The Trout Farm

2004-02-07T07:08:00.000-05:00

I'm baaaaack! I had MAJOR computer issues, so this has not been updated in a long time. I've got my whole day set aside tomorrow to catch up, so expect a big update by Sunday evening. Sorry and thanks for your patience.

Michelle

2003-12-11T18:33:00.000-05:00

Albert Finney (actor Big Fish - Edward Bloom)
(on Ewan playing the younger version of his character)
Well, he’s not as good-looking, of course (laughing). No, I think Ewan’s a very good [actor]. I think he’s engaging as an actor. He’s very honest and direct, and he seems to have a very good time. In England, he’s opening about eight films this summer. He’s very different in them, and he keeps popping out of different cupboards with these characters. He seems to be having a lovely ride and taking it very well. I think he’s a joy as a young man. I was delighted that he was playing it. about.com, December 2003 (thank you ParisRouge)

2003-12-10T06:15:00.000-05:00

REVIEWS

Big Fish (2003)

Ewan McGregor, freed from his Star Wars straitjacket, steps in to play the young Edward, and the tall tales begin. McGregor, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Finney in his Tom Jones days, is wonderfully engaging. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone, November 2003

As the young man seen in mythic flashbacks, McGregor gets to stare in wide-eyed wonder at the fabulous adventures, but his is mostly a reactive role. Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, November 30 2003

As the young Bloom, McGregor is enthusiastic almost to a fault, a bit thickly laying on the bright smile and winning ways while still resembling his debonair '50s playboy from "Down With Love." Todd McCarthy, Variety, November 30 2003

Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney shine as young and old incarnations of Edward Bloom, whose tall tales are at the heart of the film. BBC, Adrian Hennigan, December 2 2003 (thank you Mary)

Dreamboat du jour McGregor heading an attractive cast. Magic realism rampant on a bed of family angst. Should work. Doesn't, though. Richard Corliss, Time Magazine, December 8 2003

The young Edward is played by Ewan MacGregor, whose humble heroism and self-effacing charisma recall Tom Hanks, James Stewart and other emotionally transparent leading men. His amazing performance deserves awards but probably won’t get any; effortless excellence is rarely acknowledged. New York Press, Matt Zoller Seitz, December 9 2003 (thank you ParisRouge)

Young Edward is turned into an obnoxious hustler by McGregor, who still may have a hangover from "Down With Love." New York Newsday, December 10 2003 (thank you ParisRouge)

He's a lean and happy young man, played by the spectacularly ingratiating Ewan McGregor, agleam with valor and optimism (…) McGregor may be the only young actor today who can summon the idealized ardor of a vintage Hollywood leading man. His ebullient, gap-toothed gaze is just off-center enough to make his handsomeness look like it belongs to reality. Here, as in ''Moulin Rouge,'' you fall in love with Ewan McGregor falling in love. Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, December 12 2003 (thank you Gail and Mary)

McGregor is likably brash as a young man out to conquer the world. People Magazine, December 2003 (thank you Barbara)

As the young Edward Bloom, Ewan McGregor is charming and so believably earnest. It is becoming a given that McGregor always shines brightest when reality slips to the side. It's the beaming grin that does it, lighting his path through the most unlikely of situations. It worked like a charm in Moulin Rouge! and it works even harder in Big Fish. Thomas L. Strickland, Jive Magazine, December 2003

2003-12-02T17:22:00.000-05:00

Albert Finney (actor Big Fish - Edward Bloom)
(on Ewan portraying the younger version of his character)
I think Ewan's very good. I think he's engaging as an actor. He's very honest and direct, and he seems to have a very good time. I think he's a joy as a young man, so I was delighted that he was playing it. SciFi Wire, December 2 2003 (thank you Melinda)

Alessandro Nivola (actor)
(how he and wife Emily Mortimer handle sex scenes with other actors)
It really hasn't been a problem, at least not yet, between us. I've had to watch her get smeared with custard by Ewan McGregor (in Young Adam) so it's tit for tat. But we've both made efforts, when we've been playing romantically opposite someone, to try to introduce each other to them and make them part of our lives for that period. I got to know Ewan a bit during the time they were filming and he was absolutely lovely. He made a big effort to be friendly to me. So you do whatever you can to make it easier on each other. contactmusic.com, November 28 2003 (thank you Karen)

2003-11-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

Kelly Macdonald (actor Trainspotting)
(about her sex scene with Ewan)
To hide my extreme panic, I said it was OK. I could hardly say, sorry, my buttocks are lopsided. When I got the part and that day came, I remember having a wee talk with myself in the shower in the morning, telling myself to go for it. Ewan was brilliant; he didn't make a big deal about it at all. I still felt we had to get it right in a few takes, or else it's like the crew are sitting there with scorecards. The Observer, November 23 2003

2003-11-21T05:34:00.000-05:00

Evan Rachel Wood (actor)
(about Ewan)
He's not afraid to be himself. He wears eyeliner! Guys wearing eyeliner is the sexiest thing. It takes a lot of guts for a guy to put on makeup. People Magazine, December 1 2003 (thank you Mel)

2003-11-19T06:19:00.000-05:00

REVIEW

Big Fish (2003)
All of the campy stuff that McGregor worked on in "Moulin Rouge!" and "Down With Love" finally comes to fruition here; it’s as if we had to endure those performances to enjoy this one. He’s extraordinary, at last. Roger Friedman, Fox News, November 18 2003 (thank you Claude)

2003-11-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

Tim Burton (director Big Fish)
He is really talented and he’s not afraid. I love actors who are willing to kind of do anything, and who don’t have ego in the sense of, ‘How am I going to look in this'? Premiere Magazine, December 2003/January 2004 (thank you Mel and Gail)

