Ewan McGregor almost passed on the “Star Wars” prequels due to his “grunge” persona in British indie cinema.
During the 1990s, after McGregor’s success with Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting” in 1996, McGregor second-guessed signing on to “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” McGregor portrayed the younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1999 trilogy, a role which he later reprised for the Disney+ series that premiered earlier this year.
“I really had to think about it,” McGregor said during the “Smartless” podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes. “Because it came right after that ‘Trainspotting’ period, and by that time I was so full of myself.”
McGregor joked, “I was like, ‘I am Danny Boyle’s actor. I am fucking urban grunge. I am the Oasis of the British movie industry,’ and then when ‘Star Wars’ came around, I felt, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this.
During the 1990s, after McGregor’s success with Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting” in 1996, McGregor second-guessed signing on to “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” McGregor portrayed the younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1999 trilogy, a role which he later reprised for the Disney+ series that premiered earlier this year.
“I really had to think about it,” McGregor said during the “Smartless” podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes. “Because it came right after that ‘Trainspotting’ period, and by that time I was so full of myself.”
McGregor joked, “I was like, ‘I am Danny Boyle’s actor. I am fucking urban grunge. I am the Oasis of the British movie industry,’ and then when ‘Star Wars’ came around, I felt, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this.
- 8/30/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
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