James McAvoy, Vol. IV

Yeah, I am likening myself to the latest brilliant reactor. Um, no seriously, not ready first, guys. I was there first. I was, I was, I was pulling all those moves. Um, 24 characters for the record. She did too. It was, it was really hard. It was really hard. "Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused, begins." Hey guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Seg, and Fused. It's one of our favorites today. James McAvoy is back, and now he's a director. We're talking about his new film, California Schemen, but of course we're hitting up X-Men, Split, Narnia, and so much more. Thanks guys, as always for checking out the podcast. Remember to hit that subscribe button on YouTube on Spotify, however you're enjoying this. I don't care. Just hit the subscribe button. You know what to do. Um, we love our regulars around here, and we love Mr. James McAvoy. He's come on the pod a bunch over the years, and this time it is for very personal, special cause, because he is now a director. This has been something he's wanted to do for a long while, and it is now out in theaters, and I will tell you guys, this is a great movie. It's called California Schemen. It's a crazy, crazy, true story about two young Scottish artists who actually pretended to be American to launch their hip-hop career, and it kind of sort of worked for a while. It's funny. It's sweet. It has some tragedy to it. It's a really great debut, and I'm so happy to support it on the podcast. Check it out. California Schemen. Um, as always, James is a great conversation. He's funny. He's smart. He's a big old nerd. He loves Star Trek and Star Wars and Dune and Narnia, and all the things that I love, and you probably love. And we talk about it all on this, in this conversation today. Um, really fun stuff. And of course, we hit up X-Men, the new, you know, iteration of it, his take on that, and much, much more. So as always, a great conversation with James McAvoy. I think you guys are going to dig it. Remember to check out his movie in theaters now, California Schemen, and without any further ado, I hope you guys enjoy me and James McAvoy. Hi guys. Hey James. Hi. Hi. It's going on, man. You good? I'm good. What do we just call like this for 45 minutes? We should. Yeah. Welcome back to the podcast. Thank you very much. Man of a thousand voices. And now we can add to the resume officially. He's a director. He's big time now. I have to treat you with actual respect. That's right. That's right. You do sucks, man. No more asking me to have sex with your laptop. Let's put, actually, I was going to come to this later. Let's put the photo up a little montage of some things we've done in the past because there's some crazy stuff. Okay. We've made out. We've made up multiple times. That's you, um, having sex with a computer. Uh-huh. That's you at a pub quiz killing. I think you killed Daniel Radcliffe and me, maybe. I stabbed you. I think you stabbed you both. Yeah. Um, you robbed a restaurant high on PCP with Jessica Chastain, which is Chastain. Who is being to just this morning? And then that, that, that one is like, I think our earliest one you punched me and kicked me, uh, uh, kicked my outside of gym. And yeah, I made out with you. I made out with you. I made out with you. Yeah. Yeah. Really? The arc of a relationship. It's really true. All, all, all things are in our relationship. We are all things through each other at different times. It's true. That relationship. And now we're class, classing it up. And now you're respecting me. So this is, look, God, it was inevitable, I guess. Um, no, in all earnestness, it's always great to have you on the podcast. And this is for a really good cause because we've been talking for a couple of years. This has been long in the making. You wanted to do this for a while and it took a, you know, it took a minute, but it has to be satisfying. I mean, I know this is, I mean, give me a sense of sort of where you're at as we tape this. It's literally opening, finally, California scheme and opens, um, today, whenever you're adding this, it is open because it's just open today. And, um, yeah, I'm really proud. It's dead. Look, it's the film I wanted to make. And if you don't like it, I can't really argue with you because it's not like, you know, sometimes I think a director goes like, oh, the studio took it away from me or we never had enough money to be able to truly capture the vision or the actors went a different direction. I was hamstrung by this. We lost half the footage with like overexposed film or whatever. Nothing like that. This is, this is the film I wanted to make. So if people don't like it, I'm like, well, that's fine. That's fair. Uh, thankfully reviews seem to suggest people do like it. Audience reaction, I know is definitely very positive. Um, so I'm really, really proud of it. Somebody asked me at the, excuse me, I keep burping. I just grove half like a burrito because it's my breakfast. Sam did into your mouth, like before you get in here. Keep looking at this. Watch it. It's broken. Thanks, Omega. Um, you lost that endorsement. Wow. Wait, I mean, up an endorsement, dude. It is a, it is like a 60 year old watch. I'm gonna never have that scene of James Bond where he's like, oh, fucking Omega. Oh, I know, I know. James Bond loses to the bad guys because he like caught their 10 minutes. Yeah, I forgot. I forgot to wind it. Uh, I need, I'll get it serviced. I'm not, I'm not dissing Omega. Um, I'm in trouble, man. Oh, ready. Wow. Can I have some of the first three minutes? I'm gonna get a Swiss hitman after me. Um, uh, he's called the, the, the, the, the watch Wanderers and that's my next movie. All right, focus. No, don't focus. It's okay. It's okay. It's classic. Classic. A movie, California scheme and you made it. I made it. Discovered is, is that you love this, that you're never going to direct again, that you know what company you've come to. Somebody was at the, the after party of the LA premiere of the other night and they were like, how do you feel? And it was quite a sincere, earnest question, actually. I was like, how do you feel? Like, I speak to a lot of artists that get to this point and it's never, it's never good for them. It's never like, I'm not slacking you off, man. If you're like, it was a good question. Um, I represent Omega. It was a leading question. I know. It was a pretty leading question of like, you clearly feel like this doesn't match up to your expectation of what you'd feel like in this incredible moment where your film is finally premiered in America. And I was like, well, it's kind of a different deal for me. I'm a performer, right? And as a director, you're creating, you're not performing, but you're still creating the reward and the award is getting to do your job, is to