atonement' came along, I was 26 or 27 and I was just like, 'I can't do it. I'm not doing it. I don't want to do it."

'Atonement' went on to receive seven nominations at the Oscars, including 'Best Picture' and 'Best Supporting Actress' for Saoirse Ronan. The film directed by Joe Wright won a trophy for 'Best Original Score', which went to Dario Marianelli.

"I didn't want to play that part. I'll push the film; I'll try and get bums on seats. But the campaign, I felt cheap," he added.

McAvoy, who has a 27-year-long career, said that he now only looks for 'interesting experiences'.

"I love doing it, but I don't love the daily grind of the film and television business," he explained, according to 'Deadline'.

He added, "Even if it's a good script, I certainly can't rationalise going to work at five or six in the morning and staying out till eight o'clock at night. If my character hasn't got an interesting part in telling that story, it's quite soul-destroying."