2003-11-05T06:36:00.000-05:00

Dan Jinks (producer Down With Love, Big Fish)
(about casting Ewan in Big Fish)
Fortunately for us, Bruce and I were shooting a film at the time starring Ewan McGregor, 'Down With Love.' So we had the great opportunity to first tell him about the script and literally hand him the script and hear him come in after the weekend and say, 'Wow, this is great. I want to do this.' And then (we were able) to give him the good news a few days later that he had the role. That's the kind of thing that's so often done through agents and managers and it was really a thrill to be able to do it with somebody that we had grown to be so incredibly fond of and had become our friend and to say, 'Hey, guess what? We're going to do another one together right after this.' It's a completely different character from 'Down With Love,' but something that he's equally wonderful in. The Hollywood Reporter, November 5 2003 (thank you Josie and Gail)

Bruce Cohen (producer Down With Love, Big Fish)
(about casting Ewan and Albert Finney in Big Fish)
It's just one of those situations now where we just can't imagine anybody in the world doing it better than Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney. They're so perfect for it. They're each so right for the different parts of the character that they play that any other thought just pales in comparison to the two of them. The Hollywood Reporter, November 5 2003 (thank you Josie and Gail)

2003-11-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

Gerard Burns (artist)
(on Ewan purchasing one of his paintings)
It has been fantastic dealing with Ewan McGregor and who knows where this might take me? He doesn’t play the superstar at all. He was as level as anything, which was a testament to the man. It’s amazing hearing him on the phone. You kind of know the voice. I have three sons and the oldest is a real film buff. My street cred with them has gone through the roof because of this. There was one night when this was all ongoing, we were getting ready to go out to a function in the local golf club and my mobile went. My oldest son answered the phone and wandered up the stair. As cool as you like he handed it to me and said, ‘Dad, it’s Ewan.’ It was totally amazing. The Sunday Herald, November 2 2003 (thank you Mary)

2003-10-08T07:17:00.000-04:00

REVIEWS

Down With Love (2003)
In the male lead, and definitely more a sharp, suave Cary Grant than a dumb, lumbering Rock Hudson, is Ewan McGregor. He plays irresistible rogue Catcher Block (ladies’ man, man’s man, man about town) the playboy journalist who seeks to dethrone the new queen of New York. It’s a role he was born to play. Wendy Ide, Sunday Herald, September 28 2003 (thank you Gail)

Young Adam (2003)
Ewan McGregor, who has recently hopped from genre to genre ("Moulin Rouge," "Attack of the Clones," "Down With Love") like a caffeinated cricket, has a jumpy ferocity that makes him perfect for the role. Even sitting still, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette or reading a tattered paperback, he radiates a feverish, slightly dangerous intensity, a charisma disproportionate to Joe's modest, straitened surroundings. A.O. Scott, The New York Times, October 8 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-09-26T11:52:00.000-04:00

REVIEWS

Young Adam (2003)
You might be thinking that you can live without the first film in the Scottish canal movie genre, but in Ewan McGregor "Young Adam" has a British star who's got what it takes - great charisma, movie star good looks and shots aplenty in his acting locker. Forgetting his "Stars Wars" films - not a task which overtaxed me - he's usually made what have proved to be interesting choices, and this movie reinforces that impression (...) McGregor's superb performance calls to mind Steve McQueen, Montgomery Clift or even the young Brando at their best, displaying true screen presence, intelligence and skill.
Jonathan Ross, BBC Film 2003, September 24 2003 (thank you Kudrauk)

Then there's McGregor, surely a revelation in this role. As he has risen up the world rankings with the Star War movies and mega-budget productions such as Moulin Rouge and Black Hawk Down, it's easy to forget that he has a hunger for more challenging roles. Young Adam fits into McGregor's CV alongside the likes of Nora, Velvet Goldmine and his Peter Greenaway collaboration, The Pillow Book. But, as a performance, it outstrips them all. McGregor is a fantastically gifted actor in close-up. Just look again at the sheer, shining joy on his face when the camera moves in on the musical numbers in Moulin Rouge. In Young Adam, the lens captures every flicker on his face in tight detail, as his character goes through a lifetime of emotions within the confines of a single film. It's not an easy part to play; it's an even more difficult character for the audience to like. Yet, despite the blank wall that McGregor throws up betweenthe character's hidden emotions and our prying eyes, we ultimately sympathise with his plight. Alan Morrison, Daily Record, September 26 2003 (thank you xcbug)

That the film refuses to prod us into easy emotional responses is one of its great and very unusual strengths. Joe could be a remote, blank figure, but McGregor, giving the performance of his life, invests him with just enough soul, a compelling mixture of magnetism and calculation, to keep us from being disengaged. But disengaged is what Joe himself is. Sukhdev Sandhu, The Telegraph, September 26 2003 (thank you Gail & Claude)

The most impressive aspect of Ewan McGregor's performance is his stillness. Most of the time he hardly seems to do anything, yet there's an ineffably sly and feral streak in his demeanour. To be honest, he was a revelation to me. There's not a single film I've liked McGregor in since Trainspotting, and I include his inept yodelling in Moulin Rouge. Here he keeps himself reined in, watchful and calculating through the smokescreen of his roll-ups; we can't quite get a handle on him, at least not until a flashback scene towards the end, when Cathie comes back to their flat and complains about his laziness. Anthony Quinn, The Independent, September 26 2003 (thank you Mrs EGM)

