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Ewan McGregor

Acting

Born March 31, 1971 · Perth, Scotland, UK

Also known as Ewan Gordon McGregor

Biography

Ewan Gordon McGregor (born March 31, 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and charity. While studying drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, McGregor began his career with a leading role in the British series Lipstick on Your Collar (1993). He gained international recognition for starring as drug addict Mark Renton in Trainspotting (1996) and as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005). His career progressed with starring roles in the musical Moulin Rouge! (2001), action film Black Hawk Down (2001), fantasy film Big Fish (2003), and thriller Angels and Demons (2009). He gained praise for his performances in the thriller The Ghost Writer (2010) and romantic comedy Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011). McGregor made his directorial debut with the crime film American Pastoral (2016), in which he also starred. For his dual role as brothers Ray and Emmit Stussy in the third season of the anthology series Fargo (2017), he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. He voiced Lumière in Beauty and the Beast (2017), and played the title role in Christopher Robin (2018), Dan Torrance in Doctor Sleep (2019), and Black Mask in Birds of Prey (2020). He reprised his role as Kenobi in the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for his portrayal of fashion designer Halston in the miniseries Halston (2021). McGregor has also starred in theatre productions of Guys and Dolls (2005–2007) and Othello (2007–2008). He has been involved in charity work and has served as an ambassador for UNICEF UK since 2004.

Awards & recognition

  • Donostia Award · 2012
  • European Film AwardBest Actor · 2010
  • European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award · 2001
  • Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
  • Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Show all 6 awards →
  • European Film AwardBest Actor · 2010 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord

2026as Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice)

Fargo

2014as Emmit Stussy / Ray Stussy

Long Way Round

2004as Self

Long Way Down

2007as Self

Long Way Home

2025as Self

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

2022as Cricket (voice)

Tales from the Crypt

1989as Ford

Staged

2020as Ewan

Nature

1982as Narrator (voice)

Big Fish

2003as Ed Bloom (young)

ER

1994as Duncan Stewart

Faster

2003as Narrator (voice)

Top Gear

2002as Self

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema

2022as Self

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Moulin Rouge!

2001as Christian

Long Way Up

2020as Self

The Impossible

2012as Henry Bennett

Black Hawk Down

2001as SPC John Grimes

Christopher Robin

2018as Christopher Robin

Kavanagh QC

1995as David Robert Armstrong

The Bug: Life and Times of the People's Car

2016as Self

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

2015as Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice) (uncredited)

Conan

2010as Self

The Graham Norton Show

2007as Self

Doctor Sleep

2019as Danny Torrance

Humpback Whales

2015as Narrator (voice)

Obi-Wan Kenobi

2022as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Halston

2021as Halston

Beauty and the Beast

2017as Lumière

Fastest

2011as Narrator (voice)

Brassed Off

1996as Andy Barrow

Shallow Grave

1994as Alex Law

Stormborn

The Last Movie Stars

2022as Self

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

2020as Roman Sionis

T2 Trainspotting

2017as Renton

August: Osage County

2013as Bill Fordham

Perfect Sense

2011as Michael

Velvet Goldmine

1998as Curt Wild

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return

2022as Self - Obi-Wan Kenobi / Executive Producer

The Ghost Writer

2010as The Ghost

Beginners

2010as Oliver Fields

A Gentleman in Moscow

2024as Count Alexander Rostov

Angels & Demons

2009as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna

The Island

2005as Lincoln Six Echo / Tom Lincoln

Miss Potter

2006as Norman Warne

Stay

2005as Sam Foster

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

2002as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

1999as Obi-Wan Kenobi