During the filming of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), he kept imitating the sound of the lightsaber during his fights. George Lucas repeatedly explained that this would be added later by the special effects team. Ewan said, "I keep getting carried away."
He and Jude Law are former roommates. They are still close friends.
The early years of his career were devoted almost exclusively to independent, low-budget and non-feature films. When he took on the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), an interviewer reminded him of his "aversion" to big films, and he replied, "I know what I said, but, hey! This is Star Wars!"
He did his own singing for Moulin Rouge! (2001).
He is very particular about photographs of his children being taken or shown on television. He believes that simply being famous should not give anyone the right to intrude on his private life.
In 2011 he adopted another daughter, Anouk, as a baby (her nationality was not made public).
According to stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, he picked up the lightsaber sword-fighting style very quickly. In an interview on the DVD of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Gillard commented that Ewan was probably faster than anyone else working on the film, including the stunt department.
Because of his commitment to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), he turned down the lead role in The Matrix (1999).
A UNICEF ambassador, Ewan adopted a 4-year-old girl named Jamyan from Mongolia, whom he met while travelling the world in 2004.
He says he was inspired to enter show business by his uncle, the actor Denis Lawson. Lawson played Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.
The Star Wars character Obi-Wan Kenobi uses the call sign "Red Leader" in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). Wedge Antilles, played by his uncle Denis Lawson, has the same call sign in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
In 2004 he completed his 'Long Way Round' trip, riding a motorcycle from London to New York over 115 days through Europe, Mongolia, Russia, Alaska and Canada toward Manhattan.
He was offered a role in The Boondock Saints (1999) and even met with writer/director Troy Duffy to discuss the film. After a drinking session they got into an argument about the death penalty, and McGregor decided not to make the film.
He has an uncredited voice role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).
He refused to let his then-wife and children visit him on the set of Black Hawk Down (2001) because he thought the content was too violent and bloody for them to see.
To prepare for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) and to ensure the accuracy of everything from his accent to the speed of his lines, he studied Sir Alec Guinness's films.
He was considered for the role of Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
Before setting off around the world with Charley Boorman, he had laser eye surgery to improve his eyesight so that he would not need to wear glasses or contact lenses.
Two moles, one just below his right eye and one on his forehead, were removed on doctors' advice because the one near his eye was cancerous (2008).
He first attempted to quit smoking in November 2000, but started again three months later. With the help of a hypnotherapist he finally gave up the habit completely between 2008 and 2009. He also gave up alcohol in November 2000.
His best friend is the actor Charley Boorman, with whom he travelled the world by motorcycle (the Long Way Round (2004) trip). They met on the set of The Serpent's Kiss (1997).
He took part in a campaign against the closure of the maternity unit at Perth Royal Infirmary, the hospital where he was born.
He was appointed an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2013 Queen's New Year Honours for services to drama and charity.
He went on a worldwide motorcycle trip with his friend and fellow actor Charley Boorman.
He wanted to star in American Psycho (2000). However, Christian Bale talked him out of the role and ended up getting it himself.
After leaving school in 1987 at the age of 16, he worked as a stagehand at the Perth Repertory Theatre and took small roles in its productions.
He was initially a candidate for the lead in The Beach (2000), which would have reunited him with director Danny Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge, with whom he had collaborated on Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996) and A Life Less Ordinary (1997). The role ultimately went to Leonardo DiCaprio. McGregor blamed studio influence for the casting decision, and afterwards did not speak to either Boyle or Hodge for years, saying in an interview that he felt betrayed and that the friendship was over. McGregor said that during this time they ran into each other several times, which led to a very strange moment when he, his wife and Boyle were in first class on the same flight and did not speak to each other for the whole journey. However, McGregor and Boyle finally made amends in 2009 when McGregor presented Boyle with the Slumdog Millionaire award. Boyle has since admitted that he mishandled the situation and apologised to McGregor for his behaviour; McGregor stated that he had changed his mind on the matter and moved on, and that he now regrets all the films they did not make together.
