Two Scottish brothers have created a hilarious social distancing sketch called Star Force, which features James McAvoy and Outlander stars Caitriona Balfe and Steven Cree.

Kevin and Ross Mains, originally from East Kilbride, co-wrote the project with Brendan O’Rourke over Zoom after finding themselves having free time during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kevin Mains, 30, who is known for starring in Outlaw King, Shetland and Mountain Goats, said:

“There is no work for acting this now and it’s a good way to pass the time and have a laugh…. And when someone like James (McAvoy) says he’ll take part, it makes the message of staying at home easier to take as you’re seeing these stars adhering to the guidelines.”

Ross Mains, 25, best known for his comedic sketches on BBC The Social, directed the clip which has been watched over 700K times.

Ross had previously worked with Outlander star Steven Cree, who showed the video to his friend James McAvoy and the Hollywood star immediately wanted to be involved in a future production.

The sketch took just just over a month to make as the stars had to social distance due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Ross Mains said: All the directing would need to be done on WhatsApp, with the actors recording and sending their lines through the messenger!”

He continued to say: “Like any film there were reshoots and difficulties but the actors were all very understanding of it.”

The clip has been a huge success with over 95K likes and 4.4K comments on the video – with many people demanding more episodes.

On this matter, Ross Mains said:

“I’m really pleased people are enjoying Star Force and the hard work from all the team paid off.

“It’s been a huge learning experience and I am really honoured to have got to work with world class professionals at such an early stage in my career!

“If people would like to see more and the team are happy to do more then count me in! I’m just happy we got to even make Star Force at all in the first place.”

Although Kevin Mains said that it will be more difficult going forward due to Ross’ call centre work commitments, saying:

“Ross is as tight with his time as he is with his money – so it might be hard to get him to edit another video in the future.”

However, with the mass praise it has received, plenty of fans will be hopeful of a follow up to find out what happens to the Captain’s clone. [Source]