perform or to create that's that's the thing you live for. I never in my wildest dreams was anyway thinking to myself, I just want to get to that premiere party or to get to that LA premiere. I mean, it's a good night and all that, but it was never my goal. The goal is to get to be lucky enough to be able to make this thing or to get honestly to do it again. I've heard from a lot of directors that are like, I make it to make it, but I also make it so that I get to keep making them. You get a lot of directors who made one or two movies and there is nothing wrong with them. I mean, if there's something wrong with them, fine, but it's the kind of alright. No, maybe they're not like knock at the park, but they're not bad. They're like, they're alright. And they don't get to do it again. So it's hard. Well, I'll say on the record, I really dug this. You killed it. It's honestly. It's great. It's funny. It's emotional. It's very well made. It's a very impressive debut. Thanks, man. Look, we made it. It's a little budget Scottish independent movie and I can't tell you the last time that one of those got released in physical theaters in North America. So I feel very honored that Magenta and Bob and Weezie and everybody at that company thought that this could resonate with American audiences. It is a film that is set in Scotland and in London, but the DNA of it is West Coast. It's West Coast, you know. Totally. And it shares a sentiment with the kind of entrepreneurial ship and the fake it till you make it, the striving, the work ethic. We will do anything to succeed, but that I think is part of America as well. You must relate to this. I mean, I feel like anybody can relate to this, but especially a performer, someone that like early under a career probably was willing to do anything was just like just was looking for a shot. And these are two young men who just are looking for that shot. Is that how you connected with the material? Just sort of like, oh, this is in a way, both of these guys were who I was. That's not at a point. So many levels. This is like a weird film about two real people and it's a weird film about myself. Right. Because I'm self-obsessed. And I will make any film about me. Any filmmaker will. Yeah, that's the secret. This is the thing. I could do the story of Janice Joplin. I'm going to make it about me. I think you'll find Janice is going to be similar to Jim's Michael voice. It was a lot of similarities. There were two young guys from what you guys call a project. We call it a council scheme, which is why the film is called California Schemen. And trying to bust into the world of show business. And that was something that I felt was quite similar to my life. The way that they lived, usually when you get film set in projects, they're quite depressing. They're quite exploitative of the poverty and the obstacles. And that's fine. Those films are, a lot of those films are brilliant. But I never get to see a propellant kind of fun, aspirational crowd pleaser from people that come from a project or a council scheme. And that was really important for me to do. Because when I was growing up, I walked outside my door. I didn't feel like I was in precious. I walked outside my door. And it might have looked like the Scottish precious, but I walked outside my door and it was full of adventure. And I was getting chased everywhere. And I was on fights. And it was, there was sex. And there was drugs and drinking, craziness and fun and an adventure. And you want to capture all that and not be the blame. And then it goes further than that in terms of the one parallel to my life as well. Working class kid trying to break any of the arts. And what my version of this path is way less sensational than Gavin and Billy's syllable and brains in California is coming. But it's a path that I've walked for 32 years. And I definitely, on my banal version of it, kind of understand. I'm guessing it wasn't so banal. In terms of how I felt compromised, I don't think I ever felt so my integrity or my authenticity or my identity. never felt so obviously compromised as theirs did. I think you know from my 20s I was such a straight arrow or straight bat as we say I don't say in cricket but English people say about cricket and like I played it straight in narrow. Did you have to do you feel like you had a conscious fork in the road where you could have made an artistic compromise that that would have changed how you felt about yourself that like have you like judging yourself have you been pretty true to your instincts yeah I mean like you know getting offered the opportunity to I don't know award campaigns or which I did do for last game in Scotland I seem to remember I was like I can't do it again and it's not just a judgment on that that that that machine which I feel is probably quite different than anyway it's not me just judging that machine it was me judging my ability to make it through it in one piece and you know getting offered awards or titles that that would maybe look good or sing good or help you in your life but completely compromise your models and your community that you come from like time to like like bullshit awards such as people can make up like are that kind of thing or honors got it honors and stuff like that you could go a different path but you'd feel compromised again not judging people yeah take those things or you have to live with yourself or at the end of the day titles and stuff like that but that stuff is yeah you got to look yourself in a mirror and be cool with yourself and I'm cool with anybody else it makes a different decision no judgment but I judge myself right were you ever laughed out of an audition as these guys aren't really on I think that remotely bad what's the what's you've got I mean I've had some pretty horrific audition lay back so give me one or two what do you got I mean I think I've probably talked about most of these at some point my my sort of press career but my agent wanted me to go up for the musical and we will rock you before they made the movie with Tom Cruise I think was in the movie yeah yeah rock of agency I like rock of ages yes I was at rock of ages maybe it wasn't we will rock you or maybe it's you know the the the the the the queen jukebox musical okay not be him in wraps did the movie anyway I was like what do you need some musicals I don't I don't not a musical guy can sing a bit but really like I'm not a musical guy and my agent Ruth who's been my agent my entire career and I love her and she hates me for telling this 30 she was like who you know you get the part you know I think it's going to turn the whoever gets his part in the big star and I was like oh god so I cool and she never talks about that anyway this makes us sound so not like Ruth this is not a real guy like this is going to make