They say “fake it ’til you make it,” but even that has its limits. Or at least, you’d think so. Pretending to be a Californian rap duo feels like a stretch too far – but for Dundee teenagers Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, it became the plan. After years of being knocked back for the familiar reason that they weren’t the right ‘fit’, they reinvented themselves in the most extreme way: adopting LA personas, talking their way into rooms they were once shunned from, spinning tales of rubbing shoulders with hip-hop royalty, and creating a backstory that felt messy enough to be real. It worked – until it didn’t. Years later, Gavin put the whole story down in his memoir, and now, James McAvoy brings that story to the big screen for his directorial debut, California Schemin’.

The script, story and wild ride of it all immediately caught the attention of Yorkshire actor Samuel Bottomley, as did the role of Billy, a character caught between who he is and who he thinks he needs to be. Also, the idea of learning a Dundee accent, and a Californian accent, and rapping in both – it’s a challenge Samuel was game to take on (a self-professed shower singer, it turns out he’s got range). It’s a performance with rhythm, riding the highs and sinking into the lows. The film mirrors this tension. It’s very funny, and also uncomfortable in places, but always grounded in the friendship at its centre – just two kids chasing their dreams, and the uneasy realisation that losing themselves along the way might cost more than it’s worth.

Off-screen, Bottomley is reshaping things in his own way, having recently founded a drama school in his home city of Bradford, opening up opportunities and mentorship for those who might otherwise feel the industry is out of reach. While on-screen, he can proudly boast sharing a scene with Daniel Day-Lewis in last year’s Anemone.

Alex James Taylor: California Schemin’ was a really fun watch – but also quite an emotional one. Can you start by telling me about when you first read the script and your initial feelings?
Samuel Bottomley: Yeah, it first came to me in an email, and they sent a PDF with some scenes I had to put on tape. I hadn’t read the full script, I don’t think it was out yet, they don’t often give it out in the first audition process. So I did two scenes, and from those, I thought I got the gist of what was happening. In one of the scenes, Gavin is losing it, we’re about to go on MTV, and he’s freaking me out a bit. He’s saying things, acting too American. Like he’s diving too far into it and I’m sort of looking at him like, “Are you alright?” I liked that – being with someone who’s losing their grip on reality. I thought that’d be an interesting thing to play. Then there was the accent side of it as well. One scene was Scottish and one was American. I’m like [puts on a Dundee accent], “What are you on about? Stop freaking out.” And I switched halfway through because I wanted to show them I could do the American accent too. That was something I really looked forward to, being able to jump from one accent to another like that.

AJT: I mean, leaning one accent is impressive, never mind two.
SB: Yeah, every new thing I do seems to have its own challenge, and that was this one. What drew me to it was these mad kids who were really, really brave. You’ve got to be brave to do that. The guts they had, not giving a damn, just throwing caution to the wind and winging it – it’s such a cool story. I was actually surprised I hadn’t heard about it before, [actually] I feel like I’d maybe heard it somewhere, like in a distant fever dream.

“The guts they had, not giving a damn, just throwing caution to the wind and winging it…”

AJT: Did you get the chance to meet Gavin and Billy before shooting?
SB: Yeah, I did a couple of Zoom calls with Billy. I didn’t meet Gavin while filming. There’s a lot of stuff we don’t show because it happened over a longer time, in real life it was about two years, but in the film it feels like a couple of months or weeks. So I had loads of questions – how they kept it up, what other people knew, all that. He had so many cool stories and was really generous with his answers.

AJT: Let’s talk about your rapping – you’re a pro! That was something new for you or had you done it before?
SB: No, I’d never done anything like that. But I’ve always loved hip hop, I grew up on a lot of R&B from my mum, and indie and hip hop from my dad. Early Eminem, those first albums, Dr Dre 2001 – I rinsed that as a kid. Around sixteen, seventeen was when grime started becoming a thing, so that hit me as well. I’ve always had loads of rap on my playlists and I’m always singing or rapping. I had a bit of Biggie Smalls on today, actually.

