California Schemin’ is based on the true story of two Scottish friends, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, who pretended to be an established Californian rap duo called Silibil N’ Brains, who got a record deal and appeared on MTV.
And McAvoy was drawn to California Schemin’ – based on Bain’s memoir – because he feels it highlights how his fellow Scots are held back from achieving success because of their accent.
He told the Hollywood Reporter: “In my journey, in my world, did I feel less than?
“Yeah, a little bit, because to this day, there just isn’t a lot of work out there for people with Scottish accents, unless they’re able to change their accent.
“I understood there wasn’t a lot of work out there for people who sounded like me.
“Rap music is all about the streets that you come from and what made you. And they let that go.
“So could they keep themselves sane? Could they keep their relationship with each other? Could they keep their relationship with their own sanity while forsaking their roots?
“In a less sensational way, that has been my journey for 30 years.”