James McAvoy felt "quite bad" after filming the troubling torture scenes in Danny Boyle's new thriller 'Trance'.

James McAvoy was affected by the torture scenes in his new movie 'Trance'.

The actor - who stars as an art auctioneer who develops amnesia following a heist in the Danny Boyle-directed film - admits he usually isn't bothered by gruesome scenes in his movies, but his latest role left him feeling "quite bad".

He told BANG Showbiz: "[It did affect me] a little bit. The torture stuff got to me, actually. It never usually does. I'm usually fine with all that stuff and love being covered in blood and having my face bashed in, but I felt quite bad about myself for a couple of days on this one."

Boyle also explained the disturbing thriller is difficult to categorize and hinted its mysterious psychiatrist character - played by Rosario Dawson - is key to the plot.

He said: "It starts as an art heist like 'Thomas Crown Affair', but it's not really about that. It's noir-ish at times. There's an essential idea of crime, but it's not really about money.

"Rosario Dawson's character at one point behaves like a femme fatale, but it's not really the icy blonde that you know - it's a much more damaged and emotional story than that, ultimately."