you a star like this is going to make you a star kid she's from Edinburgh she's like you know she's really pragmatic Scott and and if I was like all right and and I go along and I learn this song I've got this guitar I barely play guitar but I've kind of got half decent like for those ones on and I'm just like they're like oh thanks for coming in James and just take it away and I'm like I feel like I'm in a movie right and and I go that this isn't true to myself this is me but instead of telling them that and excusing myself I invent an elaborate story and because of my actor I act the shit out of it and I start to cry and I'm that I'm sorry I've I've just on the way here my friend he got hit by a weirdly ironically an ambulance and I got him in the ambulance because it was empty and he's away in the hospital but I don't know why I didn't go him and I don't know I don't think I could do and they're like you must go you go be with your friend go go James go to and I was like oh Jesus and so I'm never doing that again anyway my agent formed me up like a couple of hours later and she's like what happened it's Tom okay he's rose I was looking to get my mates called Tom and Rose at the time but they were okay I was like yeah he has a thing right he has a thing I don't think I want to be a musical she's like oh my gosh she was like if you ever do anything like that again because she was like they want you back tomorrow they were like please come back tomorrow I was like no that's going to get into an accident I don't happen to get James James in prison because he murdered somebody and yeah more happy second fused coming up you've got your favorite blanket a freshly poured drink and a cold case burning a hole in your streaming queue you're not just watching true crime you're running the investigation from the comfort of your couch welcome to murder she watched the podcast where we recap dissect and slightly over analyze some of the best and craziest true crime documentaries on our favorite streamers did the spouse do it why is the shady neighbor wearing leather gloves in July why did this guy agree to be interviewed in this documentary we ask the tough questions that you're often just screaming at your TV so every week we break down the twists red herrings and absurd documentaries that have kept you up all night it's hydrama cozy vibes an absolute couch detective energy grab your throw blanket and hit subscribe search murder she watched wherever you listen to podcasts and let's solve this thing together from the parents behind law and order comes a mystery the whole family can enjoy Patrick pickle bottom every day mysteries step into the whimsical world of Patrick pickle bottom a precocious 11 year old with a love for reading and an uncanny ability to solve mysteries inspired by the beloved children's book of the same name this podcast vividly brings Patrick's tales of deduction and everyday adventures to life as he unravels baffling indigmas and solves clever cases Patrick pickle bottom every day mysteries is perfect for kids and is just as entertaining for grownups who love a good mystery the whole family can listen now wherever you get your podcasts I didn't read somewhere maybe this maybe you know this or this is and true but that like another musical that you were they looked at for you for Mama Mia and you weren't available you turned it down I've never heard that never heard that I've been looked at for a few things where we sort of availability check you in the kind of angle it and the teazet and you're like oh my god I can't believe it I can't believe it woo give me the script give me the script and you never hear anything that was Star Wars was one of the one of those I got availability checked from them years ago and I was so excited yeah you're a mild Star Wars fan to say the least my go at Star Trek Star Wars start everything Starfan starman starman stargazer why have they not done last Starfighter remade it because like that's a movie that's perfect for being remade why have they not done it and I'm not looking for an actual reason but I'm asking myself why have they not done what say again last Starfighter I think it's such a great concept is brilliant is brilliant yeah anyway so was this like force Awakens time was that one the Star Wars? I can't remember I can't remember I think it was one of the spin-offs I can't remember one of the standalone's they never told me what it was either I mean basically if I took the call from my agent I had to sign an NDA you know I mean it was like just to speak to my agent a bit of um but there was the other one Stargazer well yeah yeah yeah mutiny on the Stargazer that was a whole idea I had that I pitched to the Star Trek people this way I we nearly did it wait wait wait this was the uppercard thing like what was this like I think you can do this to me once I've got a whole story about an early Picard I mean all I really wanted to do in my career is play young versions of Patrick it's on a good job of it this whole story about like a young Picard that I love so you pitched like a series or a movie like a something it was like a one-off standalone season when he was starring when he was the captaining the Stargazer or he wasn't captain yet or was he when he took over his captain to the Stargazer and what actually happened and the secret that he's been holding his entire career and you came up with a holy treatment like a whole idea like a whole I just pitched it to them talking to them and they were while in here but we had logistical issues that they never couldn't do it but I love that story that I just got a bit about and think about it at night I'm going to do the same now that's amazing um have you ever these guys okay so I'm connecting some dots from from the story so these two men they lived the life they decided to commit all the way and pretend to be basically American yeah do you go have you ever gone that route for like a part do you like live 24/7 like you never never but I did do a movie the movie at the BGS Chastain the first movie at the BGS Chastain I think I've done four movies with jazz yeah well do we count two for Eleanor Rigby that's kind of two with this technically three all because they did another cut that match with together yeah and so was it for that when you're saying you the director and the producer Ned and Cassandra Colacundas they asked me to stay in accent when I was on set so I did that for them I don't know if it was to help me if it was just to help them like talk to me um but that was weird but I did it anyway uh no I've never I've never stayed in character or stayed in accent or anything like but these guys these guys when they were rejected by the music industry and basically laughed at like overtly and likened to the rapping proclaimers which I actually