EWAN McGREGOR has quickly risen as
one of the most talented actors of his generation today.
Ewan Gordon McGregor was born in the Scottish coastal town of
Crieff on March 31, 1971. After the normal run of school, he
joined the Perth Repertory Theatre, and then went on to train at
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His studies at Guildhall
led to a key role in Dennis Potter's 1993 "Lipstick On Your
Collar," a historical drama set during the Suez Crisis.
He then played the lead role of 'Julien Sorel' in Ben Bolt's
three-part BBC TV adaptation of Stendahl's classic 19th Century
novel, "Scarlet and Black," and was 'Jimmy' in "Family Style," a
short film of a Lloyds Bank Challenge-winning script, directed by
Justin Chadwick for Channel 4. The same year, McGregor made his
film debut, playing a bit part in Bill Forsyth's episodic "Being
Human."
He continued to turn up on television on both sides of the
Atlantic until late 1996; some of his more notable work
included his turn as a beleaguered gunman in an episode of
"E.R.," garnering an Emmy nomination and the "Cold War" episode
of "Tales From The Crypt." Additionally, he played 'David
Armstrong' in the first series of "Kavanagh QC" (Central TV,
directed by Colin Gregg) and 'Tom' (opposite Elliott Gould) in
"Doggin' Around," a Screen One written by Alan Plater, directed
by Desmond Davis.
Following critically admired roles in Bill Forsyth's "Being
Human" and Danny Boyle's "Shallow Grave," McGregor came to major
international attention as 'Mark Renton', a frank, unrepentant
but highly spirited junkie in Boyle's acclaimed "Trainspotting."
He then appeared as Frank Churchill in the elegant 1996
historical comedy "Emma." McGregor went on to a diverse series
of roles, appearing in Peter Greenaway's "The Pillow Book,"
Boyle's "A Life Less Ordinary" (1996) and Phillipe Rousellot's
"The Serpent Kiss" (1997).
He won acclaim for his roles in "Little Voice," the much-delayed
"Nightwatch" and Todd Haynes' 1998 feature, "Velvet Goldmine,"
in which he played an iconoclastic, Iggy Pop-like singer during
the glam rock era of the 1970s. In 1999, along with his
appearance as infamous financier Nick Leeson in the biopic
"Rogue Trader," McGregor reached another career highlight with
his role as the legendary Jedi Knight 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' in George
Lucas' first "Star Wars" prequel, "The Phantom Menace," which
was a huge success despite negative reviews, finally grossing
over $400 million domestically.
His follow-up film was the bizarre thriller "Eye of the
Beholder" with Ashley Judd. McGregor's own production company,
Natural Nylon, which he co-founded with fellow actors Jude Law,
Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee and Sadie Frost, released one of
its projects in 2000, "Nora," which starred McGregor as James
Joyce.
2001 was another memorable year for the actor, with his
involvement in two critically-acclaimed high profile films. He
was 'Christian', an ambitious bohemian writer who falls into a
doomed affair with a courtesan (Nicole Kidman) in Baz
Luhrmann's Academy Award®-nominated musical "Moulin Rouge" and
had a supporting role in the hit war drama "Black Hawk Down."
McGregor opened 2002 with his return to the "Star Wars" saga,
reprising his role in "Episode
II: Attack of the Clones," which was a huge success like
its predecessor.
On British television, McGregor most recently appeared in James
Dearden's "Rogue Trader" on Cinemax. He has
starred in "Kavanagh QC," "Doggin Around," "Family Style,"
"Scarlet and Black" and Dennis Potter's "Lipstick on Your
Collar."
![[Ewan McGregor]](ewan.jpg)
