Ewan McGregor Biography

On himself:

“I smoke a lot. I drink far too much - I don’t exercise. I torture small animals” (when asked about his sex appeal.)

“An airport customs officer once recognised me from Trainspotting and strip-searched me, looking for drugs.”

“I’ve been waiting nearly twenty years to have my own light saber. Nothing’s cooler than being a Jedi Knight.”

“Actually, I really want to play Princess Leia. Stick some big pastries on my head. Now, that would be interesting.”

“I am a married man. I haven’t been personally involved with all my leading ladies. It would be somewhat glamorous if I had been, but I have not.”

His work:

“I like George Lucas and Tim Burton, because there’s no messing about. No hundred takes of me walking through a door. They know what they want, and when they get it, we move on. Naming no names, but with some directors, it’s take after take, and take 22 is the exact same as the first one.”

“I won’t buy into the Hollywood thing….I want to be in good movies.”

“As an actor, there’s nothing better than a great moody moment to play with nothing to say. It’s so much easier to do, because you can really get inside your head.”

“It’s strange to explain off camera what you have done in this or that scene. How redundant, like an artist explaining his painting. As much as I like watching movies I’ve been in, I can’t watch myself in interviews. People shouldn’t know how we do it.”

“Movies are so draining. They pull away from the actor, but theatre just fills you up. I needed my fix.”

Being naked:

“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.”

“My dad saw my full package in Pillow Book and said, “I’m glad to see you inherited one of my major attributes.”

“I’m naked a lot of the time, and they don’t try to frame planted pots in front of my dick like they do in most other films. It’s all part of the story, but they don’t zoom in on it, or anything and go “cock shot!” I’ve been naked in almost everything I’ve been in, really. I have it written into my contract!”