James McAvoy began his acting career at the age of 15 when he was cast as the character Kevin in the 1995 film The Near Room. In 2000, he graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and subsequently acquired roles in a number of major films. During this time, McAvoy turned in solid supporting performances in films like Wimbledon and, most significantly, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Not long after, he would score more leading roles in movies like The Last King of Scotland, Becoming Jane, and, his breakthrough movie role, Atonement.

McAvoy has received many award nominations and accolades, most notably for his roles in Split, Atonement, and Filth. Among his impressive résumé are many different genres of film, proving that he can embody a diverse array characters. He’s currently set to appear in the third and final season of HBO’s His Dark Materials, which blends fantasy and action in an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel series. Until the series hits our screens, here’s a look at McAvoy’s best action movies.

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5 Welcome to the Punch

     Momentum Pictures

Welcome to the Punch stars McAvoy as Max Lewinsky, a veteran police officer who was badly wounded on the job and, as a result, relies on painkillers to get through the day. Three years after he was injured, the man who shot him, Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong), is forced to return to London because his son is in the hospital after surviving an accident of his own. This gives DI Lewinsky a second chance at capturing the man that managed to escape him the first time. Directed by Eran Creevy, Welcome to the Punch also stars Peter Mullan, Andrea Riseborough, David Morrissey, Daniel Kaluuya, and Elyes Gabel.

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4 Wanted

     Universal Pictures

McAvoy stars alongside Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman in the action-packed thriller Wanted. Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) is steadily sleepwalking through an average, uneventful life when he is abruptly approached by a woman, Fox (Jolie), who claims to have known his father. As a surprise to him, Fox reveals that Wesley’s father didn’t die when he was a child like he thought and instead died only hours before she approached him. Intrigued, Wesley agrees to meet with a group called “The Fraternity,” where he is introduced to Sloan (Freeman), the group’s leader. Fox and Sloan further shock Wesley when they begin to reveal he has dormant, assassin-like powers. Talks about a sequel are still in the works, and it remains to be seen whether it will happen or not.

3 Atomic Blonde

Atomic Blonde follows the escapades of M16 Agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron). Tasked with retrieving an important document involving the fall of the Berlin Wall, Broughton teams up with David Percival (James McAvoy) to complete her mission. Plenty of fight sequences and witty banter fill this action film directed by David Leitch. In addition to Theron and McAvoy, Atomic Blonde also stars Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Sofia Boutella, and Bill Skarsgård.

2 X-Men: First Class

     20th Century Studios

​​​​​​​McAvoy stars as the young Charles “Professor X” Xavier in this prequel story of the X-Men, X-Men: First Class. Set in the 1960s Cold War era, the film recounts the meeting of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). The two become close friends and, together with other mutants, set out to save humanity from disaster. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the film is the fifth installment of the X-Men franchise, and the first of a series in which McAvoy plays the famed Professor X.

1 X-Men: Days of Future Past

One of the best additions to the X-Men franchise is set in the 21st Century, where mutant killing machines have been developed to wipe out the mutants and the perceived threat that they pose to humanity. In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) volunteers to go back in time to team up with the young Professor X (McAvoy) as a way to prevent the extinction of the mutants. Alongside the mutants that comprised the past X-Men, Wolverine sets out on a mission to stop the Sentinels from destroying the future. Days of Future Past was directed by Bryan Singer and also stars many notable actors including Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Elliot Page, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, and Evan Peters.