FAQs
Ewan Gordon McGregor was born March 31, 1971 and brought up in the "haggis and heather" town of Crieff, Scotland. He caught the acting bug from his uncle, Denis Lawson, an actor who starred in Scottish movies (Local Hero) and West End musicals (Mr. Cinders) and was also in the first three Star Wars films. At sixteen, Ewan left Crieff and Morrison Academy, where his father James is a Career Advisor and P.E. Teacher, to gain experience with the Perth Repertory Theatre. Ewan studied drama for a year at Kirkcaldly in Fife, then enrolled at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama for a three-year course. Right before graduating he snagged the role of Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's 1993 six-part Channel 4(UK) series Lipstick on Your Collar and left to pursue his promising acting career. Lipstick did not turn out to be the success people had hoped for and Ewan was not turned into an overnight sensation like he had imagined. He followed this experience up by hopping over to France to play the lead role of Julien Sorel in Ben Bolt's major three-part BBC adaptation of Stendah's Scarlet and Black. Again, stardom eluded Ewan but that never really was his aim to begin with. And then came his breakthrough role as Alex Law in the brilliant Shallow Grave, directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge and produced by Andrew MacDonald. With the cult success of Shallow Grave, came the opportunity for more work like The Pillow Book and the role that finally created the most attention up to that point for Ewan– Trainspotting, the second film by the Shallow Grave trio. Ewan starred as Mark Renton: heroin addict, hero, anti-hero. The film made waves for its brilliant and refreshingly bold images and for being sick, wacky, fabulously funny, visually arresting and completely innovative. Ewan was the heart of the film. Trainspotting introduced to the world a unique new talent. The success of Trainspotting not only boosted British cinema but allowed Ewan more opportunities, adding plenty of diverse and varied roles to his resume: pigeon keeper Billy in Little Voice, coal miner and horn player Andy in Brassed Off, Glam rocker Curt Wild in Velvet Goldmine, kidnapper Robert in A Life Less Ordinary among many. Ewan also won the coveted role of the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three Star Wars prequels. His starring role in the innovative tragic-comic-operatic-musical Moulin Rouge as Christian displayed the ability Ewan has in taking on any type of role and making the character come alive in a way few actors can. Ewan's performance gained many fans and attention from the film world, garnering a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Ewan is married to French production designer Eve Mavrakis. They met while working on the TV show Kavannagh QC, where Ewan played a young man accused of rape. They married in France in July of 1995 and have two daughters, Clara Mathilde (born in February of 1996) and Esther Rose (born in November of 2001). They currently live in London. Ewan owns several motorcycles and is involved with a racing team in England. He has quite the passion for motorbikes. Ewan has stated in the past that he is a huge fan of Oasis and had the pleasure of announcing Oasis' act on the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards with Ewen Bremmer (Spud from Trainspotting) and gave out copies of their 3rd CD to members of the crew while filming the first Star Wars prequel. Despite playing a rock star in Velvet Goldmine, he still has dreams of being one. Starring in Moulin Rouge gave Ewan the chance to sing once again. But don't get him wrong, Ewan loves acting and can't imagine doing anything else. He also claims he would never move to Hollywood or back to his hometown as it is not the same as when he was growing up there. Ewan is very close to his parents who have accompanied Ewan to premieres and his older brother Colin, a RAF pilot. Ewan visits Crieff whenever he can. He's made trips back to Morrison Academy to give a lecture on acting and to participate in the annual Crieff Highland Games. Ewan is also actively involved in numerous charity organizations and causes, doing his part whenever possible. One thing to be sure of, Ewan does not want to make films he wouldn't watch himself. He chooses his roles because of the director, the cast, and the script. Sometimes, the film doesn't turn out the way it started off. In taking chances, Ewan has taken on roles in films that might and have failed at the box office.
