Gourt Home::Gourt :: Ewan McGregor
| Ewan McGregor |
|---|
| Born |
| March 31 1971 Crieff, Scotland |
| Occupation |
| Film and stage actor, humanitarian |
| Selected filmography |
| Trainspotting (1996) Star Wars Episodes 1-3 (1999, 2002, 2005) Moulin Rouge! (2001) Big Fish (2003) |
Early career
McGregor attended Kirkcaldy College in 1988 to study drama, appearing in the Tron Theatre in Glasgow at the end of term show. McGregor's first leading role came in Danny Boyle's 1994 film Shallow Grave, and his major breakthrough soon followed with his role as the heroin addict Mark Renton in the film version of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (1996).
Leading man
McGregor has also been featured as the male romantic lead in Hollywood films such as Moulin Rouge! and Down With Love, and in the British film Little Voice. He received excellent reviews for his performance as an amoral drifter mixed up in murder in the rather bleak British film Young Adam (2003), which co-starred the acclaimed British actress Tilda Swinton.
He took on the role of a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, originally made famous by Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars films. McGregor took very special care (especially Episode III) of his portrayal of Kenobi to ensure that Obi-Wan's mannerisms, speech timings, and accents closely resemble Obi-Wan's "Sir Guinness Self" (Source: Web Documentaries of Revenge of the Sith DVD)
Ewan was also the voice of the lovable robot "Rodney Copperbottom" in the 2005 animated feature Robots, which also featured the voices of Halle Berry, Robin Williams and Mel Brooks. He played the lead male character (the lead female was Scarlett Johansson) and the character's "owner" in the movie The Island. He then appeared in director Marc Forster's Stay, a psychological thriller co-starring Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling. Both this and The Island were considered box office flops in America and received negative reviews from critics. Most recently, he starred alongside Jane Krakowski, Douglas Hodge and Jenna Russell in the Donmar Warehouse production of Guys and Dolls Guys and Dolls musical in London at the Piccadilly Theatre. He has played the role to much critical acclaim and received the LastMinute.com award for Best Actor in 2005.
Ewan is next to set to appear opposite Irish star Colin Farrell in a Woody Allen-directed film to be shot in London.
On the road
A keen motorcyclist since his youth, McGregor undertook a marathon motorcycle trip with his friend Charley Boorman and cameraman Claudio Von Planta in 2004. From mid-April to the end of July, they travelled from London to New York via central Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia and Canada on BMW R1150GS Aventure motorcycles, for a cumulative distance of 18,887 miles (30,395 km). The trip formed the basis of a TV series and a best-selling book, both called Long Way Round. En route the Long Way Round team took time out to see some of UNICEF's work in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. McGregor is planning a second long-distance motorbike trip from John O'Groats in northern Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa in 2007 and hopes to visit UNICEF projects along the way. He became a UN Ambassador in 2004 and has visited various UNICEF projects, including schemes helping children and families with AIDS in Africa.
Family life
On July 22, 1995, in a village in France, McGregor married Eve Mavrakis, a French production designer, whom he met while filming a guest appearance on the British television series Kavanagh QC. They have two daughters together, Clara Mathilde (b. February 1996) and Esther Rose (b. November 2001). In April 2006 McGregor and his wife adopted a 4-year-old girl from Mongolia. He is fiercely protective of his daughters' privacy and refuses to allow them to be filmed or photographed. He has threatened legal action against the paparazzi for going against his wishes.
Trivia
- First name is pronounced YOU-in.
- McGregor is one of the few major male actors to repeatedly do full-frontal nudity (in Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine, The Pillow Book, and Young Adam).
- Celebritywonder.com reported in March 2005 that McGregor will no longer sign autographs because he is "sickened" by the exorbitant prices that people charge for it (he did sign autographs after performances of Guys and Dolls on West End, preferring to sign Guys and Dolls programmes).
- McGregor's uncle, Denis Lawson, played Luke Skywalker's friend and wingmate Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI Return of the Jedi. In 1977, McGregor and his brother went to see Episode IV A New Hope (among other things) to see "Uncle Denis."
- As a teenager McGregor studied at Morrisons Academy in Crieff. He left school at the age of 16 to pursue a career in drama.
- He was a candidate to be the successor of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond but he declined.
- He based his performance of Obi-Wan Kenobi on that of Alec Guinness and studied many of Guinness' films to capture his mannerisms
- He loves music and began singing at a young age.
- In 2002, he played in a short film called Solid Geometry directed by his uncle, Denis Lawson.
- McGregor appeared on the BBC automotive show Top Gear in 2006. His lap time was 1:48.00 in the Chevrolet Lacetti.
- An episode of the ITV1 arts showcase The South Bank Show devoted a programme to him, which contained scenes of McGregor being rude and aggressive towards various people. One person who stood several feet from McGregor while he is giving an interview is told "Do you wanna **** off?" and Star Wars creator George Lucas is sarcastically told "You are the director, after all".
Filmography
Discography
- "Come What May" Single (Duet with Nicole Kidman - October 2001) UK #27
Notes
External links
1971 births | Living people | Natives of Perth and Kinross | ER actors | Motorcyclists | Scottish film actors | Scottish stage actors | Scottish television actors | Scottish voice actors | Scottish cultural icons | Scottish Presbyterians | Star Wars actors
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