Beautiful in its gritty realism, the movie smoulders with sensuality and raw emotion, thanks in part to a brilliant McGregor's brooding masculinity. Sloan Freer, BBC Radio Times, September 2003 (thank you Mrs EGM)

2003-09-25T12:40:00.000-04:00

REVIEW

Young Adam (2003)
At its core, however, this is McGregor's film. Appearing in every scene, dominating every frame of this production, he shows he's about far more than being charming, flashing his lightsaber and flashing his manhood. Instead we see the edges of McGregor's abilities, in what is perhaps his finest performance since Trainspotting (...) Young Adam won't go down in history as a classic, but it marks the emergence from their filmmaking chrysalis' of two talents. McGregor's maturity as an actor and Mackenzie's ability as a director can no longer be in doubt, and Young Adam will stand as testament to their development.
Manchester online, September 25 2003

2003-09-25T00:07:00.000-04:00

REVIEWS

Young Adam (2003)
I say Ewan McGregor gets inside Joe's skin, but that's as far as he gets. He looks pale, tousled, sullen, withdrawn, but nothing comes from deeper inside to lend fathom inches to the character's despair or anomie. This rebel's cause is just grunge self- dramatisation, a Christly or anti-Christly "I suffer for the world". Nigel Andrews, Financial Times, September 24 2003

No amount of fine supporting playing, however, could have saved Young Adam, top quality script, photography, and all, without a remarkable central performance. Providing it with superb modulation and restraint, McGregor gives the performance of his career. Miles Fielder, The Herald, September 25 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-09-24T07:52:00.000-04:00

REVIEW

Young Adam (2003)
In maybe his most finely tuned performance, Ewan McGregor is quietly profound as Joe. Stella Papamichael, BBC Films, September 23 2003 (thank you Karen)

2003-09-23T09:03:00.000-04:00

REVIEW

Young Adam (2003)
The celebrity clout of Ewan McGregor is the picture’s best chance to break into the mainstream movie-going consciousness. And fans drawn by his name alone will be rewarded with the actor’s most complex and mature performance to date (...) McGregor is outstanding and his performance is complemented by equally impressive turns by Swinton and Mullan. Sunday Herald, September 21 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-09-09T09:54:00.000-04:00

Renny Rye (director Lipstick on Your Collar)
You never know until you put them in front of a camera, whether it will happen on screen. You meet actors - some walk into a room with fantastic charisma, you put the camera on them, play it back - and there's nothing there. Others come in without it, and it only emerges in the camera. He has it in the room - and in the camera. Observer Magazine, September 7 2003 (thank you Mel and Gail)

2003-09-07T22:37:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Thomas (producer Young Adam)
(when asked if he had to pay Ewan a lot to be in Young Adam)
There are never such problems with Ewan because he is a great actor, actually the only one who was able to do the job the way we wanted, and whose priority is still making good quality films no matter how much money he gets. He did an excellent job in this film. www.sff.ba, Sarajevo Film Festival website, August 19 2003

2003-09-07T00:13:00.000-04:00

Alison Lohman (actor Big Fish)
Ewan McGregor is charming. He's just really sweet and a total gentleman. The Morning Call, September 6 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-09-06T17:23:00.000-04:00

Alison Lohman (actor Big Fish)
We had to do a kissing scene, and I was so nervous. So the first time he met me, Ewan came straight up and kissed me right away, to get rid of the awkwardness. USA Weekend September 5-7 2003 (thank you Tragic-ookami)

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
I had the time of my life. I'd been friends with Ewan for a long time and I've been a fan of his for even longer. I've wanted to work with him because I find the way that he approaches his work and the choices that he makes to be inspiring. Going to work was a joy because we saw eye to eye on everything. I just loved how we communicated. Telegraph, September 6 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-09-04T11:47:00.000-04:00

Peter Mullan (actor Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Young Adam)
It's difficult to say this without sounding wanky or arselicky, but he's as good a young actor as I know. He's a fucking darling. What I love about him is that he's still as enthusiastic to be a good actor. That's unusual because he's in a position now when he doesn't need to be a good actor; he can call his price and be a megastar. The two aren't the same thing. Empire, October 2003 (thank you TheMeems)

Michelle Branch (singer, musician)
I was in London during an MTV promo for my first album (The Spirit Room) and Ewan McGregor was there promoting Star Wars Episode II Attack Of The Clones. I found out and called off my interview and stood in the hall outside hoping to meet him. I basically stalked him! I have a picture of the two of us on my fridge at home, among the photos of friends and family. I keep telling everyone, 'Ewan and I look really good together, dont we?'. TV Week (Australia), September 6-12 2003 (thank you MRS EGM)

2003-08-18T23:40:00.000-04:00

James McAvoy (actor)
(on whether being Scottish is helping his career)
For me, if it does help it's because someone might like a charming Scottish type that they put on you. But, yeah, Ewan McGregor and Dougray Scott, they're doing great guns for us because they're big, gorgeous, beautiful men, and they can do it, they can lead movies. The Herald, August 18 2003

2003-08-18T18:56:00.000-04:00

REVIEW

Young Adam
The film displays a sexual candour rare in British cinema. It is unabashedly physical and, in the lead role, Ewan McGregor responds with his finest performance to date. There's always been something boyish about the actor - a cheeky exuberance that has accounted for a large part of his charm - but here he's shed that skin to become a man. There's a hardness to his features, a bleak intensity to his stare, that speaks of bitter experience and a capacity for sudden, violent action. www.edfilmfest.org.uk - website for The Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2003 (thank you Akemi)

