A-list Hollywood actor James McAvoy revealed he once had an addiction to the immensely popular fantasy role-playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and he only managed to break free of his obsession by completely destroying his copy of the disc.
McAvoy recalled a story of his experience with the classic Elder Scrolls title in a recent interview with Forbes. The actor, known for his starring roles in M. Night Shyamalan films Split and Glass along with a run as Charles Xavier for three of Fox’s X-Men films, developed a deep affinity for Oblivion upon its release. He developed such an affinity, in fact, that it began to monopolize his time and interfere with his work. To break his addiction, McAvoy said he destroyed the game, and he then took a ten-year hiatus from gaming before eventually returning to the hobby.
In 2007, the year after Oblivion first launched, McAvoy discovered the game while filming Becoming Jane alongside Anne Hathaway. Bethesda’s beloved action RPG, which many players contest is one of the best Elder Scrolls titles, perfectly fit the mold of the games he grew up playing.
“My partner at the time bought me an Xbox 360 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,” said McAvoy. “That was a kind of game I’d always been into as a kid: role-playing games, Zelda, Secret of Mana, all that kind of stuff. Like, I love fantasy role-playing games.”
McAvoy loved the game so much, however, that he began to sink countless hours into it after each day of shooting. He realized he had a problem when he found himself staying awake playing until 4:00am, despite needing to awaken at 6:00 to start shooting his scenes. McAvoy said that in one instance, the game kept him awake until 5:30am, and this was the instance in which he finally thought to himself, “This game is sending me to Oblivion.” McAvoy removed Oblivion from his Xbox, placed it on his gas hob and turned up the heat.
“I just put the disc on it and just watched it sort of, like, singe and melt a little bit,” said the actor. “And I was like, ‘Right, we’re done, we’re over, never again!'”
After breaking free of his addiction, McAvoy spent the next decade avoiding video games entirely, focusing on his career and family. Eventually, he did return to the hobby, but says it has become a much healthier pastime for him. His young son and his love of soccer gradually brought him to playing the FIFA games, and the social aspects of online games like Call of Duty: Warzone have helped him keep in touch with his friends.
Since mending his relationship with video games, McAvoy has also returned to the industry as an actor, lending his voice to the newly released Twelve Minutes, a mystery thriller game by Annapurna Interactive.
Source: Forbes
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