Ewan McGregor

Ewan Gordon McGregor, born March 31, 1971 in Crieff, Scotland, is a well known Scottish film actor who has had significant success in mainstream, indie and art house films.

Early life
Ewan Gordon McGregor was born on 31 March 1971 in Crieff, Scotland. His mother, Carol Diane, is a teacher and school administrator, and his father, James Charles Stuart McGregor, is a physical education teacher At 16, he left Crieff and Morrison Academy to join the Perth Repertory Theatre. His parents encouraged him to leave school and pursue his acting goals rather than be unhappy. McGregor 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. He studied alongside Daniel Craig and Alistair McGowan among others, and left right before graduating after snagging the role of Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's 1993 six-part Channel 4 series "Lipstick on Your Collar" (1993).

Career
His first notable role was that of Alex Law in Shallow Grave (1995), directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge and produced by Andrew MacDonald. This was followed by The Pillow Book (1996) and Trainspotting (1996), the latter of which brought him to the public's attention. McGregor has been featured as the male romantic lead in Hollywood films such as Moulin Rouge and Down With Love, and in the British film Little Voice. He received excellent reviews for his performance as an amoral drifter mixed up in murder in the British film Young Adam (2003), which co-starred the acclaimed British actress Tilda Swinton. He also played in the war-flick Black Hawk Down.

Star Wars
Within the realm of the Star Wars Saga, McGregor is best known for his portrayal of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace, and an older in Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. McGregor, in his preparation for his role as Kenobi in the prequel trilogy, perfected his mannerisms, word pacing, and his accent (just to name a few) so that his portrayal as Kenobi would resemble a younger Sir Alec Guinness.

Coincidentally, McGregor is the nephew of Denis Lawson, the Scottish actor who portrayed hotshot pilot Wedge Antilles in all three episodes of the Original Trilogy.

In 1995 McGregor appeared in an episode of the crime drama Kavanagh QC alongside Star Wars co-star Oliver Ford Davies. McGregor also starred in 1996's Brassed Off with Kenneth Colley.

Much like his predecessor Sir Alec Guinness, McGregor has been critical of the Star Wars films over the years. When initially presented with the title for Attack of the Clones, he laughed it off, saying "I just hate that!". On an episode of the UK television show Top Gear, McGregor states "The thing about Star Wars for me, that I'll always hold the first three in the 70s with just... in huge regard... and the ones I did as... the ones I did... I liked the third one. The third one was good.". He later revealed in an interview that the Star Wars prequel films were his least favorite films he has worked on.

As a producer
McGregor has formed a production company with friends Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee, Jude Law and Sadie Frost. Called Natural Nylon, they hope it will make innovative films that do not conform to Hollywood standards.

Personal life
McGregor is married to French production designer Eve Mavrakis, whom he met while working on the TV show "Kavanagh QC" (1995). They married in France at 22 July 1995 and have two daughters, Clara Mathilde (born in February 1996) and Esther Rose (born on 7 November 2001). In April 2006, McGregor and his wife adopted Jamiyan, a four-year-old girl from Mongolia (born June 2001).

In a November 2007 episode of Parkinson, Ewan claimed that he has given up alcohol after a period where he was arguably a functioning alcoholic, and that he has not had a drink in seven years. He has since been relatively open about his battles with clinical depression. In 2008 he had a cancerous mole removed from underneath his right eye.