2003-08-17T12:54:00.000-04:00

Carol McGregor (producer, Ewan's mother)
(about her involvement in the production of the film Stroke of Genius)
There is a part that would have been perfect for Ewan, but sadly he's away. I'd still love to work with him one day, though: it would be great to boss him about. Daily Telegraph, August 16 2003

2003-08-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Emily Mortimer (actor Young Adam - Cathie)
(about working with Ewan)
He was the kind of guy that takes his job very seriously but not himself. www.ionfilm.com, August 13 2003 (thank you Josie from mad about ewan)

Keira Knightley (actor Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)
I fell off the back of a golf cart that Ewan was on. To this day, I can't look at him without being embarrassed. All I was wearing was a bathrobe, some tights, and some knickers, and I literally went flying with my legs over my head and everything on display. www.MegaStar.co.uk, August 14 2003 (thank you Claude)

REVIEW

Young Adam
The key to this conundrum is how little McGregor actually gives away. He has moments — lighting a cigarette after sex — that put you in mind of Dirk Bogarde’s furtive powers in The Servant. Others where he seems entirely naive and heroic. He manages to sleep with every repressed female in sight, yet those green eyes remain spookily empty, and innocent. His enigmatic journey through Young Adam is the most compelling screen performance he has delivered. James Christopher, The Times, August 14 2003 (thank you Josie and Gail)

McGregor reminds us that he is capable of much more than flashing that wolfish grin. Recognising the best role he's had
in years, he stretches his vocal skills with precision, craft and restraint. It's a career-changing performance in what is likely to stand as one of the best British films of the year. Leslie Felperin, August 14 2003, Independent (thank you Gail)

2003-08-13T10:55:00.000-04:00

Peter Mullan (actor Young Adam - Les)
Young Adam is Ewan McGregor at his most spectacularly handsome…Ridiculously handsome. He gets something, like, 28 sex scenes. And I get to play this impotent, cuckolded husband. Because, it’s my wife that he has about 10 of these sex scenes with. So, it’s a highly embarrassing part. McGregor, in the film, is astonishing. I’ve seen the film. And he would make Montgomery Cliff blush. He is, honestly, spectacularly handsome. Movie stardom suites him. Some guys, it doesn’t suite. They don’t carry it well. Ewan’s getting to be pretty damned unique. Like Connery. Movie stardom suited Connery. Like, much more in his early films, Connery was still trying to be an actor. When Connery realized who he was, it all kind of came together. And he became that phenomenally handsome, sexy kind of guy. A man’s man, and also a guy that women would like to be with. All that. Ewan’s kind of going in that direction. He’s also a very, very lovely guy. He’s a great guy to work with. He acts like a real human being. He’s not some idiotic movie star with the IQ of a daffodil. And he gets all the good sex scenes. www.MovieWeb.com, July 2003

2003-08-12T00:17:00.000-04:00

REVIEW

Moulin Rouge
(from an article outlining 100 under-rated performances over 70 years of film making)
Ewan McGregor in "Moulin Rouge": Heaven knows why pretty-but-inadequate Nicole Kidman was Oscar-nominated but not her leading man. McGregor not only acts circles around Kidman but also sings infinitely better. As he proved in "Velvet Goldmine," he could easily be a rock star if he tires of acting. Mick LaSalle, Edward Guthman and Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, August 10 2003 (thank you Akemi)

2003-08-04T12:13:00.000-04:00

Therese Bradley (actor Young Adam)
(about her sex scene with Ewan)
You read a lot about Ewan being a geezer, but my experience of him, particularly on the day we filmed that scene in the alley, was of an incredibly kind gentleman. He really took care of me. It was my first movie. I didn’t quite know the etiquette of what I could and couldn’t say, but he made sure the set was closed and that I was comfortable. I felt completely able to just go ahead and do it. The Sunday Times, August 3 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-07-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

Tilda Swinton (actor Young Adam)
(on the box-office propects for Young Adam)
We’ve got Mr Lightsabre in there, so that’s one reason to be hopeful. Sunday Herald, July 27 2003 (thank you Specs)

2003-07-27T09:53:00.000-04:00

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
Ewan was the obvious man for the job. There’s something very exciting and mercurial about him, and it was a type of role that he hadn’t played before, a more grown up role. I needed a powerful actor who was going to give a degree of sympathy to the character. Ewan was very bold about not making attempts to soften the character, but there is something within him that still draws you in. Sunday Herald, July 27 2003 (thank you Specs)

2003-07-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

REVIEW

Young Adam
While there is a dourness about Young Adam, McGregor and Swinton give performances that rate among the best of their careers; one has to go all the way back to Trainspotting to find McGregor in such blistering form. David Gritten, Telegraph, July 26 2003 (thank you Ewan rocks webmistress)

2003-07-25T14:23:00.000-04:00

Anna Friel (actor Rogue Trader - Lisa Leeson)
Ewan is the top leading man. Other than being gorgeous, he's a very talented actor and he's very down to earth. He's someone who's proved to me that you can be a normal person and be very successful and famous. We got on so well. TV Times, March 7 1998 (thank you Karen)

John Hopkins (MotoGP motorcycle racer)
(about the Cannes premiere of Faster, a motorcycle racing documentary narrated by Ewan)
Meeting Ewan McGregor, that's pretty cool, you know. Real down to earth guy, something you'd never expect from big movie stars. Could be really good for the sport with big movie stars getting involved. www.fastermovie.com, May 2003 (thank you Mary)

2003-07-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
I first met Ewan at a party for MOULIN ROUGE. And he came to me and said (in an accent), “I heard you’re doing this Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie. Is there singing in it?” I said, “uh no, there’s not.” And then later when we cast it, he had done MOULIN ROUGE and Renee had done CHICAGO. So they formed this coalition to get a song. So how could you not do it at that point? Movie Poop Shoot, May 15 2003

