A few weeks ago James McAvoy shared some advice given to him by Claudia Black about science-fiction.

It's bonkers and needs to be believed more than good writing.

Word of this has circulated back to Claudia and she has responded at length. She remarks that it might be her longest twitter thread ever.

Her account is compelling. Extremely well written. Little bit edge of seat... but doesn't reveal much new about the advice:

About 20 years ago, as a lead actor in a series on the then Sci-fi Channel, I was invited to a screening —with my co-star Ben Browder— of a Dune miniseries. Ben & I sat together. I fidgeted a lot; sorry Ben. Undiagnosed ADD and PTSD made screenings at the best of times torturous. This screening was looooong. I was struggling to stay focused until, I kid you not, in the last three seconds— ok maybe three minutes of this 2, 3 or 4 hour portion—a young man came on screen, walking through a door, chest heaving, eyes ablaze, not uttering a line of dialogue and the credits rolled. I sat there frozen on the edge of my seat. Ben did too. We needed to know who that young actor was. It felt as though we were some of the first people to witness the rise of this prodigy. (We also knew how artists could be overlooked in science fiction). This kid could not possibly suffer that fate. He was a supernova. And we needed to tell him; drum it in to him somehow before our beloved yet sometimes wretched and abusive business could wear him down and ever make him doubt his unquestionable talent, skill and abilities.

The remainder largely boils down to she and her kid are both fans of McAvoy and she's grateful to have made an impact and been remembered.

The Sex Factor

James is a great actor and Claudia is far from his only fan but if you look at the history of actors who achieve sex symbol status, there's a common factor.

It wasn't just his chest heaving in this scene. It was his magnificent, bare chest.

Like Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise and Jamie Dornan in Once Upon a Time, this scene burned James' face into the minds of many viewers. Dune would have had a smaller audience than those other works but still big enough to get him there.

Consider Claudia's account. Despite uttering not even a line of dialog and being on screen only briefly, he shone in her mind like a supernova.

Granted, acting can be performed with neither sound nor movement. That is essentially the art of modelling. His performance in those films was excellent.

Had they shown any other scene, though, eg. with his shirt on, would Claudia (and everyone else) have been as affected?

Or if his chest had been less developed and sculptured?

[ Main Image: Claudia Black, James McAvoy and Ben Browder at Dune screening. Credit: The Radiant Claudia Black via Twitter. ]

References

Black, Claudia [@TheClaudiaBlack] (October 19, 2021). As the new #Dune premieres in London I’ll share a lil story. Twitter.

Donnelly, Gabrielle (July 5, 2008). I'm short and puny. How can I be a sex symbol? Daily Mail.