Ewan McGregor’s Biography
Ewan McGregor is a renowned Scottish actor, director, activist, and avid traveler. He is most known for portraying Mark Renton in a cult British black comedy «Trainspotting» and Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in three installments of the «Star Wars» franchise.
Childhood
Ewan McGregor was raised in a family of teachers in a small town of Crieff in Great Britain. His father, James Charles Stewart McGregor was a physical education teacher and his mother, Carol Diane Lawson, teaching children with disabilities in a specialized school. Ewan takes his surname from an old Scottish clan of McGregors.
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He worked as a stagehand at Perth Theatre and studied a foundation course in drama in 1988, before moving to London the following year. Ewan dreamt of attending the Royal Academy of Arts, but failed to pass the entrance exams and had to settle for a far less prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
The beginning of acting career
In 1987 he moved to Perth in order to hone his acting skills at the local Perth Repertory Theatre, but due to lack of the much-needed acting experience, he didn’t get the desired job. Despite his initial misfortune, Ewan was more than happy to appear as an extra in the production of «A Passage to India». It’s safe to say that his acting debut was more than modest. He later worked at the theater as a stagehand for about half a year before moving to London.
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«Trainspotting» and other collaborations with Danny Boyle
Ewan’s introduction to a well-known director Danny Boyle became a turning point in his career. He subsequently appeared in four of his films: a black comedy crime film «Shallow Grave» and a black comedy «A Life Less Ordinary», a black comedy film, which was proclaimed an instant cult classic «Trainspotting», based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, and its sequel, which came out in 2017.
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However, Ewan's international breakthrough followed in 1996, after he was cast as a lead in Boyle’s «Trainspotting». He portrayed the most ordinary heroin junkie, trying to battle his addiction and get out of the vicious downward spiral, who often jokes around and self-reflects along the way. His marvelous performance got him a BAFTA Award for Best Actor.
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He went on to appear in Woody Allen’s dramatic thriller «Cassandra’s Dream» (2007), a mystery horror thriller, «Angels & Demons» (2009), based on Dan Brown's novel of the same title, and an in an amazing political thriller, «The Ghost» (2009) directed by Roman Polanski.
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He is a tremendously skilled actor and therefore always in demand. From the very beginning of his career, Ewan chose not to star in television series, but he couldn’t reject the proposal to appear in a black comedy–crime drama anthology television series «Fargo» (2017). He was cast to play the twins, Emmit and Raymond Stussy, in the third season. It is quite prestigious to appear in such a project, even though it is on television because such celebrated actors as Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst and Billy Bob Thornton starred in «Fargo» previously.
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Ewan McGregor’s personal life
Ewan met his future wife, a French production designer, Eve Mavrakis, in 1994, while filming a television series, called «Kavanagh QC». The couple married a year later. Ewan and Eve have three daughters together: Clara Mathilde (b. 1996), Esther Rose (b. 2001), and Anouk (b. 2011). In 2006 they’ve adopted a 4-year old Jamian from Mongolia.
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After the divorce, his net worth felt swiftly and was estimated near to $20 million. Ewan has been writing some novels and poems since he was a child and some of his works were even used in «Moulin Rouge!».
According to McGregor himself, he can’t imagine his life without the outdoors. In 2004 together with his best friend Charley Boorman and a cameraman he undertook a marathon international motorbike trip. They left London on April 14th, 2004, and finished their trip to New York on the 29th of July. They cumulatively traveled the distance of 35 000 kilometers. They visited central Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Canada, Alaska, and the US, with a 6-day Russia trip being the most memorable and difficult one. The documentary «Long Way Round» is based on Ewan’s experience.
McGregor is involved in charity work and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (from 2004). He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012 and has an Honorary degree from the University of Ulster (Ireland).
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