Ewan is not Rock Hudson but the thing is he has charisma up the wazoo. I also liked that he is such a contemporary actor so you don’t associate him with that part. I did show him some Rock Hudson films but I also showed him other random stuff like a scene in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE of Sean Connery walking in an airport terminal or Steve McQueen walking in THE GREAT ESCAPE. I mean you don’t really need to nudge Ewan too hard to be cool. Movie Poop Shoot, May 15 2003

2003-07-13T09:32:00.000-04:00

Doug Allan (wildlife cameraman)
(about making the polar bear documentary with Ewan)
He’s a little boy lost in some ways. Although he has travelled a lot and done a lot of filmmaking, he is a bit naive. For instance, he seemed to come over as not having a clue about how you go and buy yourself a flight and get yourself a deal on excess baggage. I think that’s because everything has been done for him. Stars have this kind of big set-up that cushions them from life in a way. The Scotsman, July 13 2003 (thank you Claude and Gail)

John Fugate (circus ringmaster, extra Big Fish)
(about Ewan)
I watched this guy chase a pig through four circus joints. Not once, not twice, but 17 times. He's got quite a sense of humor. I really enjoyed him. Indianapolis Star, July 13 2003 (thanks spectacular001 and Gail)

2003-07-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
I think Ewan is a natural-born seducer and it doesn't take a lot of acting skill to be attracted to him. We had a good rapport from the first day on set [of Down with Love] and I hope that chemistry comes across in the film. He's extremely charming and funny and very relaxed to be around. He's also happily married and a great father,so I have a lot of admiration for him. Heat Magazine, July 2 2003 (thank you Josie from Mad about Ewan)

2003-06-30T22:55:00.000-04:00

Penny Mortimer (author John Mortimer's wife, actor Emily Mortimer's mother)
God, Ewan is so unbelievably adorable. Emily's in a new film with him and it's all about sex and I envy her. Evening Standard, June 30 2003

2003-06-30T07:01:00.000-04:00

Danny Boyle (director Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary)
(about replacing Ewan with DiCaprio in The Beach)
We should have been up front with Ewan about that. It just goes to show you that when you're not absolutely honest with people that you pay a price for it. New York Times, June 29 2003 (thanks Ewan Rocks webmistress)

2003-06-29T20:48:00.000-04:00

Jay Leno (talk show host, comedian)
In a phone survey by Jane magazine, Ewan McGregor was voted the man that most young women think about while masturbating. Who answers the phone while masturbating? The Tonight Show monologue, May 19, 2003 (thank you Becky)

2003-06-28T22:12:00.000-04:00

Helen Boaden (controller Radio4)
(about Ewan's reading of 5 Chekov short stories on Radio4)
His agent said he really wanted to do it. I thought it was Dead Ringers (a radio show that impersonates famous people for comedic effect) and gave them the cold shoulder. Then it turned out to be the real thing. The Observer, June 29 2003

2003-06-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Thomas (producer Young Adam)
He is perhaps the leading actor of his generation. Also, if you’re filming a book by a Scot in Scotland there is no one more suitable than Ewan. He is perfect as Joe. Young Adam Press Kit, 2003 (thank you Alyse)

Alexandra Stone (co-producer Young Adam)
Joe’s character is reminiscent of roles from films immortalised by Montgomery Clift, James Dean and the young Marlon Brando. Ewan is ideal for the part. He can do so much without talking - he emotes without words. He has pure screen presence. Young Adam Press Kit, 2003 (thank you Alyse)

Tilda Swinton (actor Young Adam - Ella)
Ewan is a good gazer, and Joe does a lot of gazing. He says so much with his eyes. And he gives off this aura of ease - which is absolutely right for his character. Young Adam Press Kit, 2003 (thank you Alyse)

Peter Mullan (actor Young Adam - Les)
Ewan phoned me and asked me to do this job and I’ve loved it. In the past, I’ve had to smash his kneecaps - in Shallow Grave - and drag him downstairs and inject him with heroin - in Trainspotting. So this was a nice opportunity to do scenes together where I don’t have to inflict violence on him! Ewan’s playing against type - and he pulls it off stunningly. He’s enjoying examining the sinister side of Joe. All great actors should explore non-romantic roles. Look at Paul Newman or Montgomery Clift or Albert Finney - they were able to show their mettle when they went into dark regions. When you’re blessed with Ewan’s looks and voice, you have to go into the depths to test yourself - otherwise you’re condemned to playing romantic leads forever. Young Adam Press Kit, 2003 (thank you Alyse)

Emily Mortimer (actor Young Adam - Cathie)
He’s such a lovely man. He’s completely unpretentious, straightforward and totally committed. He’s really easy to be around and work with. From the moment we started rehearsing, I was being thrown around the room and spanked and it just seemed funny. It wasn’t at all mortifying - which it could easily have been. Ewan is the perfect choice for the part of Joe because if anyone can bring out the angst and charm and depth of the guy, it’s him. The film totally relies on Ewan being able to draw the audience in. By rights, they shouldn’t like Joe, but as Ewan plays him they will find him fascinating and will be unable to resist him. Young Adam Press Kit, 2003 (thank you Alyse)

2003-06-26T19:09:00.000-04:00

Caroline O'Connor (actor Moulin Rouge - Nini)
(Nicole Kidman) and Ewan came to see me when I was playing Velma Kelly in the stage musical Chicago. After the show we went to a local pub together- you should have seen the expressions on the other punters faces! Nicole and Ewan just sat there drinking and chatting on bar stools like everyday people, and all thse onlookers kept coming over with beer mats for them to sign! New Idea Magazine, May 2001 (thank you Lisa)