He was due to be interviewed live about T2 Trainspotting (2017) on Good Morning Britain (2014) in January 2017, but he pulled out of the interview less than an hour before it was to take place after learning that Piers Morgan, who had recently made comments criticising "rabid feminists" protesting Donald Trump, would be conducting it.
He enjoys playing chess.
He originally auditioned for the role of Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet (1996). He later got the chance to work with "Romeo + Juliet" director Baz Luhrmann when he was cast as Christian in Moulin Rouge! (2001).
(5 July 2001) He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Ulster at a graduation ceremony in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
He is a good friend of Lost (2004) star Naveen Andrews from drama school.
He likes playing the guitar and even writes some of his own songs.
He was considered for the lead role in Doctor Strange (2016), which went to Benedict Cumberbatch.
(12 May 2007) He and his friend and fellow actor Charley Boorman set off from John O'Groats (Scotland), marking the start of their 15,000-mile motorcycle journey south for Long Way Down (2007).
He and his uncle Denis Lawson have worked with two of the same directors. Both appeared in Star Wars films directed by George Lucas. His first film, Being Human (1994), was directed by Bill Forsyth, who also directed Lawson's Local Hero (1983).
He lived in North London, England with his family until they moved to Los Angeles in 2008.
He met his ex-wife Eve Mavrakis during the filming of Kavanagh QC (1995).
Filming on 'Nautic' with Heath Ledger was scheduled to begin in Jamaica within a few months. However, Ted Demme, who had been chosen to direct the film, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 38 while playing basketball.
He was best man at Dougray Scott's wedding in 2000.
His older brother, Colin McGregor, is a pilot in the Royal Air Force. He is part of the RAF's Tornado display team based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
His first name is pronounced "you-an".
He became friends with Colin Farrell during the filming of Cassandra's Dream (2007).
He was born to physical education teacher James Charles Stuart McGregor and his wife Carol McGregor (née Lawson), a teacher and school administrator, and grew up in Crieff, Scotland.
He adopted a dog on the last day of filming Beginners (2010).
He was ranked 9th on the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time list (Channel 4).
He was the original choice for the role of Jim in 28 Days Later (2002), directed by Danny Boyle, with whom Ewan had previously worked three times. However, Cillian Murphy was cast due to their temporary estrangement between 2000 and 2009.
He was said to be playing James Bond in Casino Royale (2006); however, in interviews he said that he would be tempted if offered, but would turn it down because he did not want to commit to an open-ended franchise. It is not known whether he was under serious consideration.
Although his motorcycle preferences are the MV Agusta F4S and the KTM Duke, McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman rode a BMW 1150GS Adventure for their marathon trips around the world in Long Way Round (2004).
As of 2017, he is the only actor whose character did not die while he was playing the role in the Star Wars films. Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill portrayed their characters' deaths, while Obi-Wan's death was portrayed by Sir Alec Guinness.
He was ranked 8th in the 2001 Orange Film Survey of the best British actors.
He received the Moulin Rouge Film Actor Award! (2001) at the Variety Club Show Business Awards 2002.
He took the role of Frank Churchill in Emma (1996) because he thought it would be different from his previous role in Trainspotting (1996). He was a little embarrassed by his performance because of the wig he had to wear.
He turned down the role in Ocean's Eleven (2001) that went to Don Cheadle due to his disagreements with Black Hawk Down (2001).
He was considered for the role of Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015), which went to Henry Cavill.
We attended the Moulin Rouge Royal Premiere! (2001) alongside Kylie Minogue, King Charles III and Nicole Kidman.
Both he and Harrison Ford worked for director Ridley Scott between Star Wars films. Ford made Blade Runner (1982) after Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) but before Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). McGregor made Black Hawk Down (2001) shortly after filming Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and therefore before Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).
He was considered to voice Bumblebee and Ratchet in Transformers (2007).
