James McAvoy had a special insight into his character in The Last Station - the man's diaries.
The Atonement star plays a secretary sent to work for Russian author Leo Tolstoy in his final days, and he was given Valentin Bulgakov's journals to delve deeper into his mindset.
And McAvoy is convinced the tomes were essential to helping him with his portrayal of Bulgakov.
He says, "I’ve never played a real person before and my character kept diaries from before his time in this film to the day he died so I could go to the diary and copy what he felt that day.
"It was the best source of research."
Starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren and Paul Giamatti The Last Station is a historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.
The film sees McAvoy return to the big screen for the first time since Wanted in 2008. But the actor has a whole host of projects in the pipeline including The Conspirator, Gnomeo and Juliet and Wanted 2.
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