EWAN MCGREGOR

Ewan McGregor (born 31.3.1971)

Ewan McGregor is a Scottish actor, perhaps best known for his role in Danny Boyle's film Trainspotting. In recent years, McGregor has also carved a career for himself making TV programmes about his motorbike travels with his friend Charley Boorman.

Ewan McGregor: Childhood

Ewan McGregor was born in Perth, Scotland and raised nearby in Crieff. His mother, Carol is a teacher, as is his father, James. McGregor attended an independent private school, Morrison's Academy. Ewan's uncle is the actor Denis Lawson.

After school, Ewan McGregor studied drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Shortly before his graduation, he landed a role in a BBC series Lipstick On Your Collar, written by Dennis Potter.

Ewan McGregor: Acting Career

In 1993, Ewan McGregor made his debut film appearance, in Bill Forsyth's Being Human.

The next year, McGregor appeared in an early Danny Boyle film, Shallow Grave. He won an Empire Award for his performance in the thriller, which also starred Christopher Ecclestone.

In 1996, Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor would collaborate again, on Trainspotting. Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, the film became a cult classic and alongside McGregor, were Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle and Kelly Macdonald. The same year, McGregor co-starred in Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, with Vivian Wu.

In 1998, McGregor starred in Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine, playing a character based loosely on David Bowie in his 'Ziggy Stardust' era.

McGregor's next major lead role came in 2001's Moulin Rouge! The musical was directed by Baz Luhrmann and starred Nicole Kidman. McGregor picked up a Golden Globe for his role in the film.

2003 saw the release of Down With Love, a romantic comedy in which McGregor starred opposite Renée Zellweger. The film received a mixed reception.

The release of Little Voice was considered a return to form for McGregor. The quintessentially British movie co-starred Jane Horrocks, Brenda Blethyn and Michael Caine.

In 2003, McGregor continued to impress film critics with his appearance in the Scottish film Young Adam. The film also featured Tilda Swinton and caused some controversy for showing McGregor's semi-erect penis.

Ewan McGregor was selected to play a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. McGregor was careful to apply the same mannerisms and speech affectations that Alec Guinness had originally brought to the role in the original three Star Wars films. Amongst other actors cast in the new films were Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson and Jake Lloyd. Following the Star Wars role, McGregor was asked to play James Bond in 2006's Casino Royale but turned the role down for fear of typecasting. The role eventually went to Daniel Craig.

Ewan McGregor provided his voice for two animated films in 2005. The first was Robots, which also contained voices from Robin Williams and Halle Berry. The second was Valiant, which also featured the voices of Jim Broadbent, Ricky Gervais and John Cleese. That same year, McGregor starred alongside Scarlett Johansson in The Island, in which he played two characters, one of which was a clone of the other. This was followed by a role in Stay, which featured Ryan Gosling and Naomi Watts.

Ewan McGregor has performed in a number of theatre productions, including Guys and Dolls, Cassandra's Dream and David Halliwell's Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs.

The TV series Long Way Round and Long Way Down documented his travels with his friend Charley Boorman.

Ewan McGregor: Personal Life

Ewan McGregor married Eve Mavrakis in France. Mavrakis is a French production designer and the pair originally met on the set of the TV series Kavanagh QC. McGregor and Mavrakis have two daughters, Clara Mathilde (b. 1996) and Esther Rose (b. 2001). They also adopted a four-year old girl from Mongolia, named Jamiyan, in 2006. McGregor is notoriously private about his family and will not discuss them in interviews.