think that's a type of proclaimers I'd be up for watching um they were devastated I mean these were young kids with huge talent but young fragile minds you know right and they were on the floor um and they thought okay we'll take the note what are you wanting and the Beastie boys you want Eminem we'll give you it and they adopted these West Coast skater boy skater dude rap personas and went back and got their deal For the same label, for the same label, for the same label, track but with different accents and the message was you can't wrap with that voice coming out your mouth you can't wrap if your Scottish you're not allowed but they went even further they went like I don't know if you know many method actors I don't from what I can see from the outside looking in it doesn't look particularly healthy for your your head they did it for two and a half years and they'd never acted before and even when they were on their own right nobody around to catch them they were just in deep character the whole time and so the fact that it ends almost physically and mortally tragically for one of them is is no real surprise to me because if you mess with your mind for long enough you're going to pay the price yeah you've said that this experience was maybe the most stressful of your career was it of my career depth not of my life but definitely of my career so what was it the shoot was it getting the money for it was it kind of like at least like which part was the the part that kind of gave you the most great hair I would say getting the money for it was someday I was a job I was like always like this is over to you guys this is over to the producers and I'm going to be I'm going to help the the artistic side of it the logistical side of it I'm going to prepare prepare prepare we got into a lot of financial trouble at one point and I turned to producers and I said you're going to need to fix this because when you fix this I'm just going to assume you're going to be able to fix this when you fix this I'm going to need to be prepped to make this film there's no point in me worrying that you're not going to fix it or come and help you because when you get that money and we can make this film I'm going to be on the back foot and I'm going to be improvising like making a shoot up on the day and I was like I'm going to just assume you're going to switch the rust and when you need me to step away from prep and my crew and you need me to come in like bend over and or kiss someone's ass or or let their ass touch my ass or whatever it needs to happen to get the money of them like I will do that and until then I got a movie to prep until then I got a movie to prep and it was great and I didn't need to give any sexual favors in the end which is brilliant yeah and we got the movie the minute so what was the stressful part then and the the shoot actually the real shoot was the time you didn't have enough time you never have enough time you never have enough time we like we made this this movie for it's a it's a low it's not micro budget which I would always sort of categorize as like hundreds of thousands of pounds or dollars we had three million three each million that's not a lot not a lot of money especially this day and that we made last period movie also maybe technically speaking it is that we we had to plan real hard to kind of try and get the period into it in ways that the period wasn't and not in ways that were expensive it's crazy into a lot we couldn't see but I mean I think we made last year Scotland for three million and we shot for 10 weeks and we went to foreign countries and like and all of that that's my life you make and 10 weeks we make California scheme and in my home country no travel really and that's three million lasted five weeks we did a five week shoot so we had 25 days this it's crazy just what's changed and how far the money won't go anymore but you know planning planning planning and I've worked with amazing directors and some bad ones but I've worked with amazing directors and I've seen how much the the prep in the planning can really help mitigate and compensate for a lack of finance so I love how not only metaphorically does the trans spotting hangover of this movie it literally hangs over this movie thanks to this I can't it kind of mural I that mural didn't exist I made that that right yeah and then of all the sort of product placement not product placement or trademark sort of like you know clearance things you have to do for the movie that was the easiest to get who is that the film for the film for a channel for a film for who are the major I think the major people behind it and they just said yes straight away and it was and I was like and so you and McGregor was face I don't need to ask you in McGregor and yeah I didn't and I must make you feel good as an actor yourself like okay I know and so I wanted to something that was bad about the Scottish experience and there was a lot of versions of what I wanted on that wall because I wanted something bad that was kind of like graffiti on the wall at the beginning that could be rubbed off at the end right and then so this thing called the poll tax which was terrible and it was an awful tax that was basically only it was tested on Scottish people but never in the rest of the UK so we had it for like five years before anybody an extra tax that English people didn't have to pay all that that was a big thing I thought about putting that on it and then rubbing it off in the end and some major Scottish fruitball defeats or something like they made us feel bad a bit the collective subconscious of Scottish psyche but then I was like what's going to like extend outside of Scotland and be culturally relevant or recognisable and even transport and I think is not instantly to everyone but it traveled more I felt and I do think that I don't think most people think it's shouting in Scottish but I do think sometimes we are made to feel as if it's supposed to be without complaining in morning I made a film that's really fun instead of complaining in morning so why am I complaining in morning now but the film is about that the film is a fun way to sort of combat that feeling that I think we're made to feel sometimes is a kind of second-class citizen nation sometimes more happy second fused coming up the world of sonic the hedgehog has been thrust into a not so dark not so stormy hard-boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming follow sonic and the intrepid chaotics detective agency as they take on their biggest case yet this high-flying action-packed adventure will take them across the world fighting for every clue they can fight it's one heck of a tale which is good because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives well if that's all I can just dispose of you wait what