WANTED - JAMES MCAVOY AND ANGELINA JOLIE RELEASED ON UNSUSPECTING PUBLIC TODAY

Scotland's best export appears today in his first Hollywood role. And boy, it's a biggie.

Feature by Erin McElhinney | 25 Jun 2008

It's a bit of a no-brainer, isn't it. You can imagine the Hollywood big wigs sitting round the table; "Right, we've got this film. It stars the hottest thing to come out of Scotland since Irn Bru, and, well, Angelina Jolie. And they get naked. And there's guns. And fast cars. Quite a bit of sweat, too. So....what shall we call it?"

Wanted is the lastest Hollywood summer blockbuster, opening tonight, and casting Glasgow's own James McAvoy in his first big Tinseltown role as Wesley, a dweebie nobody in a cubicle who finds out - gasp - that he's actually the son of one of the world's greatest assassins and has inherited his father's skills genetically. No, really. Based on the comic of the same name, its a little bit Tomb Raider, a little Sin City and a lot of OMG did you see what she just did with that car? Think John Woo style bullet action crossed with Wachowski cool and you're halfway there. And no-one enjoyed it more than McAvoy: "I got to satisfy the 16 year old boy's yearning to break things and jump up and down and beat people up". He could just go down Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night, of course, but then his chances of bumping into a love interest like Jolie would be considerably slimmer. "James surprised me" enthused the lusciously-lipped one, "He represents the everyman and that is very, very cool to see."

Which is exactly how I feel about the sight of McAvoy stripped to the waist, doing something immensely cool with his new six pack. Stomach, that is, not Irn Bru.

Check out our feature on Wanted in the upcoming issue of The Skinny, out on 1 July.