Actor James McAvoy reveals marriage to Philadelphia native

Using all his immense psychic powers and even the abilities imbued through Cerebro itself, Professor X — a.k.a. actor James McAvoy — found his true match in Philadelphia.

A private man, McAvoy revealed in an interview with the Guardian that he had married Lisa Liberati, a Philadelphia native who had worked as a personal assistant to Philadelphia-based director M. Night Shyamalan. The two had been dating for years, but Thursday’s interview was the first time McAvoy, 42, confirmed their nuptials.

» READ MORE: Where in Philly M. Night Shyamalan filmed ‘Split’

In the interview, the Scottish actor said he met Liberati on the set of Split, the psychological horror film directed by Shyamalan and set in Philadelphia, in which McAvoy plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, along with the 23 personalities that vie for attention within his psyche.

McAvoy, perhaps best known for his roles as young Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men series, didn’t elaborate about his marriage, saying he didn’t want it to become tabloid fodder.

He did, however, sing Philly’s praises.

“Yeah, it’s like a second home for me,” he said.

McAvoy and Liberati were married sometime in 2019, the Sun reported. McAvoy was previously married to actor Anne-Marie Duff, whom he met on the set of the UK Shameless. They have an 11-year-old son.

Liberati has worked as assistant on films including Species, Devil, and Shyamalan’s The Visit. She also has an acting credit in Species. According to The Sun, Liberati is now the social media manager at the Jove app.

Through the years, McAvoy has dropped hints at his relationship with Liberati, posting pictures of the couple globetrotting and canoodling. He’s also shown lots of love to the city where their love blossomed.

“Philadelphia is a city very close to my heart,” McAvoy said in a 2018 Instagram post. “The city of brotherly love has given me a lot and I’m chuffed to see it being recognised as city of the year by @gq. It’s a unique town and I’ve had a ball there.”

In 2019, when he hosted Saturday Night Live, McAvoy even brought out his Philly/Delco/Chicago (?) accent, perhaps inspired by his partner. And in a video with It co-star Jessica Chastain, he explains the all-purpose use of the word “jawn.”

In 2020, after President Donald Trump uttered his now-infamous line “Bad things happen in Philadelphia,” questioning the integrity of the presidential election in the city and Pennsylvania at large, McAvoy even took a subtle shot at Trump, defending Philadelphia with an image of himself as his character Patricia from Split and Glass.

It’s good to see that even an Omega-Level telepath can scour the vast and infinite multiverse for his partner, only to find true love right here in Philly.