Ewan McGregor Nearly Passed On Star Wars

Before he was cast to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels — Episode I: The Phantom [...]

By Jay Jayson

Before he was cast to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels — Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) — Ewan McGregor was best known for his standout performance in Danny Boyle's 1996 film Trainspotting, playing the heroin addict Mark Renton.

While some were skeptical about him pulling off the role made famous by Alec Guiness in 1977's Star Wars (earned Guiness an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor), McGregor went to great-lengths to replicate Guiness's accent and mannerisms, and for that, his performance was and is considered one of the best things about the Star Wars prequels.

Did you know McGregor almost passed on the role? "Star Wars is Star Wars, it's something I grew up with as a kid. At first, I was very reluctant to do it, because I saw myself as this urban, grungy actor doing films about heroin and stuff, and that's who I felt like I really was," the 45-year-old Scottish actor told the Telegraph magazine (via FemaleFirst). "But the nearer I got to it, the more I wanted to do it: and it wasn't for money reasons, because it was back in the day I got paid nicely for it, but it wasn't ridiculous by any means. It was to do with being in it and it didn't feel like Hollywood. George Lucas hated Hollywood he was in San Francisco following the beat of his own drum."

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