all will be revealed in sonic the hedgehog presents the chaotics case files listen now wherever you get your podcasts hi I'm Whitney and I'm Katie and we're the host of true crime campfire we set out to make a true crime podcast we'd want to listen to we get right to the story we don't do a lot of extra talk in and when we do it's usually to roast the short hairs off of some loser murderer or scammer you laugh but only at the people who deserve it like which serial killer would you most like to shove into a locker BTK and is often poetry dude got caught cuz he didn't understand what a floppy disc was we look for the stranger than fiction stories like the case of patty james a killer catfish before the internet was even a thing or howard walmsley a sentient wad of damp laundry who convinced his town he'd won the lottery fleeced local businesses out of thousands and then became a romance scammer we've covered tons of cases you've never heard of cults scammers killers so come find your next great binge listen to true crime campfire on apple podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts new episodes every friday shift gears we've done it we've had a lot of kind of career conversations with over the years and we've also talked a lot about your your loves the things you grew up with this is something I've done with some filmmakers over the years this is what I call this the happy second fused movie matrix I'm going to ask you some kind of like predilections things you like more than others so for instance are you an alien or aliens guy alien okay like the horror not the yeah and the tension and the performances I think I think don't get me wrong I love aliens yeah you're not like aliens it sucks my granda growing up he did my granda would always sleep in their bed revolutionary what we're calling tramp in sleeping their beds right it's wild you guys need to come and visit and they'd always sleep in their bed with their door open so I'd walk up the stairs and go pass them on the landing up to my bedroom yeah and so I'd always know what they were watching in bed or whatever and my granda would always watch aliens aliens the second one it's a great film I love it anyway it sucks then same game over out of your dramas and but for me is alien I think the performances in aliens are exceptional I think performances in alien are so wildly natural yeah and I'm not just all about naturalistic acting I like weird and stylized acting as well but so natural and gritty and like just like Ken Loach made that film right to sleep working class work like crew that's just so yeah like you know you you set that film in a council estate or a project modern day and there's like a serial killer running around chasing everybody I don't think anybody's watching it yeah you can make that film about working class people in space and it's the weird thing about sci-fi I think it allows us to free ourselves of the kitchen sink mundane that makes us go I don't want to watch that or oh I understand everything about that and you make judgments and you make you have preconceptions about it you put that exact same story in space and suddenly we're leaning in looking at the details and nuances as if they're brand new with no preconceptions it's what partly why I love sci-fi yeah you were telling me the last time you were on the pod that like you'd like to do more sci-fi yeah I'd love to do more sci-fi because they're not doing a timing obviously like there's Dene doing do and etc but like horror is the thing and you obviously have have a real horrified horrified or in there. I am and there I am and there yeah, I'd love to do more stuff I um But yeah, it's just I mean for me one of the most relevant things one of the most relevant things getting made back when you know One of the multiple times that there was a war in the Middle East with the West and with us and Was Battlestar Galactica? dealing with insurgency and dealing with terrorism within your own borders and like there was nobody else doing this Yeah, Battlestar Galactica, which was never that show back in the day. No. So cheesy and came in with such and I loved it back in the days Well, it was a good bit like and came in with such sort of political and social penetration. It was amazing You were horse in this race or two, but what's the best comic book movie of all time? Wanted and I I loved Lots of them. I like Whoa, the best comic book movie of all time. I mean you go old school Superman. You go dark night. You go dark night That's hard to beat dark night with a Joker. It led you to give an incredible performance that movie's exceptional I do like Infinite war. I think infinite war is great. Yeah, I really think infinite war is great and not just because I'm in it but I think these a future past is It felt like it was one it they maybe not the only one but it felt like it was right at the beginning of all these mashups of cast and mashups of time and mashups of that and But actually really pulled it off brilliantly then I was I was scared going in in that movie because We'd gone such a different tangential direction with first class, right, and it was a success and it was good and Critically and financially did really well and and we all loved you know it and then we went in days of future past and it was No, we're not doing that anymore. Yeah, we're kind of going back to What we did was Brian right in 99 in 2000 and I was like this feels like I missed it But I was wrong in a way it also is incredible and also in way kind of elevates in retrospect first class Which I absolutely adore because it's more of a one off than any other yeah X-Men film and most comic book film And that's that's very much Jane and Matthew's voice all over that film and And really also I mean it was a big cast, but it was also it focused It survived off its chemistry between like two characters that we love But we never really get to spend a whole movie with them Yeah, and we kind of got to spend a whole movie with this relationship Which I thought was the only time you've ever done it if Chris for Abbott as the finger thing are you gonna sue? That's yours. That's your finger It was in the comics, but you made it that was in the comment, but you really made I pulled it from the comments I know, but if he does double finger Then he'll be hearing from team Mac. Oh, no, no, I'm there for the double finger We've heard that about you there for the different you just need you can you've got to pick the right time to don't overshoot your Introduce this second finger That's it for second everybody That's it everyone there we go is the worst thing about if there is a bad thing about being in the X-Men movies Is it that you're gonna be asked about the X-Men movies until I need to start talking about the X-Men movies and here's the reason I've got