James McAvoy says acting and directing California Schemin' was 'horrible'

James McAvoy has admitted it was "horrible" juggling acting and directing duties on the set of his first feature California Schemin'.

Based on a true story, McAvoy's directorial debut follows a Scottish rap duo, Silibil N' Brains, who pretend they're from California in order to win a recording contract.

The Atonement actor has a supporting role as a record label boss, and he admitted it was difficult to get in the zone for his acting scenes while fielding so many questions as a director.

"(As an actor,) everything is helping you do what you need to do between action and cut. There's a lot of focus and attention and pressure on you... Action and cut. That's my f**king time," he told Empire magazine.

"(On this,) I was on my way into my action-and-cut moment, and I'm getting somebody telling me about the porta-potties for tomorrow. I'm getting updates on actor availability for scenes that we haven't even done. I'm getting all these updates and all these things. I'm getting 1,000 questions asked of me, which I'm good at, but then I think, 'I've got to do an acting job.'"

The X-Men: First Class star then joked that he needed to ask others for their feedback on his performance.

"Then I watch my performance (on playback) and go, 'Has anybody got any notes for me, because I think that was f**king brilliant!" he laughed.

The Scottish actor has been working on California Schemin' for four years and has been completely focused on it since August 2024. While it was "the most stressful experience of (his) life", he has loved the process, even if he's ready for some downtime.

"I said to my wife (Lisa Liberati) the other day, 'Do you think there'll be a day when I'm not working on this thing?' She was like, 'No, but you're enjoying it still,'" he shared. "It's great. It's very creative. But I'm also like, 'When's the bit where I get to sit in my pants at 3pm and watch a film again?'"

California Schemin' will be released in U.K. cinemas on 10 April.