Ewan McGregor

Now here is a young actor, well on his way to Hollywood immortality who really has it all. McGregor is good looking, of course, he is a subtle actor with an astounding range, he is not afraid to take cinematic chances, and he even does full frontal when called for. McGregor may have broken into public notice with the raunchy and rough Trainspotting that garnered him critical acclaim but this year finds him in four very different, and more kid friendly, roles.

Born in Scotland in 1971 McGregor took to acting early leaving school at 16 to enroll in the Perth Repertoire Theater. He appeared in a number of television shows and small roles before hooking up with director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge in the disturbing indie film Shallow Grave about three roommates who end up with a dead body and a bag full of possibly illicitly obtained money. Their devolution from ordinary good friends to murderous internecine fighting is uneven but intense. McGregor worked with both Boyle and Hodges again on Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary. There are rumors that McGregor had a falling out with them after being passed up for the lead in The Beach for Leonardo DiCaprio.

The 1996 film Trainspotting introduced McGregor as a leading man who was an intensely gifted actor as well as a star who could carry a film. In Trainspotting McGregor played Renton a man battling a heroin addiction in Edinburgh. The film was graphic, including McGregor’s nude scene, and gross; entrancing audiences, drawing rave reviews, and netting the film a number of awards in Europe for acting directing and writing as well as an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay. He then appeared opposite another newcomer, this time in a surreal romantic drama, A Life Less Ordinary, with Cameron Diaz.

McGregor went on to star in the critically acclaimed glam rock film Velvet Goldmine in 1998 and in 1999 he reached an even greater audience when he became the actor to portray the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Though reviews were not great the film went on to be the highest grossing film McGregor had appeared in. Of course the year also brought Eye of the Beholder, an interesting movie that did not do particularly well either with critics or in the box office.

In 2001 the critics were a bit more kind as McGregor appeared in two well received films. McGregor got to stretch his vocal chords, another versatility not readily available in other actors, when he appeared in Baz Luhrman’s magnificent Moulin Rouge! as the start struck writer Christian. The film was noticed at a number of awards shows mainly for costuming and music arranging both of which the magnificent film had in spades. But the film also brought McGregor credibility as a romantic lead which he has since reprised in various films. He also appeared as a notable part of the cast in the Ridley Scott intense and gritty war film Black Hawk Down.

McGregor has appeared in a large number of relatively commercially successful films which are, for the most part, very good and interesting parts. The others should have been good films, but sometimes things just don’t gel and the pictures end up without a clear direction. Such befell Tim Burton’s 2003 Big Fish in which McGregor played the young Ed Bloom in the most magical fairytale and beautiful parts, all complete lies, that comprise half of the uneven and rather depressing film. The same could be said for another film that year Down With Love which starred McGregor and Rene Zellweger trying to resurrect the Rock Hudson/Doris Day sudsy battle of the sexes from the early 60s. The film was smooth and silly in parts but it was more juxtaposed and seemed a bit unsure of where it was going. Add a multiple ending that was very dissatisfying and the whole movie was simply lacking even though it featured the perky Zellweger and a smooth and suave McGregor.

This year has been rife with McGregor’s work and everything that has come out thus far is first rate. First he appeared as the voice of Rodney Copperbottom in the cartoon Robots, instilling in Rodney and aww shucks naivety and bravery. Then it was onto Start Wars III: Revenge of the Sith which may have been his most challenging and impressive role. Of course it is probably going to be the biggest grossing film that McGregor, or any of the other actors, will ever be in but that is beside the point. The challenge of the role, aside from the swordplay and the stilted dialogue is that he was playing the younger version of an iconic figure played previously by an actor who was himself an icon. McGregor was able to shed his Scottish accent for the clipped and enunciated English dialect that was unique to the trained actors of Guiness’ generation. In addition McGregor became Guiness playing Obi Wan Kenobi not just the voice, but the gestures and the subtly wry sense of humor. Then McGregor transformed again this time to star in his very own action film the intense but thoughtful The Island where not only did he get to ride a flying motorbike but he also got to play two characters pitting again the innocent and righteous against the more cynical and blase only this time he played both sides at once for the camera. Next up is another cartoon this one of a more serious ilk as Valiant a carrier pigeon used during the first World War. Of course perhaps Star Wars just runs in his blood since he is the nephew of Denis Lawson who played Wedge Antilles in the first Star Wars trilogy.

McGregor’s career has been marked both by the immediate impact that he had on the independent film scene as well as an interest in characters with depth. Thus far McGregor has continued to work in small independent films with the occasional big mainstream movies. He has also shown a penchant for voiceover cartoon work which he will continue in the film Gnomeo and Juliet. His characters vacillate between those who are all too real and those who inhabit fantasy worlds with equal aplomb. He has excelled in the innocent and idealistic young man that he played both in Moulin Rouge! and as Rodney in Robots. McGregor also plays many Americans with a perfect ease masking his Scottish accent. Most amazingly McGregor has only been on the movie scene since 1993 and he already has amassed an impressive and widely varied resume. At 34 McGregor has many roles yet to play.