Ewan McGregor: Difference between revisions
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'''Ewan Gordon McGregor''' (born [[March 31]] [[1971]]) is a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[actor]] who has had significant success in not only mainstream, but also [[independent film|indie]] and [[Art film|art house]] |
'''Ewan Gordon McGregor''' (born [[March 31]] [[1971]]) is a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[actor]] who has had significant success in not only mainstream, but also [[independent film|indie]] and [[Art film|art house]] films. |
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==Early career== |
==Early career== |
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Revision as of 03:19, 2 September 2006
| Ewan McGregor |
|---|
.jpg) McGregor at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.
|
| Born |
 March 31 1971Crieff, Scotland |
| Occupation |
| Film and stage actor, humanitarian |
| Selected filmography |
| Trainspotting (1996) The Pillow Book (1996) Star Wars Episodes I-III (1999, 2002, 2005) Moulin Rouge! (2001) Big Fish (2003) Young Adam (2003) Stay (2005) |
Ewan Gordon McGregor (born March 31 1971) is a Scottish actor who has had significant success in not only mainstream, but also indie and art house films.
Early career
McGregor was born in Crieff, Scotland, and 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 international breakthrough soon followed with the role of heroin addict Mark Renton in Boyle's film version of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (1996).
Leading man
McGregor has 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He took on the role of a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, originally made famous by Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars films.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)
Beginning with Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book in 1996, McGregor has also played gay or bisexual characters for Todd Haynes in Velvet Goldmine (1998) and Ed Blum in Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006). Along with his famously nonchalant attitude to on-screen, full-frontal nudity, his approach to sexuality has deservedly won the married father something of the status of gay icon.
In 2005, the actor lent his vocal talent to two successful animated features. McGregor provided the voice of the lovable robot "Rodney Copperbottom" in Robots, which also featured the voices of Halle Berry and Robin Williams. He then voiced the lead character in Gary Chapman's Valiant alongside Jim Broadbent and John Cleese.
Additionally in 2005, McGregor played the lead - as well as his "owner" - opposite Scarlett Johansson in Michael Bay's The Island and then appeared in Marc Forster's Stay, a psychological thriller co-starring Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling. Both films, though interesting choices, were considered box office flops in America and received negative reviews from critics.
In theatre, he starred alongside Jane Krakowski, Douglas Hodge and Jenna Russell in the original Donmar Warehouse production of Guys and Dolls [1] in London at the Piccadilly Theatre. He played the leading role of Sky Masterson, made famous by Marlon Brando in the movie, to much critical acclaim and received the LastMinute.com award for Best Actor in 2005.
McGregor is next set to appear opposite Irish star Colin Farrell in an untitled Woody Allen drama and will co-star with Daniel Craig in Dan Harris's upcoming film of Glen Duncan's novel I, Lucifer.
Ewan is currently the narrator of the stv show JetSet, a Scottish series following the lives of student pilots and navigators at RAF Lossiemouth as they undergo a gruelling six-month course learning to fly the Tornado GR4 - the RAF's primary attack aircraft.
He has been rumoured to be appearing as Obi-Wan in some episodes of the Live Star Wars TV show.
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). However, this was stopped after the London bombings due to security reasons.
- McGregor's uncle, Denis Lawson, played Luke Skywalker's friend and wingmate Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Ewan's first movie he saw in theaters was in 1977, when McGregor and his brother went to see A New Hope 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.
- During filming of the Star Wars Trilogy, George Lucas would often approach his stunt double, only to turn away when he realized he was not talking to the true actor.[2]
- 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.
- Has a tattoo on his upper arm of a sword, heart, and the names of his wife and children.
Filmography
Discography
- "TV Eye" Single (Soundtrack for movie Velvet Goldmine - 1998)
- "Gimme Danger" Single (Cover version of original song byIggy Pop - 1998)
- "Come What May" Single (Duet with Nicole Kidman - October 2001) UK #27
- "Your Song" single
- "Elephant Love Medley" Single (Duet with Nicole Kidman - October 2001)
Notes
- ^ Guys and Dolls musical
- ^ "COMMENTARY: Frank at Star Wars Celebration 2". frankklepacki. Retrieved 28 July.
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External links
