Interview: Seamus McLean Ross And Samuel Bottomley On The Energy of California Schemin’

It delighted festivals from Toronto to Glasgow and captured the hearts of cinemagoers around the UK – and now James McAvoy’s stranger-than-fiction directorial debut, California Schemin’, is set to attract an even bigger audience with its home entertainment release this week.

To mark the occasion, we chatted exclusively to its lead actors, Seamus McLean Ross (Outlander: Blood Of My Blood) and Samuel Bottomley (Anemone, How To Have Sex), who play the two wannabe rappers at the centre of the remarkable story. Gavin Bain (McLean Ross) and Billy Boyd (Bottomley) dream of making it big in the world of hip-hop as duo Silibil ‘N’ Brains but the music business has other ideas. Feeling constantly rejected because of their Dundee accents, the two arrive in London with a new identity. Their name hasn’t changed, but now they claim to be Californians and the result is near-overnight success, until their boss at the record company starts getting suspicious …..

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In the interview below, the duo talk about how they reacted to the story – “the more you listen to it, the wilder it gets!” – and why they’re fans of the real Billy and Gavin, as well as remembering feeling nervous about being watched by them while making California Schemin’. They also recall how they became friends and the skills they needed to learn for their roles, which involved over two weeks being tutored by Scotland’s only professional skateboarder, The Ogre, who they describe as “a legend.” And Sam, who originally comes from Yorkshire, describes having to speak in a Scottish accent, one that received the ultimate seal of approval. Seamus’ mum loved it!

You can watch the full interview here:

California Schemin’ is available to buy and rent on digital platforms from May 25^th, and to own on Blu-ray and DVD from July 6^th.

About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

Freda is a Senior Writer at The People's Movies. A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

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