Ewan McGregor

Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor and filmmaker born on 31 March 1971. He is widely recognized for his portrayal of heroin addict Mark Renton in Trainspotting and his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. His work across film, television, and theatre has earned him accolades including 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 service to drama and charity, and he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2024.

McGregor was born in Perth, Scotland, and raised in Crieff. His mother worked as a teacher and deputy head teacher, while his father was a physical education teacher and careers master. He has an older brother who served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, and he is the nephew of actor Denis Lawson. McGregor attended Morrison's Academy and left school at age 16 to work as a stagehand at Perth Theatre. He later studied drama at Kirkcaldy College of Technology before enrolling at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at age 18.

Six months prior to finishing his studies at Guildhall, McGregor secured a lead role in the television series Lipstick on Your Collar (1993). He subsequently appeared in Scarlet and Black (1993) and made his feature film debut in Being Human (1994). He won an Empire Award for his performance in the thriller Shallow Grave (1994), which marked his initial collaboration with director Danny Boyle. Following an appearance in Brassed Off (1996), McGregor achieved international breakthrough status starring in Boyle's Trainspotting (1996).

McGregor's film career progressed with roles in Little Voice (1998) and Velvet Goldmine (1998), followed by his casting as young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels released between 1999 and 2005. He earned his first Golden Globe nomination for the musical Moulin Rouge! (2001) and starred in Black Hawk Down (2001), Down with Love (2003), Big Fish (2003), and Young Adam (2003). His film credits through the late 2000s include voice work in Robots (2005) and Valiant (2005), as well as roles in The Island (2005), Stay (2005), Cassandra's Dream (2007), Angels & Demons (2009), and The Ghost Writer (2010).

He received a second Golden Globe nomination for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) and subsequently appeared in The Impossible (2012) and August: Osage County (2013). McGregor made his directorial debut with the crime film American Pastoral (2016), in which he also starred. For playing the dual role of brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy in the third season of Fargo (2017), he won a Golden Globe Award. His later work includes T2 Trainspotting (2017), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Christopher Robin (2018), Doctor Sleep (2019), and Birds of Prey (2020). He won a Primetime Emmy Award for starring as fashion designer Halston in the miniseries Halston (2021), and voiced Sebastián J. Cricket in Pinocchio (2022).

Beyond screen acting, McGregor has performed in stage productions including Little Malcolm and His Struggles Against the Eunuchs, Guys and Dolls, Othello, his Broadway debut in The Real Thing (2014), and My Master Builder (2025). An avid motorcyclist, he co-featured in several international motorcycle travel documentaries alongside Charley Boorman, including Long Way Round, Long Way Down, Long Way Up, and Long Way Home. McGregor has served as an ambassador for UNICEF UK since 2004 and has been involved with the GO Campaign and the Children's Hospice Association Scotland.