Ewan McGregor

The Boy Who Didn't Want to Be an Officer

Ewan McGregor was born in Perth in 1971. He didn't come from a family of traveling performers, but his uncle Denis Lawson already knew what it was like to pilot an X-wing in the original trilogy of George Lucas. He left school at 16 to work lights and sets at the Perth Repertory Theatre before moving to London.

In 1993, he landed his first major role in the series Lipstick on Your Collar. British television was looking for fresh faces unafraid of getting their hands dirty. McGregor fit that description of a young man with electric energy and a smile that hid something sinister.

Danny Boyle found him in 1994 for Shallow Grave.

That low-budget film worked because its lead trio conveyed a very real cruelty. But his breakout came in 1996 with Trainspotting. To play Mark Renton, he had to lose 12 pounds and spend weeks observing addicts in the neighborhoods of Glasgow. The result was a performance that defined British cinema of the 1990s without any need for special effects.

From Outer Space to the Stages of Paris

Hollywood came calling in 1999 with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Playing Obi-Wan Kenobi meant enormous technical pressure (he had to study every gesture of Alec Guinness so the transition would be believable). Filming in Australia was grueling because of the heavy use of blue screens, which the industry had not yet mastered.

He accepted the role for a three-film contract that guaranteed him financial stability for the rest of his life.

But he didn't want to be just a lightsaber-wielding action hero. In 2001, he worked under the direction of Baz Luhrmann in Moulin Rouge! and proved he could sing opposite Nicole Kidman. The production cost 50 million dollars and earned nearly four times that at the box office.

So he decided he needed fresh air far from the spotlight.

In 2004, he hit the road on a motorcycle with his friend Charley Boorman to travel the world in the documentary Long Way Round. It was 30,000 kilometers from London to New York, crossing Asia and Alaska. That adventurer side helped soften his image as an untouchable star and connected him with an audience that didn't even watch his movies.

A Haven in Prestige Television

After years alternating mid-budget projects such as Big Fish in 2003 or The Ghost Writer in 2010, the actor found a new lifeline in the series format. In 2017, he played twin brothers in the third season of Fargo. That role required three hours a day in the makeup chair to transform his jaw and his visual weight.

He won the Golden Globe for that dual role in 2018.

In 2021, he returned to big-budget filmmaking with Halston. The Netflix series explored the life of the designer who transformed American fashion in the 1970s. McGregor became obsessed with how the character cut fabric and spent weeks practicing with professional scissors so he wouldn't need hand doubles in close-up shots.

He returned to his most famous character in 2022 with the miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney+. The production had an estimated budget of $25 million per episode. It was an exercise in technical nostalgia, and the actor also served as executive producer to keep control of the script's tone.

In 2024, he premiered A Gentleman in Moscow, playing Count Alexander Rostov. Filming took place mainly at Space Studios in Manchester and on locations in Bolton to recreate Russia in 1922. The series consists of eight episodes produced by Lionsgate Television.