In a new interview, The Obi-Wan Kenobi depicter gets candid about having a difficult time dealing with the negative reactions to the early 'Star Wars' movies.
- Feb 2, 2024
AceShowbiz - Ewan McGregor had a hard time coping with the terrible reaction to his early "Star Wars" movies. The 52-year-old actor first portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1999's "Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace", and he admitted it was "hard" dealing with the way the first of the prequel films was "hammered" by fans and critics.
"[Playing Obi-Wan] wasn't a done deal for me. I didn't think it was at all who I was," he said during a discussion at Goteborg Film Festival as reported by Variety. "I believed, at that point, I was a Danny Boyle actor. 'The Beach' was more important and I meant it, it wasn't flippant."
"I did ask a lot of people for advice...I am happy that I am this character for a lot of people, but when these films came out, they were so disliked. That was hard. The first one was panned and we still had to make another two! It was weird to be in a film that was hammered."
However, he enjoyed getting to revisit the character for 2022 Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi".
Fans have been clamouring for more, but while Ewan himself is keen, he insisted there have been no discussions with Lucasfilm owners Disney about another run of episodes. He added, "I would love to do the second season, but there's no talk of it yet. There is a lot going on at Disney."
"Star Wars" has long been a part of his life, having seen his uncle Denis Lawson playing Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy, starting with "A New Hope" in 1977. He recalled, "I got to see him in the theatre first, a huge experience for a child, and then on TV. Then a film called 'Star Wars' he was in. It blew our tiny minds."
However, Ewan played down rumours that seeing the first "Star Wars" film directly sparked his desire to be an actor. He explained, "They are called unauthorized biographies. My uncle is still baffled that 'Star Wars' had such an impact."
"I wanted to be like him, but I also really profoundly got moved by it. I was in it and it was the same with movies. I told him when I was nine and he said, 'Come back to me when you are older.' Which I did."
