James McAvoy says filming in Wales fuelled his love for the outdoors

Scottish actor James McAvoy has said his time working in Wales during the early part of his career sparked a love of the outdoors that still exists today.

One of his earliest roles was in the 2000 BBC costume drama Lorna Doone, much of which was filmed around Bannau Brycheiniog, also known as the Brecon Beacons.

McAvoy, 47, told Behnaz Akhgar on BBC Radio Wales that he would take "every opportunity" during production to climb Pen y Fan, south Wales' highest mountain.

McAvoy - who has starred in the X-Men movies, Atonement and The Last King of Scotland, among others - also discussed his directorial debut, California Schemin', which was released in UK cinemas last month.

McAvoy said he had "really good times" in Wales while working on Lorna Doone, which charts a young man's search for revenge after his father's murder, and his encounter with the title character.

"It was really being in Brecon [doing that series] that got me into camping and hiking.

"I did a lot of it until I was 30," he added.

Fans of the 19th Century novel were reportedly outraged at the time of the release after producers chose to film in Wales rather than Exmoor, Devon, where it is set.

McAvoy later returned to Wales, starring in the fantasy drama His Dark Materials, which was filmed in several locations across Wales between 2018 and 2021.

He described filming in Cardiff as "a really good time" in his life and said he "got a "real good taste" of the city.

McAvoy also discussed his new film California Schemin', describing the project as "extremely exciting'" as it enabled him to show underrepresented groups and people from lower income backgrounds on screen.

The comedy-drama tells the true story of two Scottish rappers, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, known as Silibil N' Brains, who pretended to be from California in an attempt to secure a record deal.

"I was so excited because we can make an entertaining film about places that I recognise from my childhood," he said.

"I never see these placed represented on screen, certainly not in Scotland."

McAvoy said he wanted to create a short and fast-paced film, in contrast to many that are "really long these days".

"I wanted to make a film finish before the audience wanted the film to finish," he said.