Is Something Wrong With James McAvoy?

"Circumstances beyond his control" take McAvoy out of the comedy formerly titled I'm With Cancer

By Natalie Finn, Lindsay Miller Mar 02, 2010 11:22 PMTags
James McAvoy, Joseph Gordon-LeavittSteve Granitz/Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Here's hoping everything's OK with James McAvoy and family.

The Scottish actor has dropped out of the untitled comedy previously known as I'm With Cancer "due to unrelated circumstances beyond his control," a McAvoy rep tells E! News.

A source close to the production says a family emergency prompted his sudden exit from the project.

No official details about said "circumstances" have been forthcoming, but we've heard that the emergency has nothing to do with his wife's pregnancy.

McAvoy and wife Anne-Marie Duff revealed in January that they are expecting their first child together.

With the 30-year-old thesp busy attending to his offscreen life, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has stepped up to costar with Anna Kendrick, Seth Rogen and Bryce Dallas Howard in the based-on-a-true-story comedy about a mild-mannered young man who is diagnosed with cancer and situational humor ensues.

"It's incredibly unfortunate that circumstances outside of everyone's control have taken James away from the project, but with James' blessing, we were able to have Joseph step in to take on the role of Adam," Rogen, who's also a producer on the flick, tells E! News. "We all look forward to working with James in the future."

Added director Jonathan Levine, "I feel extremely lucky that our film has found an exceptional actor to step into the role of Adam. I have admired Joseph's work since Brick, and I am so excited to work with him." 

Cameras are scheduled to start rolling in Vancouver on March 8.

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