Ewan, brief biography

Full name: Ewan (pronunced "you-an") Gordon McGregor
Date of Birth: March 31, 1971 (3:45pm-CET)
Hometown: Crieff, Scotland
Astrological sign: Aries
Wife: Eve Mavrakis (married 22 July 1995)
Children: Clara Mathilde (February 1996), Esther Rose (7 November 2001), Jamyan (June 2001), adopted in April 2006.
Family: James Charles Stuart McGregor (father), Carol Diane (mother), Colin McGregor (brother)
Height: 5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Early years

Ewan attended Morrison's Academy in his hometown, Crieff, where his father used to be the physical education teacher.
At 16, he left the school to join the Perth Repertory Theatre, encouraged by his parents to pursue his acting goals. He studied drama for a year at Kirkcaldly in Fife, then enrolled the London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama for a three-year course.
Seems he wanted to be an actor since childood because of his uncle, actor Denis Lawson, best known for his role as Wedge Antilles in Star Wars Episode IV and VI.
He left six months before graduating, when he got a leading role in Dennis Potter's six-part BBC series Lipstick on Your Collar (1993), then made his debut on screen with Being Human.
In 1994 he started his lucky collaboration with director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew MacDonald, and writer John Hodge, taking the role of cynical Alex Law in the thriller Shallow Grave, which granted him critical raves and even an Empire Award.
His major international breakthrough arrived two years later, with the same trio, as the heroin addict Mark Renton in Trainspotting, Boyle's film version of Irvine Welsh's book. The movie got an overwhelming response at English box office, and brought him to the public's and critics attention.
After filming Trainspotting, Ewan got married with Eve Mavrakis, a French production designer met while guest starring in British television series Kavanagh QC.

Acclaimed actor

After playing in costume movie Emma (1996) and becoming father happy father, Ewan picked up the roles of horn-player in Brassed Off (1996) and the clumdsy kidnapper in A Life Less Ordinary (1997), his last collaboration with Boyle, MacDonald and Hodge.
In the same year Ewan, alongside with friends Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, has formed a production company, called Natural Nylon, with the intent of make innovative films that do not conform to Hollywood standards. He left in late 2002 and Jude resigned as director in January 2003, then the the company unfortunately folded later that year.
In 1998 he starred in glam rock movie Velvet Goldmine (1998), where he plays a bisexual singer involved with drugs, sex and nude (on and off stage) and Little voice, based on Jim Cartwright's hit West End play.
In 1999, Ewan took the role of the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the long awaited Star Wars prequel trilogy first episode, Episode I: the Phantom Menace.
One of his most known roles (as well as most acclaimed) came after The Phantom menace production, when Baz Luhrman chose him as the leading role in musical film Moulin Rouge! , Christian, a British writer fallen in love with Moulin Rouge's star Satine, played by Nicole Kidman. In this movie Ewan shows his fairly good singing skills. The movie is a success, both at box office and critics.
Ewan then picked up again the role of the Jedi Kenobi for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005): in those two, especially in the third movie, he took very special care in his potrayal of Obi-Wan to ensure his mannerism, speech timings and accent rememble Sir Alec Guinness' old Ben Kenobi. Between Episode II and Episode III he played in the dark movie Young Adam, for which he got excellent reviews.
During year 2005, Ewan also lent his voice to two animated movies, Robots (as Rodney Copperbottom) and Valiant, and took part in Michael Bay's The Island (actually two roles, the clone and the original one) with Scarlett Johansson, and in Stay, a psychological thriller co-starring Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling.

Theatre

Ewan theatre carrer started in 1992, with a part in What the Butler Saw and continued in years 1998 and 1999 with Little Malcolm, but he got acclaimed when he took a part in Guys and Dolls production (June / December 1995, Piccadilly Theatre), as Sky Masterson, the character originally played by Marlon Brando in the 1995 movie. His potrayal got him a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical), the most prestigious theatre award in England.
From December 2007 to February 2008, he also starred as Iago in Othello at the Donmar Warehouse.

Long way series

In 2004, Ewan and his friend Charley Boorman (met during The Serpent's Kiss filming) decided to make a motorcycle trip across Europe and eventually Asia.
After long time, needed to prepare the necessary crew behind the marathon (the so called "Ewan and Charley's Angels"), finally on 14 April they left London on two BMW R1150GS Adventure and with cameraman Claudio von Planta, while other crew, including producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, and cameraman Jim Simak followed on cars.
The journey visited twelve countries, starting in the UK, then passing through France, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, USA and Canada, ending in New York on 29 July, for an amount of 18,887 miles (30,396 km) and 115 days.
From the trip has been made a 10 episodes tv series and a best-selling book, both called Long Way Round.
In Mongolia Ewan met the four-year-old girl he would eventually adopted in April 2006.

In 2007 the original team reunited for another trip, since Charley and Ewan enjoyed the Long Way Round and decided to repeat the experience, this time going south and riding throgh Africa.
On 12 May the three left John o' Groats, Scotland, on two BMW R1200GS Adventure, followed by Russ, David Alexanian, Jimmy, medic Dai Jones and security officer Jim Foster on two cars. They travelled through eighteen countries, starting in Scotland, UK, then France, Italy, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa to Cape Agulhas on 4 August, and celebrated in Cape Town on 5 August, for 15,000 miles (24,134 km) and 85 days.
From the trip has been made a 10 episodes tv serie called Long Way Down.
In Malawi Eve joined the team and travelled on motorcycle alongside with her husband, Charley and Claudio. She enjoyed the experience, and she and Ewan would like to repeat the experience the two alone.

