James McAvoy has described a serious medical episode that occurred before he prepared for his role in the 2019 film Glass. Speaking recently on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, the actor said he had been treated in hospital for an infection and had a shadow discovered in his lung. Doctors sought to biopsy it to determine whether it was cancer, he said; the test showed it was not cancer.
McAvoy said the biopsy went wrong and that, two days after returning home, his lungs collapsed while he was in bed. He said he was alone at the time and characterized the incident as nearly fatal. The account was McAvoy’s recollection in the podcast; the supplied report does not include a response from the medical professionals involved or independent records of the procedure.
The actor said he spent two or three weeks in hospital afterward. He recalled that treatment efforts to clear his lungs did not work and that doctors discussed a more extensive operation to clean them out. The source does not say whether that operation was ultimately performed or provide further medical details.
After the hospitalization, McAvoy faced a separate physical challenge as he prepared for Glass, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. He said the role required him to play the Beast for much of the film, unlike his earlier appearance in Split, where the character emerged toward the end. McAvoy said he asked Shyamalan to arrange a trainer and wanted a substantial transformation for the part.
According to McAvoy, his trainer began with about four weeks of rehabilitation. He said he could walk but was not yet able to run, cycle or jog. The trainer focused on rehabilitation and functional movement before helping him gain weight quickly. McAvoy described the trainer as closely overseeing his diet and exercise over the following months. He said the broader process lasted four or five months.
The account links the medical episode and the later preparation in sequence, but does not establish that the procedure caused any particular lasting condition or that his training affected his recovery. McAvoy’s remarks focus on his experience and recollection rather than offering medical advice.
Glass continued the story of Kevin Wendell Crumb, the character McAvoy first played in Split. In the films, Crumb is depicted as having dissociative identity disorder and multiple identities, including the Beast. The supplied account describes the character’s fictional abilities and storyline, which are separate from McAvoy’s personal medical history.
The source also recounts other recent comments by McAvoy about his acting career, including his recollection of being mocked by fellow actors on the set of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Those comments were made in a separate interview and are not connected in the report to the biopsy or his preparation for Glass.