He was considered for the role of Scott Lang in Ant-Man (2015), which went to Paul Rudd.
In June 2015, McGregor, along with other British celebrities such as Roger Moore, Stephen Fry, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Michael Caine, David Walliams, Charlotte Rampling and Paul McKenna, read "The Little Match Girl" for GivingTales, an app of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales prepared with the help of UNICEF.
He was among the actors considered for the role of Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing in Batman Forever (1995).
He was the first choice to play Adolf Hitler in Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003). The role went to Robert Carlyle.
He turned down Christopher Eccleston's role in Jude (1996) in favour of Trainspotting (1996).
He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London for three years and graduated in 1992.
He is good friends with Hugh Dancy, his co-star in Black Hawk Down (2001), and Sharleen Spiteri, the lead singer of Texas.
He was offered the role of Paddy Considine in In America (2002). On stage the film was titled "East of Harlem" and he was to star opposite Kate Winslet.
He was considered for Hugh Grant's role in About a Boy (2002).
He is a distant cousin of Heather Menzies, an actress in The Sound of Music (1965).
In the autumn of 1988 he was a student in a one-year theatre arts program at Kirkcaldy College of Technology.
He was initially offered the role of Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven (2012) but dropped out.
He ranks 36th on Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
He was considered for Jude Law's role in Alfie (2004).
McGregor is a big fan of the Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League.
During his South American motorcycle trip Long Way Up (2020), Ewan revealed that one of his father's great-grandfathers, John "Juan" Charles McIndoe, was born in Chile to a Scottish family while his father worked there as a laborer in railway construction. John later went to Glasgow to work as a diplomat and wine importer. The rest of his Scottish ancestry is from Clan Gregor.
His uncle Denis Lawson was considered for the role of Captain Antilles in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).
He usually takes his family with him during film shoots, but he left them at home during the shooting of Young Adam (2003).
He was originally set to play Eddie Dodson in Electric Slide (2014), in which Carey Mulligan was his girlfriend, but after years of development both dropped out and were replaced by Jim Sturgess and Isabel Lucas.
He appears in the music video for the English rock band Catfish and the Bottlemen's "Hourglass".
He was to play King Edward VIII in W.E. (2011), but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. James D'Arcy replaced him.
He turned down Paul Bettany's role in Transcendence (2014) due to scheduling conflicts.
In Moulin Rouge! (2001), McGregor sang alongside Nicole Kidman.
He is an ordinary supporter of St. Johnstone Football Club.
(May 22, 2011) He attended the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival with his film Beginners (2010).
He was Neil Jordan's choice for Cesare Borgia in The Borgias (2011), a role that went to François Arnaud.
He was originally cast in the role of Sam Riley in Franklyn (2008) but had to withdraw after breaking his leg in a motorcycle accident.
He was offered the role of Marton Csokas in xXx (2002).
His father was a physical education teacher and his mother was a special needs teacher.
He was considered for Matt Dillon's role in You, Me and Dupree (2006).
He co-owns the production company Natural Nylon with Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Johnny Lee Miller and producer Bradley Adams.
Ewan and his wife Eve Mavrakis share the same initials, even with her maiden name.
He competed for the male lead in Shopping (1994) and lost out to Jude Law.
He was considered for the role of Merton Densher in The Wings of the Dove (1997), which went to Linus Roache.
While still at drama school, he was cast in a role in Dennis Potter's Channel 4 series Lipstick on Your Collar (1993).
He has appeared in a film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Moulin Rouge! (2001).
On September 12, 2024, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Director Mike Mills and actor Hayden Christensen were guest speakers at the ceremony. His Walk of Fame star is located next to the El Capitan Theatre.
He is a cousin of Lou Gish and Kay Curram.
He was considered for Matthew Modine's role in If… Dog… Rabbit (1999).
He was considered for the role of George Carter in The Sweeney (2012), which went to Ben Drew.