James McAvoy's father and half-brother appeared in court on drug dealing charges yesterday.

The Scottish star's estranged dad James McAvoy senior, 55, and half-sibling Donald, 24, were arrested earlier this month and accused with selling cocaine out of their flat in Drumchapel, Glasgow. Both James senior and Donald appeared before a judge at Glasgow Sheriff Court, where they made no plea, according to Scotland's Daily Record newspaper, and were released on bail. The pair will return to court at a later date.

Filth actor James has been estranged from his father, who split from his mother Elizabeth when he was just seven, since childhood. The star's dad moved on with Donald's mother, Mary McKinnon, but the half-siblings have never met. James senior previously claimed his son cut off contact with him after he moved in with Donald's mother Mary. "I think James still had hopes of me and his mum sorting things out. He started refusing to see me because he didn't like Mary. In the end I took a step back rather than upset him," he said.

James' half-brother, Donald, has been plagued by a series of run-ins with the law including a stint in prison for stabbing a man up to 10 times in 2007.

James shot to fame with a role in British TV series Shameless and has gone on to enjoy Hollywood success in movies such as Atonement, Wanted and the X-Men franchise.