Ewan McGregoris an actor known the world over, having headlined a number of high-profile films. The Scottish actor has taken parts in iconic franchises like theStar Warsmoviesand has appeared in highly popular original films, with his performances always contributing to their success. He has dabbled in multiple genres from action, comedies, musicals, thrillers, and more. As an actor, McGregor’s presence immediately elevates the material he is working in and has the power to bring more attention to even smaller projects.
Ewan McGregor is an actor who has comfortably worked in both film and television for over 40 years now, and with the recent release of thefirst trailer for the highly anticipatedObi-Wan Kenobiseries, which will see the actor return to one of his most iconic roles, it seems appropriate to look back at his career and discuss his best films. These areEwan McGregor’s nine best movies.
9Birds of Prey
InBirds of Prey, McGregor steps into the role of iconicBatman villainRoman Sionis aka Black Mask. McGregor’s performance is partly campy, as the actor is clearly having a blast chewing the scenery as a spoiled, petulant man who always gets his way. While he’s funny in the scenes where he needs to be comedic, he’s also equally terrifying in the scenes where he needs to be monstrous, like when he gets angry and forces a woman to undress in his club to her and the patrons' horror. He subjects a woman to his cruelty because he can, and his malicious chauvanism makes him the perfect antagonist for this movie about a group of women finding they don’t have to put up withmisogynistslike him.
8Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
TheStar Warsprequels have often received a mixed bag from fans and audiences alike, but one universally beloved aspect of them has been Ewan McGregor’s depiction of Ob-Wan Kenobi, and the best performance by the actor as Obi-Wan Kenobi is inStar Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Often regarded asthe best of the prequels, the story details the fall of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the dark side and his journey to becoming the iconic villain Darth Vader, leading to the events of the originalStar Warsmovies. The film sees McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi transform from the padawan inThe Phantom Menaceto the more experienced, calm, and collected Jedi audiences see at the beginning ofA New Hope.
McGregor does a great job channeling Alec Guinness, from both his appearance but also in cadence. Much of the film’s emotion comes from the final climactic showdown between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin, and while George Lucas has often said dialogue is not his strongest aspect, it is the performance by McGregor that sells the heartbreak of the moment in having to fight not only his padawan but his friend. McGregor’s performance of Obi-Wan Kenobi is so strong, it is no wonder audiences' anticipation for McGregor to get hisObi-Wan Kenobiseries on Disney+ has been so high for years, and will finally arrive on June 13, 2025.
Related:These Are Ewan McGregor’s Best Moments as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
7Down With Love
Released in 2003 as counter-programming forThe Matrix Reloaded,Down With Lovewas a box-office bomb and received very polarized reviews, with some finding it a fun homage while others finding it cloying, more giving in tothe clichésit was meant to be an homage to.Down With Loveis a throwback to older comedies likePillow TalkandLover Come Back, as the film tells the story of Barbra Novak (Renée Zellweger), who advocates female independence in combat with lothario Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor). The movie reflects the attitudes and behavior of the early pre-sexual revolution 1960s but has a conclusion driven by modern post-feminist ideas about sexuality and love.
Down With Loveis bursting with style, as director Peyton Reed perfectly captures the 1960s look of comedies the movie is riffing on (and makes an audience wonder how greathis 1960s-setFantastic Fourmoviewould have been). McGregor goes all in on the performance, being a perfect send-up of the Rock Hudson type and perfectly cashing in his own movie star leading man appeal that made him so desirable in films likeMoulin Rouge!and theStar Warsprequels.
6Christopher Robin
If McGregor has been subjected to one odd bit of typecasting throughout his career, it is stepping into culturally iconic roles. While he plays the younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he did the reverse playing the older version of a character associated with youth in 2018’sChristopher Robin.McGregor plays the title character, whose journey to maturity has made him put aside all childish things and forget about his friends from 100 Acre Wood, until the day Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings) shows up.