2003-06-23T22:43:00.000-04:00

Craig Ferguson (actor, writer, director)
I was shooting I'll Be There at the same time as Ewan was making Young Adam and we decided over lunch that we were going to do this scene with Ewan in casualty with a Hoover stuck to his nether regions. Ewan was more than game, but in the end we couldn't get the schedules to square up. But he has made me promise to put the scene in another film. Daily Mail, June 19 2003

2003-06-22T15:29:00.000-04:00

Hayden Christensen (actor Star Wars - Anakin Skywalker)
(about his relationship with Ewan)
It was sort of an apprentice/master relationship, just not to the degree it was played on film. I have an enormous amount of respect for what he does, so when I first met him I put him on a bit of pedestal. I never really wanted to emulate what he was doing, but I had a respect for him because of it. When I was still trying to find my bearings and get situated in the Star Wars family I would often go to him for advice. He made sure that the lines of communication were very open and that we were comfortable with each other right from the beginning. The first time I met him he came over and gave me a huge hug and a big kiss and was like, "This is going to be great. I can't wait to be doing this with you for the next four months.' Just very, very welcoming. I'm very envious of him. He is an amazing actor, has a wonderful family and is just in a very nice place in his life. Arena, June 2002 (thank you Karen)

2003-06-18T18:15:00.000-04:00

Kelly Clarkson (singer, American Idol winner)
Frankly, I don't have time for love. The weird thing is now anyone I stand next to--presto--the press has me instantly dating him. Anyone I talk to is my boyfriend. Now, Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman are both my type, but they're both married and I don't want to go down that road. Chicago Sun-Times, June 18 2003 (thank you Mary)

2003-06-16T06:41:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
I hand pick him for everything - for the past seven years! I've got a big crush on him. Every day working with him was like being kids in a playground. We'd laugh the whole time. Ananova, June 15 2003 (thank you Gail)

(when asked who among her co-stars was the best kisser)
I have to say Ewan because he's in this new film and I remember him best. But they're all good kissers. You can't compare. Ananova, June 15 2003 (thank you Gail)

2003-06-06T07:23:00.000-04:00

Carrie Fisher (actor, author)
I love Ewan McGregor. I could eat his head. Star Wars Insider #68, 2003 (thank you Emilie Rose)

2003-06-02T06:06:00.000-04:00

Michelle Branch (singer, musician)
(on meeting and developing a crush on Ewan)
He had no idea who I was. He was like, 'OK, freaky girl,' and posed for a photo with me. It's on my fridge, and I tell people that he's my boyfriend. I'm single and there's a part of me that wants to go out and have a boyfriend, but it's easier just to obsess about Ewan McGregor. www.teenmusic.com, June 1 2003 (thank you Candlefairy)

2003-05-31T17:07:00.000-04:00

Paul Trijbits (head UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund)
(responding to criticism by Ewan and Tilda Swinton of the Council's film funding policies - the council initially refused to fund Young Adam)
Everybody's entitled to their opinions, however misguided, but this does look like a bunch of spoilt kids [who] have been given a drum set and they've got their hammers out and are whacking it. In most of these cases we are talking about people whose films did get made, and got made with substantial sums of public money. What's their problem? Independent, June 1 2003

Tilda Swinton (actor Young Adam)
(criticising the UK Film Council's decision not to fund Young Adam)
Neither Jeremy Thomas (the producer) nor Ewan McGregor, who wields a light sabre intergalactically, were enough to entice the Film Council to help make this film.Their concerns were that the 'commerciality' of the film might not compute. We who did thought them misguided. Independent, June 1 2003

2003-05-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love)
I've been a fan of his forever and ever and ever. As an actress, it's such a joy to watch somebody who is always authentic and always raises the bar. What he chooses to do is so unpredictable. Ewan elevates the material and he elevates every film that he's in. Sun Newspapers, May 15 2003 (thank you Karen)

2003-05-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
I think Ewan McGregor fans are going to see something a bit different. I think it's his first proper 'man' role. He'll probably be offended by me saying this but I think there's a difference from what he's done before. It's an adult film and it's got an adult complexity to it. Sunday Herald, May 25 2003

2003-05-25T12:24:00.000-04:00

REVIEW - Young Adam
Young Adam is much less a murder mystery, or sordid love story, than it is an observation of the kind of outsider made famous by the likes of Camus, in France, or the Beat writers such as Kerouac and Burroughs in America. McGregor, in one of his best performances for a long time, plays the detachment to the hilt: Joe seems barely alive, his only activities (when not working) being reading and fucking. Sex for him seems to be more of a challenge than a pleasure. Channel 4 Film, May 2003 (thank you Roxanne)

2003-05-23T19:33:00.000-04:00

REVIEWS - Down With Love

Zellweger, in particularly, takes the broad approach, walking with a flamboyant sashay and making big gestures. McGregor offers a more restrained - and effective - performance that more convincingly generates its humor and nostalgia. Jack Garner, Gannett News Service, May 14 2003 (thank you firingsquard)

Zellweger has no zing with McGregor, who seems uncomfortable in a stud role that, say, Hugh Jackman could have nailed. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone, May 14 2003

McGregor, however suave and handsome, doesn't have the manly heft of Hudson, though he does have an appropriately urbane quality. He's more Dean Jones (The Love Bug) than Hudson. Claudia Puig, USA Today, May 15 2003 (thank you ewanfan101)

