James McAvoy: ‘I need to make money – directing does not pay’

We’ve all told the odd fib, or perhaps embellished the truth a little, but have you ever dived so deep into a falsehood that your entire life felt like a lie?

Back in the early 2000s, a couple of gutsy, talented Scottish rappers took a bus down to London to audition for a record company looking for the next Eminem. One of the executives dismissed them as the ‘rapping Proclaimers’, and they headed home, dejected and deflated.

But Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd (not to be confused with the Lord of the Rings actor) didn’t give up, deciding instead to reinvent themselves in the most audacious way possible. They renamed themselves Silibil N’ Brains, pretended they were an established duo from California and, before long, had a record deal, a big flat in Soho and all the excesses – and potential risks – that came with it. 

Were they out purely for themselves or were they aiming to expose the hypocrisy of the business? Maybe a bit of both.

It’s a cracking true story, and X-Men and Atonement star James McAvoy has turned it into a movie called California Schemin’, with a script by Elaine Gracie and Archie Thomson.

Asked why he picked this tale for his directorial debut, the Scottish-born star, 46, told Metro: ‘It gave me the opportunity to tell a unique story about people from a working-class background. It’s entertaining and with a possibility of reaching a mainstream audience – quite rare in the film business – while being funny and underpinned by some real stakes.’

In order to make their fake identities seem more believable, the boys agreed fully to inhabit their new characters, speaking with American accents and doing their best not to call each other by their real names. But, as is the case in many stories depicting a sharp, misguided trajectory to success, the two weren’t always on the same page, Gavin wrestling with his demons and ambition, and Billy trying to maintain a solid relationship with Mary, his girlfriend back home.

‘There was personal health, wellbeing and sanity at stake here, because the boys are faced with the opportunity to get ahead by sacrificing one of the most important things you have in this life, which is your personal identity, authenticity and integrity,’ says James, who plays a terrifying record company boss in the movie. ‘That’s also important to the art form, that they love each other so much.’

It’s not clear whether the two men’s friendship is still as tight in real life. Although they both continue to make music, Billy works on an oil rig and is devoted to his family. The film is based on Gavin’s book about the events, so he played a key part in the shape of California Schemin’. Billy got involved towards the end of the project (having previously been affiliated with another version of the story).

‘I think at times it’s difficult for them watching it, because we show them at their funniest and their best, and we also show them at their worst, making some bad choices and suffering because of it,’ says James. 

‘I can’t imagine what that would be like to watch, and reliving certain events, one of which has a guy in mortal danger at one point.’

Samuel Bottomley (who played the lead in Liam Williams coming-of-age comedy drama Ladhood) takes on the role of Billy, while Séamus McLean Ross (young Colum MacKenzie in Outlander, and the son of Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh) plays the troubled Gavin.

While Bradford-born Samuel plays a lad with a Fife accent pretending to be American, Séamus’s starting point is a Glaswegian accent. But the biggest change for them both was the rapping; they’re both big fans of the genre, but doing it on stage (albeit on a film set) is far from easy.

‘I grew up on Eminem and Dr Dre, and I love that stuff, man,’ says Samuel. ‘We both spent a lot of time listening to the songs and practicing them.’

‘Their flows are so fast and they love putting in as many complex words into each sentence as they can,’ adds Séamus. ‘It’s like they’re tripping each other up and making it as hard as they can to impress with their battle rapping.’

Both actors felt a responsibility to respect the intensity of Gavin and Billy’s friendship, especially when you get the sense that Billy would much rather be telling the truth and being his true self with Mary (played with charm and wit by Lucy Halliday).

‘Getting into Gavin’s psyche prior to and after the lie was very interesting because it really was like two different characters – Gavin and Brains,’ says Séamus. ‘The ways in which Gavin starts and how he ends up are so different; we had to map out where we see Gavin and where we see Brains.

‘Billy’s like a catalyst for Gavin. He allows him to expand and be confident. Without him his light diminishes. We see that in some bits of the film when Billy’s not around and Gavin’s by himself. It’s almost as if he’s thinking, “I don’t know what to do when my best friend’s not here.”’

‘I was really nervous to see how Gavin took it when he saw the movie for the first time,’ adds Sam. ‘We were in the same room, watching him, and he was really happy with it.’

‘Yeah, that felt like the biggest pay-off – getting the nod from Gavin,’ echoes Séamus. Lucy also got a heartwarming message from Mary, who she describes as ‘a fiercely intelligent person who knew what she wanted, and was key in helping the boys achieve this, but also key in creating the life that she and Billy have to this day’.

James is keen to do more directing, and is particularly interested in bringing to the big screen stories about relationships – ‘the connection between people’. But first, he’s got to get back to the day job.

‘I need to make some money and be an actor for a while,’ he smiles. ‘I’ve been directing for a year and three quarters and it does not pay. Not yet anyway. Maybe film number two.’

California Schemin’ is out in UK and Irish cinemas from April 10.

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