a three million dollar independent Scottish film Possibly the first Scottish film to be released in American cinemas in 30 years. I don't know probably know up But maybe and if I say it a bit X-Men, that's the headline. Where isn't trying to say a California scheme? We're bringing them in in the wake of it. Has the recent have the recent Dune films given more life to your Dune? You think at all have you ever discovered your Dune? I think they've forced my Dune further. No. What is one thing your Dune did better than Denise Dune? well my Dune I need to say the way I actually say it June, which sounds like the month June we say June not Dune. What do I say? Oh, I say Dune Dune. Dune for me Dune means down. Okay. We say I'm gone. So what do I say? You say Dune. But what should I say? What should you say? Yeah. I know you shouldn't do it. That's the way you say it. You should say the way you say it. How do you say it? June? Dune like with a J. June. June. Okay. June. June. Okay. So My Dune was has at I think I don't even know what he's going with these next film My story started after what he's made so this is not quite apples. Yeah, right. Do you like that? Like what's it? He's done a lot of it. I love it. I think they're brilliant. I think I think they're really quite words that are reductive like epic. But yeah, these really captured the religious zealot and the religious sort of manipulation part of it I think, which is sort of key to all. And the doomed kind of figurehead Paul is knowing he kind of knows. He knows he's never going to work. I mean, but he's doing it for someone else so that it can work which is who I ended up playing in my Dune. Do you pop up at the end of this this June? Were you like son grandson, great, great grandson? I was son of Paul's son, right? Let's go the second. Yeah. So I was late. I was Oscar. I would be now Oscar Isaac Grantson. I see. Look at that. I know. It was a man of hair. The same thing. You got it. It was it was it wasn't Oscar to never one. Obviously it was him William Hurk. William Hurk was him. Yeah, I was post that. Yeah. It was his name but late for the first. Yeah, there you go. Uh, here's a random one. Last time I spoke to your buddy fast spender. He told me the amazing audition story when he opened up for Mad Max back in the day. Did you get a Mad Max audition? I did not. Thanks, George. Love your work, big man. You're probably a bigger Mad Max fan than all the guys that went up for that one. I don't know actually. I mean, I remember I watched the first Mad Max because I feel that most people have seen all the new Mad Max's of course. They've seen Mad Max beyond the Thunder Dome. Yeah. Not a lot of people have watched the first Mad Max which is almost the kind of wild they're feeling. Oh, totally. Then any of the stuff that comes after. Yeah. Real warrior gets it's much bigger. Mad Max feels like dirty, dangerous like. And also like much closer to the world we actually lived in at that time. Yeah. Less sort of like world-building. So therefore it felt like is this set? No. Yeah. Or is it post-apocalypse or is it just these terrifying people that they're doing? I mean, it's it's it's real. Really messed my head. It's a really young kid because I just I slept in my late grandmother's bed quite a lot. Yeah. And I'd just wake up at 2 in the morning. She'd be watching whatever was on daily because she was a super old lady and she you know, older people don't sleep as well. And I remember like Mad Max being like I don't. I was like I really need to start sleeping in my own bed. That's explains a lot. I wanted something to record straight on something. I was an idiot. One of the times we spoke we talked about Star Trek and you talked about how you I think turned down a role that they wanted you for. And for some reason I said McCoy obviously they wanted you to play Scotty. I won't be drawing on that. But then I do remember I met I met JJ. I think I met him for lunch at like the four seasons in L.A. and you they were asking me to come along and play. And and I said I'll play Kirk. And and I said but do you know something and he said do you want to come come and test for Kirk? And I was like no. I was like I remember saying to him right and I'm not taking credit for anything because JJ Abrams I said it earlier today in a different podcast. I've done every podcast in the world today. Just today when I was describing sci-fi films I loved that that first Star Trek movie that I love it so much. And anyway I said I'm not going to come and test for it because I'm not right for it. And I was like I just feel like he's you know the old Kirk was like the quarterback but your Kirk the way you've written this because it was brilliant it was a great script. I was like your your Kirk is like the quarterback gone gone bad like gone wrong. And then the story is like how does he become whole again? How does he become the Kirk we know. And and you couldn't have got a better interpretation of my direction. Then the Kirk we got he's amazing. He's he's amazing. That movie is a very good casting what they did on that. It's it's so sort of hardcore truck fans like you and I like it was like how you possibly recast and they did it totally. And he seen when I saw that film I was like JJ the way he wrote it I wouldn't give JJ that no it's not like I'm trying to say like JJ heard that and then he went and got crispy. That's not what happened. The script was just so brilliant and written it was I hate this term in Hollywood but undeniable the kind of actor you needed for it. And he's got that he's got that sort of he's beautiful and he's such a sort of stud. And at the same time there's something just a bit right a bit of which I'm sure he'll love to hear. He's like who wants to be just the kind of standard. Oh he just said that that's the whole thing like the Princess Diaries like print like he heard in that show. And he's like balance of his balance of like seriousness, authority, airnessness and like winking comedy. And he's nods to that stuff that shat and I used to be able to do so, he's you couldn't have done better. What goes into a hummus audition? What did they make you do? Well, I do not honestly don't remember to use it out. I really don't know. I just can't quite try to get funding for California's gaming. Put on these goat feet now for me. I was possessed by the ghost of CS Lewis. You really don't remember it's just one another audition. Vaguely vaguely. I remember I remember sitting with Andrew Addamson in talking afterwards, but I don't remember doing any acting, I remember them kind of explaining to me that they had had a different actor to play the role that somebody else had the job and he was older, he was I think he must have been in his mid 30s or something like that and he was an established actor. And then