Though they play types in the mold of Day and Hudson, Zellweger and McGregor have the wirehaired-terrier friskiness of Natalie Wood and James Coburn. It's pure pleasure to watch Zellweger and McGregor bound across a set with the swinger confidence of Frank Sinatra taking the stage of the Sands Hotel. Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16 2003

Ewan McGregor, as the magazine writer and international playboy Catcher Block, embodies the ladies'-man myth, the sleek, lovable cad who is irresistible to all women, especially, it seems, airline stewardesses. He has Laurence Harvey's hair and walk coupled with a James Bond smirk. Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle, May 16 2003

Gliding through it all with masculine glee is McGregor. As Catcher Block, the actor doesn’t waltz through his role so much as slide greasily. He’s a cad of the highest degree, a “woman’s man, man’s man and man about town” who’s so adorably charismatic that you find yourself rooting for his deception to work. In his razor-sharp houndstooth-check jackets and hipster sunglasses, McGregor doesn’t recall beefcakey Hudson so much as the kinetic young Tony Curtis, who could smile into the camera and cause women to melt into gooey heaps. The Portland Tribune, May 16 2003 (thank you ParisRouge)

"Down With Love" is the most exhilarating piece of old-meets-new moviemaking since "Moulin Rouge," and it's no coincidence that Ewan McGregor is at the center of both (…) the whole thing would be an empty, transparent exercise in style without an actor of McGregor's total commitment. He throws himself into the role of a suave ladies' man with a fearless abandon that Hudson never had. He's both sly and exuberant, calculating and uninhibited. He has no poses, no defenses, no worries that he'll look silly or full of himself. Place McGregor's blithe, womanizing journalist of "Down With Love" alongside his love-addled poet of "Moulin Rouge," and it's clear he's a rare and extraordinary performer, one who combines the old-school showmanship of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly with the emotional nakedness of contemporary Method actors. Ben Nuckols, Associated Press, May 16 2003 (thank you Gail)

McGregor sharks around agreeably, flashing his teeth at a game Hyde Pierce, but there's something uncertain about the performance, as if he can't find his footing. Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times, May 16 2003 (thank you xcbug)

Zellweger continues the against-the-odds trajectory of her career with some deft comic work. Even so, the film is stolen brazenly by McGregor, sexier, funnier and more dashing than ever as a man who, as a song lyric over the closing credits tells us, "make(s) Dean Martin look like a Quaker." Assured, razor-cut and sneaky, he convinces as a rake, a naif and, finally, a romantic. It's a stardom-cementing performance. Shawn Levy, The Oregonian, May 16 2003 (thank you Brittyn)

To get anywhere near (Rock) Hudson's ebullience, confidence and sexual magnetism, poor li'l Ewan must work overtime. You never saw a face so busy: He's continually arching an eyebrow, pursing his lips, sucking in his cheeks, dilating his eyes up for warmth or down for cunning, concentrating on his timing. He's doing every Brit-actor thing he can think of, huffing and puffing. You just want him to cut the twinkle factor down to nil and relax a little. Stephen Hunter, Washington Post, May 16 2003

As Catcher, McGregor consolidates his ''Moulin Rouge'' gains and makes you forget about that stiff named Obi- Wan Kenobi; his is a loose-limbed, expertly controlled performance that's a delight to watch. Ty Burr, The Boston Globe, May 16 2003

McGregor is divine as Catcher Block and Zellweger plays her part to pouty perfection. Susan Walker, The Toronto Star, May 16 2003

Mr. McGregor has played so many heroin addicts, poster boys for nudity camps and general scuzzballs that it comes as a shock to see him freshly shaved, with short hair plastered down with slickum, dressed for a Seagram’s ad. Obviously he wants a new image, but he was pretty awful in Moulin Rouge, and as a hunky babe magnet in Down with Love, the miscasting overwhelms. Scrawny and pasty-faced, he’s no Rock, or even Tab. The effect of too many parties is self-evident. He may not be ready to exchange dance steps for 12 steps, but a copy of the Big Book and a six-pack of Diet Coke can’t be far behind. Rex Reed, The New York Observer, May 19 2003 (thank you ParisRouge)

McGregor, with his ropy slimness and Scots accent, looks to be attempting to channel early Sean Connery (including the line "Something [big] just came up," from an early James Bond film). Odd that he could be so convincing as the innocent in "Moulin Rouge," yet here, with the same huge fake moon hanging over similar penthouse apartments, and the same love-lust he needs to radiate, he can't get inside the character. Richard Corliss, Time Magazine, May 19 2003

Zellweger plays it gamely, and so does McGregor, who has perfected a superb skirt chaser’s walk—shoulders swivelling, a mixture of lunge and lounge. But both of them are set adrift by the movie’s discomforting demands, and only in the closing credits do they get to do what people do most fruitfully instead of sex, which is to make a song and dance about it. Who needs love? Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, May 26 2003

McGregor is hilarious from the moment he swaggers onscreen, capturing that caddish aura so many early-'60s swingers assumed in their effort to emulate Rat Pack cool. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 2003 (thank you Paris Rouge)

2003-05-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
I think he was very pleased to be working at home on a film that has adult morality and all of those kind of things and something that allowed him to do some acting against real people rather than a blue screen. He was a great supporter of the project all the way through and fantastic to work with. Unreel, May 2003 (thank you Karen)

2003-05-23T09:45:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
He's a great guy. There's a purity in what he does, and he won't compromise himself. I love that. And he's really clever. He always surprises me. He shows up and he always brings more to it than you think is on the page. Interview, June 2003 (thank you Deann)

