Ewan McGregor
Born: March 31, 1971 - Crieff, Scotland
Like Alec Guinness during his lifetime, Ewan McGregor is perhaps best known for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Judging by the range of films McGregor has tackled, however, he wants to be remembered as more than a Jedi knight.
McGregor was born in Perth Royal Hospital in Scotland, and grew up nearby in the small rural town of Crieff. From the start, he wanted to be an actor, thanks in part to the example of his uncle, Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles in the first three Star Wars movies. McGregor's parents, both teachers, ran the local film society, and gave him permission to leave school at 16 to pursue an acting career.
After a six-month stint at a repertory theatre in Perth, McGregor was accepted into London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. It was a three-year program, but McGregor left early after being cast in a television miniseries, Lipstick on Your Collar. More TV work preceded his movie debut, in 1994's Shallow Grave, directed by Danny Boyle. McGregor would make two more movies with Boyle, the second of which — the drug addiction comedy-drama Trainspotting — brought him rave reviews.
McGregor didn't immediately capitalize on his new-found fame, as most of his next parts were in lesser-known dramas and thrillers, and his biggest movie was the musical misfire Velvet Goldmine. But then he broke into blockbuster territory with The Phantom Menace, the first of the Star Wars prequels, and played the romantic lead opposite Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann's extravaganza, Moulin Rouge.
Even though McGregor starred as Obi-Wan Kenobi in two more prequels, he continues to mix it up, doing voiceover work and theater as well as indie and arthouse films. Offscreen, he is married to Eve Mavrakis, a French production designer who has worked on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Imagine Me & You.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Movie Help Web Reviews |
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) - It opens with an exciting space battle and rarely lets up for air. It focuses... (read more) |
Robots (2005) - This silly but very well-intentioned film is a throwback to all the happy-go-lucky musicals Hollywood... (read more) |
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) - I'll admit it. I'm a Philistine. I absolutely adored Star Wars Episode II: Attack of... (read more) |
Shallow Grave (1994) - Despite its title (and some of its more explicit scenes), Shallow Grave isn't about gore... (read more) |
Miss Potter (2006) |
Rogue Trader (1999) |
Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) |
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) |
Stormbreaker (2006) |
Little Voice (1998) |
The Island (2005) |
Velvet Goldmine (1998) |
Stay (2005) |
Desserts (1998) |
Valiant (2005) |
A Life Less Ordinary (1997) |
Big Fish (2003) |
The Serpent's Kiss (1997) |
Young Adam (2003) |
Nightwatch (1997) |
Down with Love (2003) |
Brassed Off (1996) |
Black Hawk Down (2001) |
Emma (1996) |
Moulin Rouge! (2001) |
The Pillow Book (1996) |
Nora (2000) |
Trainspotting (1996) |
Anno Domini (2000) |
Blue Juice (1995) |
Eye of the Beholder (1999) |
Being Human (1993) |
