Photo: Channel 4 Films
Ewan McGregor is one of the most interesting actors working today. While some actors seem to lean in one direction genre-wise, the Scottish-born actor seems to fit into action, comedy, horror, drama, thriller, and pretty much every genre perfectly. We don’t talk enough about how talented an actor or actress needs to be to do this.
Even with all of his accomplishments over the years, he’s arguably most famous for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi master who taught Luke Skywalker in multiple Star Wars movies and, now, in the Disney + streaming series Obi-Wan Kenobi. In honor of this highly anticipated show, we decided that the time was right to rank our favorite McGregor roles. Keep reading to see where your favorite movie lands on our list.
Ewan McGregor Roles Ranked
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9. Oliver in 'Beginners'
This dramedy film from 2010 features McGregor as an adult remembering how his father (played in an Academy Award-winning turn by Christopher Plummer) came out as gay only a few years before he died.
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8. Joe Taylor in 'Young Adam'
In this intense film from 2003, McGregor portrays a wannabe writer who has an affair with a married river barge owner (played by Tilda Swinton). On top of that, there’s a dead woman found in the river.
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7. Danny Torrance in 'Doctor Sleep'
In this adaption of the Stephen King sequel to The Shining, McGregor plays an adult Danny Torrance who learns that a young girl who also has "the shining" needs his help to escape from a malevolent, immortal cult.
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6. The Ghost in 'The Ghost Writer'
In this film, McGregor plays a ghost writer tasked with finishing a former British Prime Minister’s memoir and stumbles into some potentially deadly secrets.
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5. Robert Lewis in 'A Life Less Ordinary'
Not up to the pedigree of Danny Boyle’s masterpiece Trainspotting, this film from the same director has McGregor playing a Los Angeles janitor who kidnaps his boss's daughter (played by Cameron Diaz).
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4. Alex in 'Shallow Grave'
1994’s Shallow Grave found McGregor among a group of Glasgow friends whose roommate dies and leaves behind a suitcase filled with money and a lot of questions.
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3. Catcher Block in 'Down With Love'
This take on 1960s romantic comedies centers around a playboy (played by McGregor) and a feminist advice columnist (played by Renée Zellweger).
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2. Edward Bloom in 'Big Fish'
In this whimsical, weird Tim Burton film, McGregor plays a younger version of Albert Finney. He plays a man with an overabundance of confidence who is on a mission to find the girl he’s positive he’s going to marry.
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1. Mark Renton in 'Trainspotting'
Could this list end with any other film besides Trainspotting? In arguably his best role ever, McGregor plays Mark Renton, a man entrenched in the Edinburgh drug world who tries his hardest to get clean.
