Actor James McAvoy: Rookie Director at 45

James McAvoy was 45 and a rookie.

“I’m a rookie director. It’s like being 22 as an actor.” He directed his first film, “CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN'”. What did it feel like to him? Anxiety. Pressure. And the energy that came with both. It could have crippled him. It didn’t.

Who is harder on you, the actor or the director? The director. He is sweating blood for it.

As an actor, “I’ve made my peace with the fact that people won’t like everything I do.” He still does good work. In between he does some bad stuff. He’s fine with that. Outstanding answer.

The film is about two Scottish rappers. Their heroes are Eminem and D12. Label executives laugh at them and call them the rapping Proclaimers. Nobody weighs the talent or the work ethic. They get reduced to an accent. They get told they aren’t allowed to do hip hop.

Tragedy.

That scene is why James wanted in. He also plays the record boss who signs them. He wants you to see a danger and a threat. Then he wants you to understand the logic, even when it comes out wrathful.

Rockin’ 8 Highlights:

Then the Rockin’ 8. A pina colada snow leopard cake. James says it won him the celebrity Great British Bake Off. He made sure I knew he won.

The coldest he has ever been was a night in a New Zealand ravine. Soaked. Freezing.

His first London flat had a smell. The deposit never came back. The landlord said they changed too much. All they did was fix the holes in the floor. Fixed the holes.

His first paycheck was 130 pounds from two shifts as a trainee confectioner. He bought Nike Air Max. His rap name would be The Director. He picks sunrise over sunset. His grandparents’ best dish was steak pie.

Then the One Big Question. Four months after James thanked a director for a talk at his school, that director called him to audition. What would he be doing today if that call never came? Two plans. A mid-level university. Or the Navy. “I was probably going to join the Navy.”

One phone call. That’s the distance between James McAvoy and the Navy.

James wants you to see “CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN'”. Press play first.