Ewan McGregor honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Ewan McGregor poses at a ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
HOLLYWOOD – A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring Scottish actor Ewan McGregor for a movie career that has included starring in such films as “Trainspotting,” “Moulin Rouge!” and the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy was unveiled Thursday.
McGregor‘s star is close to that of another actor from the “Star Wars” franchise, the late Carrie Fisher.
“I had absolutely no idea what it would feel like or what it would mean, but it’s meaning a great deal and it feels very nice, and I feel very touched by the whole thing,” McGregor told the crowd at the ceremony at 6840 Hollywood Blvd., near the El Capitan Theatre.
“I’m so moved that I’m close to my old friend, Carrie Fisher, on the pavement here. That means a great deal to me too.”
Hayden Christensen, who co-starred with McGregor in “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” and Mike Mills, who directed McGregor in the 2010 romantic comedy- drama “Beginners,” also spoke at the ceremony.
The star is the 2,789th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.
“I wanted to do this all my life. Since I was just a little boy I wanted to be an actor,” McGregor said. “And I feel like that’s what I was meant to do. I’m so blessed to be able to do it. I’m so blessed to be able to live a creative life. Because every day I get … to create stories with all these amazingly creative people. … We all come together and we exercise our creativity as a group to make something that’s capable of changing the world, you know? We make something that makes people feel, that makes people think and therefore can make people change. And I think that is the most amazing privilege to do that. And I love it very much.”
Born March 31, 1971 in Perth, Scotland, McGregor was a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama when he made his professional debut in 1993 by starring in the six-episode serial on the United Kingdom’s Channel 4, “Lipstick on Your Collar.”
McGregor made his film debut in the 1994 comedy-drama “Being Human,” the experience of a single human soul (Robin Williams) through various incarnations. McGregor had his breakthrough role as heroin addict Mark “Rent Boy” Renton in the 1996 British black comedy-drama “Trainspotting.” He also played the role in its 2017 sequel, “T2 Trainspotting.”
In 1999, McGregor portrayed Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi for the first time in “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” reprising the role in
“Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” in 2002, “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” in 2005, and the Disney+ miniseries, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” in 2022.
McGregor starred in the 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama, “Moulin Rouge!” which received a best picture Oscar nomination, losing out to “A Beautiful Mind.”
McGregor’s other film credits include the glam rock film “Velvet Goldmine,” “Amelia,” “Angels & Demons,” “Big Fish,” “Black Hawk Down,” “August: Osage County,” and the live-action “Beauty and the Beast.”
McGregor will next star in the science fiction film, “Flowervale Street,” set for release on May 16.
McGregor won an outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie Emmy in 2021 for his performance as fashion designer Roy Halston in the Netflix miniseries “Halston.” McGregor has two other acting Emmy nominations.
McGregor received an outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie nomination in 2017 for his dual roles of Emmit Stussy, the self-proclaimed “Parking Lot King of Minnesota” and his far less successful younger brother Ray, a parole officer, on the FX black comedy-crime drama, “Fargo.”
McGregor received an outstanding guest actor in a drama series nomination in 1997 for his portrayal of a convenience store robber in an episode of the ground-breaking NBC medical drama, “ER.”
McGregor also received an outstanding narrator Emmy nomination in 2017 for the Nat Geo Wild documentary, “Wild Scotland,” and producing nominations for “Halston” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
McGregor also starred in the 2024 Paramount+ limited series, “A Gentleman in Moscow.” McGregor’s long-distance motorcycle rides with British television presenter and actor Charley Boorman were the subject of the AppleTV+ documentary series, “Long Way Round,” “Long Way Down” and “Long Way Up.” (CNS)