It's rumored Ewan and Charley would love to make a third trip, this time through South America.

Trivia

Ewan is one of the few major male actors to repeatedly do full-frontal nudity in many of his films.
"I'm doing my bit for the women's movement. The women have always been naked in movies and now I'm just desperate to take my clothes off as much as possible."

Ewan admitted to once being an alcoholic and battling with depression. He gave up alcohol after a period where he was arguably a functioning alcoholic, and that he has not had a drink in seven years. [Parkinson, 2007]

Ewan ranked No.36 in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 2007]

Ewan was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster at a graduation ceremony in Belfast, Northern Ireland. [5 July 2001]

Ewan is a UNICEF ambassador.

Ewan is short sighted. Before his trip around the world with Charley Boorman, he had a laser eye operation to improve his eyesight, so he didn't have to wear glasses or contact lenses.

Ewan is very particular about his children being photographed or seen on television. He strongly believes that just because he is famous, that should not give anyone the right to invade their privacy. For this, during the filming of both Long Way Round and Long Way Down journeys' preparation, tried his hard to keep away from the cameras any information that could reveal the location of his house. Unlike friend Charley Boorman, whose daughters often appeared in front of the cameras, Ewan's children were not present at any filmed parts of the trips.

The filmography

The comprehensive list of movies and tv series Ewan has played or guest starred in. I'll try to keep it updated as long as a new film hit the screen.
For upcoming movies, keep yourself updated by heading over to Imdb or a Ewan fansite.

2011

Beginners -- Oliver
Perfect Sense -- Michael

2010

Jackboots on Whitehall (voice) -- Chris
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang -- Rory Green
The Ghost Writer -- The Ghost

2009

Amelia -- Gene Vidal
Angels & Demons -- Camerlengo Patrick McKenna
I Love You Phillip Morris -- Phillip Morris
The Men Who Stare at Goats -- Bob Wilton

2008

Deception -- Jonathan McQuarry
Incendiary -- Jasper Black

2007

Cassandra's Dream -- Ian

2006

Miss Potter -- Norman Warne
Scenes of a Sexual Nature -- Billy
Stormbreaker -- Ian Rider

2005

Stay -- Sam Foster
The Island -- Lincoln Six Echo / Tom Lincoln
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith -- Obi-Wan Kenobi
Valiant (voice) -- Valiant
Robots (voice) -- Rodney Copperbottom

2003

Big Fish -- Young Ed Bloom
Young Adam -- Joe Taylor
Down with Love -- Catcher Block

2002

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones -- Obi-Wan Kenobi

2001

Black Hawk Down -- Grimes
Moulin Rouge! -- Christian

2000

Anno Domini -- The Stranger
Nora -- James Joyce

1999

Eye of the Beholder -- Stephen Wilson
Rogue Trader -- Nick Leeson
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace -- Obi-Wan Kenobi

1998

Little Voice -- Billy
Velvet Goldmine -- Curt Wild

1997

A Life Less Ordinary -- Robert Lewis
The Serpent's Kiss -- Meneer Chrome
Nightwatch -- Martin Bells

1996

Brassed Off -- Andy
Emma -- Frank Churchill
The Pillow Book -- Jerome
Trainspotting -- Renton

1995

Blue Juice -- Dean Raymond
Shallow Grave -- Alex Law

1993

Being Human -- Alvarez

Television

Solid Geometry (2002) -- Phil
ER (1997) -- Duncan Stewart (Episode: The Long Way Around)
Karaoke (1996) -- Young Man (Mini tv series)
Tales from the Crypt (1996) -- Ford (Episode: Cold War)
Kavanagh QC (1995) -- David Armstrong (Episode: Nothing But the Truth)
Doggin' Around (1994) -- Tom Clayton
Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) -- Pvt. Mick Hopper (Mini tv series)
The Scarlet and the Black (1993) -- Julien Sorel (Mini tv series)

Documentaries

The Long Way Down (2007)
The Long Way Round (2004)
Faster (2003) (Narrator)
Trips Money Can't Buy (2000)
The Bear Facts

Theatre

Othello (2007) -- Iago
Guys and Dolls (2005) -- Sky Masterson
Little Malcolm (1998/99) -- Malcolm
What the Butler Saw (1992) -- Nicholas Beckett

Film Shorts

Desserts (1998) -- Stroller (Video avaible)
Family Style (1993) -- Jimmy

Advertise

Davidoff Adventure (2007) (Video avaible)
Japanders - Roots (2002) (Video avaible)
Japanders - Aeon (2001) (Video avaible)
Japanders - Bobson jeans (1996) (Video avaible)

Director

Tube Tales (1999) (TV, "Bone")

Links

Checz Obi-Wan. Don't cover Ewan anymore, but a toon of images in the gallery.
Ewan McGregor.net. For news, images and lot more, be sure to add it to your bookmarks. You'll need to register to enjoy the gallery.
Eccentricity online. News, images and a comprehensive video gallery.*
Imdb. Ewan page at Internet movie database.
Obisession. Not so comprehensive like the two above, but I found some images EMnet and EO doesn't actually have. :)