The story is a sweet touching adventure that sees Christopher Robin learn how to be both a better father, husband, and friend. McGregor is able to sell both the mature responsible adult Christopher Robin has grown into, but has a spark of childlike wonder that comes to life when he returns to 100 Acre Woods. While McGregor may not scream the traditional idea of Christopher Robin, in every scene he shares with Pooh Bear, he immediately sells the part.
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5Doctor Sleep
It is odd how McGregor has played not one, but two grown-up versions of iconic child characters in just two years, butDoctor Sleepis another great role for the actor. Asequel toThe Shining,Doctor Sleepfollows the now grown-up Danny Torrance (McGregor), a man haunted by both the literal and figurative ghost of his past. Danny is a very damaged man, who in his adulthood originally finds himself a mirror image of his father drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but not only recovers but finds purpose helping others find peace.
The movie explores the cycle of trauma and abuse, and builds uponThe Shinningfor a more meditative yet still frightening film (two of the trademark qualities of the greatdirector Mike Flanagan). McGregor’s portrayal is both closed off but also vulnerable, always showing the eyes of a boy in a man’s body.
4Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!was a sensation uponrelease in 2001, becoming a box office smash and an awards contender, as it was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Ewan McGregor plays Christian, a poet who falls in love with cabaret actress Satine (Nicole Kidman), the star of the world-famous Moulin Rouge.Moulin Rouge!is a gorgeous film, with its production design, costumes, and performances all over the top in the best way, selling the high stakes energy of the love story and embracing its drama to a natural extreme.
The film’s musical numbers are also incredible, from a well-curated selection to some excellent covers, with McGregor’s rendition of Elton John’sYour Songnot only showcasing the actor’s strong singing abilities but also might be the best song in the whole movie.
3T2: Trainspotting
The long-awaited sequel to the 1996 filmTrainspotting, cleverly namedT2: Trainspotting(a humorous nod to how the characters themselves would have lovedTerminator 2: Judgement Day), the film finds Renton (McGregor) 20 years after the events of the firstDanny Boylefilm. After suffering a heart attack, he begins to look back on his life and decides to return home to reconnect with his friends, and the film explores how time has treated the characters all these years later.
Where the first film is youthful and full of kinetic energy,T2: Trainspottingis a much more somber movie, dealing with age and fixating on how nostalgia can be both an alluring dream and a poisonous trap. The first film is about the possibilities of the future, whereas the sequel is about the regret of the past. The movie acts as a bittersweet epilogue to the original film, showing how one can never truly go home again.
Ewan McGregor teams with Tim Burton for a heartwarming tale of a son coming to terms with his complicated relationship with his father, inBig Fish. The story is about Will Bloom (Billy Crudup), a son who tries to distinguish fact from fiction in the life of his dying father Edward Bloom (Albert Finney). McGregor plays the younger Ed Bloom in the stories he recounts of his life, which feature fantastical elements like giants, werewolves, and lost towns that feel right at home in Burton’s creative wheelhouse.
The movie was deeply personal to Burton, as it was made shortly after the death of his own father, and the movie is a rarity among Hollywood films that show a more complicated relationship between a dying father and son. As the younger version, McGregor is given a bit more fun to play in the fantastical Burton world, but the warmth McGregor gives Ed Bloom carries over into the present-day scenes, as the audience is left to wonder if this really is the same man or a wonderful character this father crafted to tell his son.
1Trainspotting
Trainspottingis Ewan McGregor’s breakout movie, and it also happens to be his best film. Released in 1996, McGregor stars as Renton, a heroin user living in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh, andTrainspottingshows how the combination of upbringing and drug addiction affects him and his friends. Controversial at the time of its release,Trainspottingwas criticized forglamorizing drug use, but instead of acting like an after-school special, the film shows an honest depiction that highlights why an individual would partake in drugs but the extreme negative side effects and damages it does to oneself.Trainspottingis bursting with style from director Danny Boyle, who gives it a great burst of energy and a wicked sense of humor. Even after all these years, it’s a film that manages to be an empathic and realistic depiction about a subject and people who are often vilified and cast aside.