when he kind of started to audition all the pregnancies, the young children and they saw I think they saw thousands upon thousands of people and they were starting to do the scenes with terminus with prospective potential Lucy's, they just made a massive realization that you know as much as Mr. Terminus is cute and they do become genuine friends, he is also somebody who's kidnapping her and taking this little girl back to his house and effectively drugging her and then giving her into bondage to the white witch and they were like this is we can't have a man do this and so they were like we need a boy and so they came to me I think I was like 22 or 23 and I looked a bit 14 and I had no threat I was so benevolent. But what did they know? What was to come and what? What did they know? Was that a like happy moment early in the career to get that role for you? Is that BBC Chronicles of Narnia that was made in like 1980 whatever? I watched that, we taped it and I played it all the time and the book, because the book is like and you're done, it's like it's one of those, it's like the whole bit, you fly through it. I read that book so many times, so it'd be involved in playing Mr. Terminus, it was a dream come true for me. I think that same show, Glenn, it was changing, I know it means a lot to you, yeah. I mean we talked before early on about kind of like the awards part of the thing and how it can feel a little icky or whatever, but like when split came around, there was real talk justifiably so that you should be recognized. It still remains one of the most impressive things I've seen on film full stop and I think many would agree. Did you get, I don't know, did you get caught up in that a little bit like when like people started to be like, I know it's a genre movie, but like this guy deserves its props. I got this bar of gold billion and I crafted my own and I had a ceremony from it, no. No, not particularly, I didn't think it would get welcomed into that sphere much. I mean I think some horror performances or scary movie performances are kind of breaking through now, but even then it's not that many, it's not like for the amount of good work that's done in that field, I still don't see enough representation of that good work. I kind of feel like that with all the work shows anyway, in every genre I'm like these movies that you've nominated are generally speaking really good, every now and again there's stuff and then you're like, but generally really good, but there's like another 20, 40, 50 equally if not better good out there, but they just aren't like at what level or they're not part of the club or something like that. So the fact that horror or scary movies ain't so much part of the club was no big surprise to me. It's getting a wee bit different now, but I wasn't bothered. Indeed, in Aberradi, it seems to be like someone that for obsession, I don't know if you've seen that one, that people seem to be like. I think she's exceptionally that far, right? She's so, so good and her ability to pivot, which I think is part of what people liked in my performance, you know, I am likening myself to the latest brilliant reactor. No, seriously. I was in the Aberradi first, the guys, I was there first. I'll be 24 characters, just for the record. She did too. It was really hard. And she, I think, but I think the pivoting from moment to moment and they've kind of right, the psychological right angle she's capable of and that film is disturbing and the self. It's not just impressive. It's not just like, wow, that's dexterous acting. It's also part of what's scary about her as well because we look at behaviour like that and find it so alien and yet it's in the physical form of a human being, it freaks us out. And I think like, I think what she's doing in that film as well, as much as it's a magical sort of torture that's been put upon her, it is, it is also sort of representative of a mental issue that she's suffering. Yeah. And I think the, the heart of a lot of horror is, or scary movies that aren't necessarily horror, there is a sort of mental instability and because I think one of the things we assume and find so scary and a social situation is mental instability and it's very hard for people to be around to take on board to confront in a way that isn't just like, oh, I feel sorry for you now. I don't need to talk to you. Because I don't like to look at it. I don't like to be around it. I don't know what you're going to do. It's really uncomfortable and unsettling for people and I think at the heart of a lot of that stuff is, is psychological trauma and instability and she just plays that so well. Was it, um, you've also done like a lot of work in recent years and like the audiobook forum, Sandman, Harry Potter. Was it meaningful to do met I, Moody and Harry Potter? Did you have fun with that one? There's one scene in that that's why I did it and it's the one where he shows how to picture, and that was the reason I did it, it was amazing, I also was well because he's kind of written, he's written as a Scottish character and, um, and they, I think they made a marriage when Brendan did it and I was gutted about that, but Brendan's great, I'm not slagged for brilliant. Sure. So when they came to a Scottish person to do it, Scottish, I was like, I let's do this, um, it was, it was for that picture, but also as well, I just had one called recall, um, which, um, uh, the JD Kirk wrote, uh, and that is the first, like proper full on narration that I've done. All the other audio stuff I've done is like, acting, and, uh, this is the first site full on just I narrated, sort of, 70 hours of whatever, not that much, but like a lot, uh, and that was all the characters kind of like the, all the characters and it was, it is one of the biggest workouts I've ever had in a match. Yeah. And I, and I loved it as well, um, and that's going down really well as well. And we're going to see if we can turn it into something. I always think about, do you ever see it again going, uh, everything goes back to Patrick Stewart. I remember seeing his Christmas carol on stage, I, I kneel in front of a picture of him every morning. This is the, this is the Patrick Stewart podcast, by the way, uh, no, that guy could do anything. It's called Engage. Exactly. Right. It's itself. Wait. So back, uh, one more question on the mad, I moody Harry Potter. I just had a kid Harrington, who's reprising his role in the live action. Any interest in doing that character or another character in the live action series? Oh, man. I ain't saying stuff up. That's head laying photo. This is head laying photo. But that's real. I don't know for California. I, I go, I say, what California is giving it? This is how we get. I'm telling California. Just give it. Okay. He's playing Voldemort. We just, we just confirmed