AJT: How was it rapping in an American accent? Did that come naturally because that’s the hip hop you’ve always listened to?
SB: Yeah, because that’s like the mecca of rap. Most of it comes from over there, so you get used to rapping in an American accent. But you’ve got to get it right and can’t mess up any words, so you’ve got to brush up on that. But rapping in Dundonian – that was the hardest. Really hard.

“I’d never really been on stage like that before. The first few times, I was really nervous, but by the end I didn’t want to get off.”

AJT: And in the film you perform at the Barrowlands, how were those gig scenes? Was it a full crowd?
SB: Yeah – about 2,000 people. They put out an actual advert saying they were filming, and we didn’t know how many would turn up. About 2,000 did. James went out and spoke to them, thanked them, asked them not to use their phones, and asked them to keep the energy up because we’d be doing the same songs multiple times. And they were brilliant. I was so nervous, I’d never really been on stage like that before. The first few times, I was really nervous, but by the end I didn’t want to get off. It sounds cheesy, but you feel the love. You hear them reacting, cheering, it gives you goosebumps, man. They were really supportive. That Glasgow crowd is what makes that venue so special.

AJT: I mean, many musicians would kill to play Barrowlands. What was it like working with James McAvoy, especially with him directing for the first time?
SB: It’ll forever be a special time in my life. Not just working with him, but the whole cast and crew. Being under his wing, shadowing him. It was massive for him, which made it massive for us – it’s such an important part of his life that we got to share that. On set, you become a big family and he was like the captain of the ship, but he also feels like a friend now. He’s a really, really nice bloke. I even sent him a voice note the other week asking for tips for an audition similar to Split, and he sent back a five-minute voice note breaking everything down. That just shows the kind of guy he is.

AJT: Did he give you any references for California Schemin’ – films, music, anything like that?
SB: We listened to a lot of Eminem. But the references were sometimes random, like cartoons, stuff like that. And obviously the real guys’ footage, and bits and bobs they’d watched – Jackass, things like that.

“What they were doing at 22… if you’re not doing that at 22, what are you doing?”

AJT: I’m really interested in the West Yorkshire Workshop you founded, can you tell me about that?
SB: When I started acting, I never liked the idea of going to amateur theatre groups. The kids I’d worked with all came from that world, and it just didn’t feel like me. Later on, I worked with people like Jack O’Connell, and heard about the Nottingham Workshop, and that felt different – normal people, not ‘showbiz’ kids. I always thought, if I ever had the chance, I’d love to buy an old mill up north and set something like that up. I’m not rich, and I haven’t bought a mill, [laughs] but we rent a space twice a month. It’s still early days, but we’re working on funding. With the kids, it’s two hours every couple of Wednesdays. With adults, we do weekends – script work Saturday, then performance Sunday with a guest coming in. We’ve had actors, producers, writers, casting directors. It’s about giving people opportunities they might not otherwise have. Even if only a few people turn up, I love it.

AJT: It must be really rewarding seeing people try acting for the first time.
SB: It’s mad how many people come in and are just naturally good. Some people have never done it, and they’re so honest and natural – it’s like, if that’s your starting point, imagine where you can go. I got into it in a very lucky way. If that hadn’t happened, I might never have realised I could do it. So it’s special to see how many people might have that in them without knowing.

AJT: I think life experience helps too – not having a sheltered upbringing.
SB: Yeah, and having empathy. People who’ve lived a bit can bring more truth to performances.

AJT: And I have to ask, what was it like working with Daniel Day-Lewis on Anemone?
SB: Surreal. Really nerve-wracking. You’re surrounded by massive names – Samantha Morton, and then Daniel Day-Lewis. It was a tough few weeks because I had to get into a heavy mental place for the character. But I learned so much, especially from Samantha, especially. I only had one scene with Daniel, but it was exactly how you’d imagine. I didn’t meet him beforehand – we just went straight into it. That moment between “set” and “action” felt like forever, and then you just switch on and do it. Afterwards, on the last day, he came out of character, shook hands, gave hugs, said lovely things. It was an amazing experience.

AJT: One last thing, have Gavin and Billy seen California Schemin’?
SB: Yeah, they loved it. We did a Q&A in Dundee, and it was really emotional. It was my first time seeing them together, hearing their thoughts – it was amazing. What they were doing at 22… if you’re not doing that at 22, what are you doing?