15 best films and one TV series with Ewan McGregor

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Ewan McGregor can be safely called one of the most extraordinary contemporary artists.

McGregor's flexible acting texture allows him to adapt to any scenario. This is why his character gallery is so diverse. An unlucky rock star and a Victorian gentleman with exquisite manners. Jedi Knight and Degraded Heroin Addict. An itinerant adventurer and reclusive fishing expert.

And in the TV series "Fargo" Ewan McGregor takes his mastery of reincarnation to a new level, playing two different characters at once.

1. Shallow grave

• UK, 1994.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The action takes place in the capital of Scotland. Alex, David and Juliet find their new flatmate dead: the poor man passed away from a drug overdose. Almost immediately it turns out that an impressive amount is hidden in his room. The guys decide to take the money for themselves and get rid of the corpse. They do not know that they will soon lose control of the situation and go crazy amid mutual suspicion.

A chamber thriller with elements of black comedy in the style of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers was the debut project of director Danny Boyle. Ewan McGregor played one of the three main roles - the young and prosperous boy Alex, who, under the influence of circumstances, showed the dark side of his nature.

Subsequently, McGregor became Boyle's favorite actor along with Robert Carlisle and Cillian Murphy.

2. On the needle

• UK, 1996.
• Drama, crime, comedy.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

The story is told from the perspective of the protagonist - drug addict and slacker Mark Renton, who is trying to quit. In parallel, the story of his relationship with friends - the athlete Tommy dying of AIDS, the schoolgirl Diana, the swindler Simon Williamson (Sick), the harmless fool Daniel Murphy (The Stump) and the emotionally unstable Francis Begby - is described.

Danny Boyle's second feature film based on the novel of the same name by Irwin Welch, as well as Boyle and Ewan McGregor's second joint project. Especially for the role of Mark, the actor had to give up long hair and lose 13 kg. To better get used to the image of his hero, Ewen went to drug addicts in London and even planned to try heroin, but, fortunately, changed his mind.

Trainspotting became incredibly successful and gained cult status. After the success of the film, Danny Boyle's team continued to shoot on their favorite themes: love, money and death. This is how the third (and until recently the last) joint film by Boyle and McGregor called "Life Worse Than Usual" was born.

The film received average reviews from critics, but was a breakthrough for both Boyle and Ewan McGregor: both appeared in Hollywood.

However, the unexpected happened later. A black cat ran between Boyle and McGregor after, under pressure from the studio, Boyle had to call the more famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio for the lead role in The Beach. This insulted McGregor so much that he did not speak to Danny Boyle for many years - until the filming of "Trainspotting - 2".

3. Velvet gold mine

• UK, USA, 1998.
• Drama, musical film.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Young journalist Arthur Stewart (Christian Bale) writes an article about glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Reese Myers). The once brilliant career of Brian ended in an instant after the musician faked his murder for advertising reasons. After this incident, the public quickly forgot about the star.

Gradually, work on the material turns into a real investigation. Arthur asks people who knew Slade intimately, and also recalls his youth, when he himself was a fan of Brian.

The film directed by Todd Haynes is full of references to real historical events and personalities. Ewan McGregor plays the outrageous musician Kurt Wilde, inspired by Iggy Pop. The image of Brian Slade - the glamorous superstar of the 70s - was inspired by David Bowie, Bruce Wayne Campbell and Mark Bolan.

4. Star Wars. Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

• USA, 1999.
• Space opera, fantasy, adventure.
• Duration: 133 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

The next part of the space saga of George Lucas tells about the formation of Anakin Skywalker. Young Jedi Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan Kenobi are forced to stop on the distant desert planet Tatooine to repair the ship. There they meet an intelligent slave boy named Anakin. Deciding that the boy is the chosen one, the Jedi take him with them to teach the light side of power.

To play the young Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor had to study the early films of actor Alec Guinness, who was Kenobi's old master in previous Star Wars episodes of the 1970s and 1980s. Moreover, from episode to episode McGregor increasingly approached the appearance of Guinness, until he reached a simply striking resemblance.

