Ewan McGregor biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Actor. Born Ewan Gordon McGregor on March 31, 1971 to schoolteachers James Charles Stuart McGregor and Carole Diane Lawson. McGregor was born in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, just a few miles north of Edinburgh. He also has a brother Colin, who is an RAF pilot.

As a child, Ewan McGregor did little acting, but enjoyed singing, and became a soloist for his school's orchestra and choir. He also helped his father at the Crieff Highland Games, where his father was named director. McGregor would eventually be awarded the title of Chieftan of the Games in 2001.

After high school, Ewan McGregor joined the Perth Repertory Theater and furthered his education through three years of training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His studies at Guildhall eventually led to McGregor landing a major role as Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's 1993 Lipstick on Your Collar, which was a British made-for-television musical comedy.

Early Career

In 1993, Ewan McGregor starred in a British television miniseries called The Scarlet & The Black, which was an adaptation of Henri Beyle Stendhal's 1830 novel. In that same year, McGregor made his cinematic debut in Bill Forsyth's American drama Being Human, which starred Robin Williams. The film did not do well in theaters and had a very short run, which limited McGregor's exposure.

After filming Being Human, Ewan McGregor continued to make television appearances in the United States and Britain, including Family Style (1993), Doggin' Around (1994) and Kavanagh QC (1995). He also got his first major movie role in the 1994 film Shallow Grave, which was written by Danny Boyle and received some critical acclaim.

In 1994, while filming an episode of Kavanagh QC, Ewan McGregor met his future wife, French production designer Eve Mavrakis. They had a whirlwind relationship and married on July 22, 1995 in a small village in France.

After Shallow Grave, McGregor continued to get work as a movie actor in the British surfing movie Blue Juice (1995) and Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book (1996), before landing a role in 1996's Trainspotting.

Big Break

For Trainspotting—his second movie with director Danny Boyle—Ewan McGregor shaved his head and lost 30 lbs to play the main character and heroin addict Mark Renton. The movie and McGregor's role received worldwide critical acclaim, garnering much attention for the young actor.

Following his success in Trainspotting, McGregor took a completely different role as Frank Churchill in the historical comedy Emma (1996). McGregor then continued his work in cinema, including Brassed Off (1996), The Serpent's Kiss (1997), A Life Less Ordinary (1997), and Nightwatch (1998).

In 1998, Ewan McGregor landed the largest role of his career when he signed on as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. McGregor already had a connection with the iconic movie series as his uncle, Denis Lawson, appeared as Wedge Antilles in the original three films. McGregor first hit the screen as Kenobi in 1999, with Star Wars: Episode I–The Phantom Menace, to much commercial success. The next two installments of the trilogy would follow years later.

Also in 1999, McGregor acted in Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine, as a 1970s-era glam rocker in the mode of Iggy Pop.

In the early 21st century, Ewan McGregor started his own production company called Natural Nylon. He founded it with fellow actors Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Jonny Lee Miller and Sean Pertwee. The group's first movie was the Pat Murphy biopic Nora in 2000, which was co-produced by Wim Wenders' production company and Metropolitan Pictures. The film dramatized the real-life relationship between Irish author James Joyce and Nora Barnacle. McGregor was the star of the movie as Joyce