it. Just saying. Uh, good. Anywho. Anywho. Anywho. Hey. What's in here? You have an amazing filmography, let's pit some of your films against each other. You're going to choose the best James McIvoy movie of all time. Uh, movie. No, my performance, but the movie, however you want. Okay. And no judgment is today at this moment, for instance, wanted versus split. Who wins today? I. I. I. I think split, okay? Narnia versus Speak No Evil. Oh. They're so different. I know. That's the beauty of it. That's different. I. Are they not different? They're basically the same movie. Yeah. I'm Aslan at the end of that movie. That means Paddy's coming back. That means I'm going to get resurrected. And Paddy was some sort of modern day avatar for the Christ figure. That's weird. Hey, I'm going to say just because I had more, uh, uh, just at this moment. Not binding. Don't worry. Just because it's more complicated and messed up, and it makes you laugh at things that you shouldn't laugh, uh, Speak No Evil. I was going to say, because Narnia, after saying that, that's weird. Narnia. The dark comedy, right? Atonement versus Last King of Scotland. Uh. Oh. I don't know. Fair. - You're like two of the best, I've ever done. - I picked two soon, Peter. - Atonement, Atonement. Atonement and failed with my two favorite films. - Sorry, I didn't put Phil in here, but it is great. You're absolutely right, but here's the last one. X men first class versus days of future past. First class, days of future past, which one? - As you said, because it's time to learn, For me first class, okay, but I think these are future passes up. There's one of the best sort of superhero movies Okay, so now it's down to split versus speak no evil Split no evil no no no split no glass. We won't allow it Split or a speak no evil split or speak no evil. I think My - Got this. Split. Evil. - You said split. Atonement versus first class. Atonement versus first class atonement. Okay, here we go. This is it. Split versus atonement. The greatest chance of macroefinement of all time is atonement. I think atonement, yeah. I think Joe Wright made a modern day masterpiece. I think he's amazing. I've been lucky man, I've had such a good career. Touchwords, it's only going to be over in about two years. - What a run though we had. - It's been good while it lasted. I'm just going to go direct, like, so popular. - I'll probably direct more and more and more and less and less and less, I think. - Two bucks. - I'll try and do both, I'll try and do both. I mean, I don't get paid $2.50 for being a director, so like, I'll probably need to act. - That's sweet wanted money. The residuals, they're sweet wanted money. - I don't get too much money from wanted. - What's the residual track that comes lost? - The only movie that you've always got like a good back end and there's like some in your contract. You get back end here and back in there. I very rarely see anything from anything. You get the old check for like, you know, a couple hundred quid here or something. You get checks for like, like 25 cents or all that. And you're like, it literally costs more to post this and you get, for me, check it, cash it. But then the only one that really you consistently pays me is split. - Really? - Because we made it for, I think it was made for like six millionaires on the line. - Yeah. - And let's say they spent 30 advertising it. - Right. - In our first weekend, we made 40, so we were in profit. - Wow. - So our first residual check came at the end of the first weekend. - That's how I'm honest. - It was how to do it on the right. - I know, and I've all, he's nice. - Night is super smart and so many ways. And he's also, I have to say, I took very consciously took from many of the directors that I worked with. And subconsciously as well, but the thing that I took away from him was his preparedness, 'cause, you know, he made that film and glass on incredibly modest budgets and very focused on how he would maximize his day and maximize his shots and maximize what he got over the story of that day. By just being incredibly well prepared and being able to share that and communicate that with the crew, Joe Wright, I would say as well, is the one that I absolutely ripped off with how to communicate with the crew in terms of what I want and in terms of what the scene has meant to be and how he managed to engage the full sort of capability of a crew, 'cause the crew of filmmakers are like, that's an incredibly challenging resource. If you can activate all that and he did that. - So well and kind of benevolent manipulation, I guess, I keep calling it manipulation, it's not, but it's like, - But making them feel like they have a seat at the table and they're part of their invested in it. - He made the crew feel like filmmakers that they more than any other person I worked with. And that's like, you make somebody feel like a filmmaker with that amount of talent. They're gonna bring it to the table, it was incredible. So I totally ripped them off with that in the best way. It's on the screen. Congratulations, my friend. - Thank you. - Honestly, California Schemin, a great piece of work, launching the new directing career of one James McAvoy. - Here we go. - Cheers. - New stuff to talk about. Everybody's supported, support James. We broke news today. He's Voldemort, this is so exciting. Thank you for that. - Excellent. (laughing) - Not saying anything, he's just laughing. - You're wheezing, what happened? - I'm literally dead. - I've been, I've done five days of press. The film's so good that I have to release it in April in the UK, the cast are all working, tons. None of them can come to America to sell this thing. - So I'm doing, I'm doing every podcast, it's every existence. - Don't diminish this. - The studio that's distributing it, or actually putting me in a time machine, you go back to when podcasts first existed. - It's doing all time radio. - You can do all the ones. - Yeah, that's great. - You're doing Mark Marin. That's great. - It's going to be great. - It's great. - It's great. So I'm losing my voice. - Okay, it's good to see you. - Nice to see you too, man. (upbeat music) - And so ends another edition of Happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't fresh. - The TV is by Josh. (laughing) - Reality TV is messy. - Pop culture is louder than ever. - And the internet completely unhinged. - Welcome to Roxanne. - And Chantal. - The podcast where cousins Roxanne and Chantal break down reality TV, celebrity drama, and the stories everyone's texting about. - We recap the shows, spill the headlines, and sit down with the stars themselves. - No filter, no boring takes, just a tea. New episodes every week. - If it's trending, we're talking about it. - This is Roxanne and Chantal. - Let's get into it. - Let's get into it.