James McAvoy reveals tactic behind 'animalistic' in 'Speak No Evil'

James McAvoy is opening up on how he transformed into his menacing character Paddy for Speak No Evil.

In Speak No Evil, James plays a father and a husband who has a secret. His character is controlling and reeks of toxic masculinity.

The Split star reflected that due his 5ft 7 height, he had to find ways to make himself look bigger and formidable.

He told The Guardian that he did “30 push-ups, five seconds before the take, just to pump my shoulders out, make my neck thicker, get the veins going”.

He said that would make him look “more animalistic, to look like I could really do some damage.”

“Because I’m a 5ft 7 guy,” he noted, “you’ve got to project a lot.”

James made headlines earlier this week when he named the person he based the toxic masculinity on.

“The thing I thought I could exploit in the character was, he thinks he’s a bit of a… West Country Andrew Tate,” he said.

“He’s like, ‘I’m going to teach you what it’s like to be a man again.’ But there’s a sort of polite face on it that isn’t quite Andrew Tate, enough of a sheen of, ‘I’m not one of those guys’. Paddy’s challenging you, ‘Do you have a big enough d**k to have a drink with me?’, Or, ‘I’m sorry, this is too much for you because you’re not real enough.’”

“Even though Paddy is all masculine and throwing his dick around, he’s just a bit softer,” he added. “Almost a Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast vibe: ‘I don’t mind if my belly’s sticking out, because that’s how comfortable a man I f**king am.’”

Speak No Evil stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Dan Hough and more. The film will hit theaters on September 13.