James McAvoy called directing a "stressful but amazing" job after directing for the first time in his 30 years of acting.
In a recent chat with PEOPLE/EW at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival the actor opened up about the joy and challenges of the job he faced in his directional debut-film California Schemin.
The X-Men star confessed that directing a film is an intense but an "amazing" job, noting his directional debut “was a privilege."
"It's the most creative thing I've ever done," he said ahead of the world premiere of his new film on September, 9 at TIFF
"I've loved telling stories as an actor for 30 years. It's an extension of that. I now love telling stories as a director because I get more tools with which to tell those stories."
As for his role as first-time director being an actor with 3 decades of experience, he said, "Look, I probably fell into all the same traps as every director that I've gone like, 'Dude, what are you doing? Just direct me right.' There is no 'right.' I thought I would have a shorthand with actors after 30 years, and I did to an extent."
"I want them to give me them. And you can't tell somebody how to be them. Yeah, they're playing a character, but really what I want is them — bare, open, vulnerable as a performer and as a person so the audience can see inside them. You can't direct them to that. So you've gotta make the space to let them become that," he added.