We all know James McAvoy mainly as the younger version of Charles Xavier in the Fox X-Men films, but he’s also had plenty of success outside the superhero genre. Over the years, he’s delivered memorable performances in movies such as Split, Glass, It: Chapter Two, Atonement, and The Last King of Scotland, establishing himself as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. But now, McAvoy is making the bold move behind the camera with his latest film, California Schemin’.
Based on a wild true story from the early 2000s, California Schemin’ follows Silibil N’ Brains, a Scottish rap duo who struggled to be taken seriously by the music industry. Rather than give up on their dreams, the pair came up with an outrageous solution: they reinvented themselves as Americans, complete with fake accents and elaborate backstories, and tried to fool the industry into believing they were the real deal.
McAvoy not only directs the film but also appears in a small role as music executive Anthony Reid. Making the transition from actor to filmmaker is never easy, but California Schemin’ marks a very solid directorial debut for McAvoy and gives him the opportunity to tackle a uniquely Scottish story that is funny, strange, and almost too unbelievable to be true.
I was lucky enough to sit down with McAvoy to talk about making the leap into directing, what attracted him to the story of Silibil N’ Brains, and some of the challenges he faced while making the movie.
And, of course, I had to ask him about X-Men. McAvoy good-naturedly dodged the question, maintaining that he isn’t involved in the upcoming MCU films. Make of that what you will!
Check out our full interview with James McAvoy below!
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