Oblivion Remastered: The actor who burned his Oblivion disc after the RPG nearly ruined his career: ‘Never again’
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion almost derailed the actor’s rise to fame.
With the surprise release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, nostalgia has brought the classic RPG back into the spotlight. However, not everyone remembers their time in Cyrodiil fondly, especially James McAvoy, who once found himself so addicted to the game that it nearly jeopardized his acting career.
Late-night gaming sessions while filming
In 2007, McAvoy was filming ’Becoming Jane’ alongside Anne Hathaway. While he remained professional on set, behind the scenes, he was losing sleep over Oblivion, as he recognized in an interview with Forbes.
- “I had to go to bed at 10 p.m. because I had to wake up at 6 a.m. every morning,” McAvoy recalled.
- “I had tons of lines to learn, but I was staying up until 4 a.m. just playing Oblivion.”
One night, he started playing at 8 p.m. and didn’t stop until 5:35 a.m., just 10 minutes before his car arrived to take him to set.
I take back I ever hesitated about buying remastered games. Oblivion did it right! #oblivion
— Arvid Geers (@arvidgeers.bsky.social) 22 de abril de 2025, 13:37
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Drastic measures—burning the disc
Realizing he had a serious problem, McAvoy took extreme action.
- “I thought, ‘God, I have to do something.’”
- He removed the disc from his Xbox 360, turned on the gas stove, and melted it until it was unplayable.
- “Once it started melting, I turned off the gas and said, ‘Okay, that’s it. Never again!’”
Following this moment, McAvoy quit gaming entirely for nearly a decade before eventually returning to play Call of Duty: Warzone with friends.
Oblivion Remastered—available now
On April 22, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was officially released for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (including Game Pass)—bringing the classic RPG back with Unreal Engine 5 enhancements.
While McAvoy may never return to Oblivion, fans can now experience the remaster with modernized visuals and gameplay improvements.
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