5. Moulin Rouge

• Australia, USA, 2001.
• Musical, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The action takes place in 1899 in Paris. The young English poet Christian falls in love with the Moulin Rouge cabaret star, the courtesan Satine. She reciprocates, but a jealous patron of the cabaret, nicknamed the Duke, stands in the way of the lovers.

Balancing on the verge of kitsch and sophistication, director Baz Luhrmann's film was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival and has become an absolute favorite of film critics. McGregor played the poor poet Christian, who comes to Paris to plunge into the life of a real bohemian. For this role, the actor was awarded the prestigious BAFTA award.

By the way, McGregor sang the vocals himself.

6. Large fish

• USA, 2003.
• Fantastic tragicomedy.
• Duration: 125 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Film based on Daniel Wallace's bestseller Big Fish. A Novel of Mythological Proportions”tells the story of the incredible life of the itinerant merchant Edward Bloom. His son Will has not spoken to his father for many years, as he considers him a liar, unable to take care of his family.

When Edward is about to die, Will returns to his parental home. The question is whether the son will be able to rethink his attitude towards the dying father and his stories.

Tim Burton entrusted Ewan McGregor with the lead role in a very personal story, the idea of which came to the director after his father's death. McGregor, in turn, was inspired by a relationship with his own dad, who, he says, is very similar to Ed Bloom in his sociability and passion for telling stories.

7. Island

• USA, 2005.
• Science fiction, dystopia, action movie.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The main character, Lincoln Six-Echo, lives in a dystopian isolated complex. One day, Lincoln realizes that his whole life was a hoax, and the complex is a fake decoration behind which someone's sinister plan is hidden.

During his career, Ewan McGregor has worked with a variety of directors. He also starred with the king of special effects Michael Bay, and not in the worst picture.

The Island, nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction, is a passable blockbuster that borrows elements from The Matrix and Dark City.

8. Miss Potter

• UK, USA, 2006.
• Biographical film, drama.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The film tells the story of the children's writer and artist Beatrice Potter, the author of the famous "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". Young publisher Norman Warne takes over the sale of Beatrice's books, which are hugely successful. As they work together, Beatrice and Norman realize that they love each other. However, Beatrice's parents, especially her arrogant mother, are against her daughter's marriage to a "huckster."

Ewan McGregor played the generous and caring Norman Warne, who sincerely fell in love with the work of the heroine Renee Zellweger.

9. I love you Phillip Morris

• France, USA, 2009.
• Biographical film, comedy, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Policeman and hidden gay Steve Russell leads the ordinary life of an exemplary family man. But after a car accident, he decides to live in harmony with himself and with his true orientation. In an effort to keep up with a beautiful life, he turns fraudulent scams one after another until he ends up in prison. There he meets true love - a simple-minded good man named Phillip Morris.

In the role of meek Morris, Ewan McGregor looks incredibly organic, setting off Jim Carrey with his hyperemotional acting. The actors did their best so that, despite the absurdity of the situation played out, the film remained a real drama, at the end of which it is difficult to keep from crying.

The eccentric tragicomedy, based on the biography of the American swindler Stephen Russell, was critically acclaimed and became a sensation at the Sundance independent film festival.

10. Ghost

• France, Germany, Great Britain, 2010.
• Political thriller.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The main character of the film is a "ghost writer", or, in other words, a "literary slave". One day he is offered a lucrative contract - anonymously to complete the almost completed memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang.

McGregor's hero goes to an island off the coast of New England, where a former politician lives in seclusion with his wife and secretary. The tense atmosphere in Lang's dwelling and the death of the previous memoirist under strange circumstances make the writer suspect that something was wrong.

Thriller Roman Polanski was highly appreciated by world film critics (even though at that time the director was under house arrest in the 1978 case). The result of the joint efforts of the director and actors was a disturbing atmosphere of lies and mistrust.

For his role as "ghost" McGregor was awarded the European Film Academy (also called "European" Oscar "").

11. Last love on Earth

• UK, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, 2011.
• Drama, fantasy.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

In the center of the plot are a couple of lovers (Ewan McGregor and Eva Green). Their romance develops against the backdrop of a mysterious disease that has gripped the world that affects the sensory system. People lose their senses, gradually lose their sense of smell, taste, hearing and sight. The main characters are trying to maintain their relationship, despite the anarchy around.

The melodrama by British director David Mackenzie received diverse reviews from critics: the picture was criticized for its inconclusiveness and pretentiousness. But at the same time, many reviewers praised the sensual acting tandem of Ewan McGregor and Eva Green.

By the way, before playing Chef Michael, McGregor took lessons from his friend, the owner of the restaurant, for a while.

12. The fish of my dreams

• UK, 2011.
• Melodrama, drama, comedy.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Eccentric Yemeni Sheikh Mohammed invites fisheries expert Alfred Jones to raise salmon in Yemen. At first, the scientist dismisses this idea as absurd, but under the pressure of prudent British politicians, he is still forced to participate in a deliberately failed project.

In the melodrama based on Paul Tordey's novel Fishing Salmon in Yemen, McGregor plays Alfred, an eccentric fishing specialist. The master of charming stories, director Lasse Hallström (Chocolate, Hachiko: The Most Loyal Friend, Spices and Passions) managed to create a somewhat more complex film - a comedy with elements of political satire.

The Fish of My Dreams earned McGregor a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama.

13. Impossible

• Spain, 2012.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

An ordinary family travels to Thailand to spend Christmas there. But the idyll is destroyed by a powerful tsunami, sweeping away everything in its path. Unwittingly, the heroes find themselves in the very epicenter of events.

The film, based on the real events of 2004, turned out to be overwhelmingly successful and won the Spanish Goya National Film Awards in five categories. Ewan McGregor played one of the main characters - Henry Bennett, a father who is trying to reunite with his family. Naomi Watts became his partner on the site.

A separate positive moment of the film is the still very young Tom Holland, who would later become famous for his role in the next restart of Spider-Man. For the role of Lucas Bennett, the actor was awarded the National Council of Film Critics award.

14. Fargo

• USA, 2014 - present.
• Anthology, black tragicomedy, crime drama.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 9, 0.

The third season of the crime almanac tells about the Stassi twins, feuding over inheritance. Ray Stassi, an unfortunate cop, hires a hitman to murder his sibling, a successful businessman, Emmit. But instead, a stupid mercenary deals with a certain Ennis. The victim's stepdaughter, former police chief Gloria Burgle, begins an investigation that leads her to the Stassi brothers.

The next season of the TV project "Fargo" was a grandiose benefit performance for Evan McGregor. The actor played two roles at once, embodying dissimilar twins on the screen.

The cast of the series was joined by David Thewlis and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who played Ray's fiancée.

15. On the needle - 2

• UK, 2017.
• Drama, black comedy.
• Duration: 117 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The film is a loose interpretation of the novel "Porn" by Irwin Welch. The action takes place 20 years after the events of the first film. Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends.

The decision to shoot a sequel was an incentive for Danny Boyle to make peace with Ewan McGregor, who avoided contact with the director for many years. As a result, the team managed to reassemble the entire cast of the first film: Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Ewan Bremner and Robert Carlisle.

16. Christopher Robin

• USA, 2018.
• Tragicomedy, adventure.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

An adult Christopher Robin lives in London with his wife and daughter, works a lot and does not believe in fairy tales for a long time. But one day in Christopher's life, his old plush friends reappear to remind him of who he really is.

Winnie the Pooh inevitably had to be part of a stable pipeline of Disney remakes. But here it is not so simple - after all, the filming of the adaptation was entrusted to Mark Forster, the director of the subtle biographical drama about the creator of Peter Pan, "Fairyland".

In "Christopher Robin", as in "Fairyland", the theme of the conflict between imagination and reality is touched upon. Unfortunately, influenced by the studio, "Christopher Robin" turned out to be too straightforward and in places more like "The Adventures of Paddington".

However, the film also has strengths, in particular the performance of Ewan McGregor. Just what is the transformation of a buttoned-up "white collar" into a dreamer, inside which a restless child still lives.