2003-05-21T19:40:00.000-04:00

REVIEW - Young Adam

Sex and death are not strangers, and the erotic tension between the new barge hand and the wife is magnetic. McGregor’s enigmatic journey is his best performance in years, even if it is mostly led by the stirrings below his belt. James Christopher, The Times, London, May 22 2003

2003-05-19T21:28:00.000-04:00

Emily Mortimer (actor Young Adam - Cathie)
(about her intense and violent sex scene with Ewan)
It wasn't traumatising at all. It was exhilarating as we had to play the whole thing in one take. We got on very well and trusted each other. We had a feeling it was shocking and that was kind of exciting. Reuters, May 19 2003 (thank you Claude)

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
(about funding problems and filming delays)
All the cast stayed in and supported it. Ewan's been very loyal to the whole thing. The Herald, May 19 2003

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
Ewan has this kind of punk rock sensibility about him, where he's just game to try anything and he's a really, really brave actor. Punk rock is all about an energy and a vitality and an immediacy, and he as an actor has that… He has this intense sex appeal, and kind of this sense of danger. It's easy to imagine he's going to be one of those actors who's going to be around 40 or 50 years from now with a 'Sir' in front of his name. The Washington Post, May 18 2003 (thank you Gail)

Dan Jinks (producer Down With Love)
We needed somebody who on the one hand could be very macho so women would love him and guys could feel incredibly comfortable with him, but he also had to be a really, really good actor to do this kind of stylized piece and be completely committed to it. I don't know that there's a better looking guy who's as good an actor as Ewan. We really feel like we hit the jackpot with him. I think people who see the movie are surprised. They expect Ewan to always be great because he's always great, but he played a character in this film that he had never played before and the performance is just tremendous, I think. Hollywood Reporter, May 16 2003 (thank you Gail)

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love – Barbara)
I like Ewan. We've been friends for a long time, and I've been his fan for even longer. We were like kids playing a really intense game of T-ball on the team together. You know, just concentrating to get the hits, to get the run. And then when it happens, jumping for joy--literally. We were like dumb little kids clapping our hands every day. It was ridiculous. We laughed so much. He comes up with funny things you just don't expect, and you've got to tighten your appearance the best you can not to crack up and ruin the scene. There were scenes where we were holding hands and I think I squeezed the blood out of his fingers trying not to laugh. E!online, May 14 2003 (thank you starboardfrannie)

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love – Barbara)
(about Here’s To Love, the end-title song she recorded with Ewan)
It was never intended. Ewan McGregor was wailing around the set saying, 'Should we do a song? Don't you think we should do a song?' The film has such energy to it that it just seemed natural. Finally they gave and did it. ABCNews, May 15 2003 (thank you Ewan rocks webmistress)

REVIEWS - Young Adam

Joe is part existential outsider, part Jack-the-lad who regards sex as a way of defying the society he so dislikes. As portrayed by McGregor, in a donkey jacket, with hair swept back, he looks a little like Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. This is certainly one of McGregor's strongest performances. He plays Joe as a brooding, curiously detached figure, who seems to be at a remove from his own life. Whether trying to seduce Ella, witnessing the murder trial that he himself has triggered, or cheating on Ella with her sister, he rarely displays more than a flicker of emotion (…) Like the author who created him, Joe isn't easy to warm to. The irony is that McGregor somehow renders the character sympathetic in spite of himself. Just as in Trainspotting, you end up rooting for Joe... whatever he does with the custard. Geoffrey Macnab, Independent, May 16 2003

Strongly cast, with an especially fine perf by Ewan McGregor as an amoral drifter caught up in a couple's passionless marriage (…) McGregor is tops as Joe, underplaying the character's opportunism without ladling on the charm. Derek Elley, Variety, May 16 2003

It will startle devotees of Ewan McGregor's recent matinee-idol persona. McGregor, in arguably his most vivid and complex performance since Trainspotting, will certainly help Young Adam's box-office profile (…) The acting is uniformly powerful and subtle (..) While McGregor's well-coiffed dapper appearance may not entirely fit the 1950s scene, his curiously blank charisma works to deceptive effect, keeping us guessing about Joe's personality, which veers unpredictably between charm and outright, uningratiating abjection. Jonathan Romney, Screen International, May 18 2003 (thank you Sessan)

Ewan McGregor gives one of his most complex and mature performances to date as Joe, a young man living and working on a barge with Les (Peter Mullan) and his wife Ella (Tilda Swinton). Stephen Applebaum, The Scotsman, May 19 2003 (thank you Specs)

(Mackenzie, the director) does extremely well by the efforts of his highly capable cast -- in particular, the truly dynamic duo of Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton. It's hard to think of two less-inhibited actors working today, and although their scorchingly vigorous sex scenes will no doubt help sell the picture, the stripped-bare purity of their performances leaves a lasting impression long after the titillation factor wears off (…) Returning to his Scottish indie roots after firmly establishing himself in such big-budget fare as "Moulin Rouge" and the past two "Star Wars" pictures, McGregor makes for a perfect noir antihero, while Swinton, ever the chameleon, once again disappears effortlessly into a character who proves to be anything but predictable. Together they set off considerable sparks. Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter, May 19 2003

Ewan MacGregor gives his best performance in ages. Sukhdev Sandhu, Telegraph, May 19 2003

I have a large number of Down With Love reviews that I will post shortly. So much Ewan, so little time!

2003-05-14T12:23:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
I think that he's phenomenal; he inspires me. He always takes it to another level. He's always original and he always has integrity. The choices that he makes are made from a very pure place, and he always surprises me as an audience member. NorthJersey.com, May 14 2003 (thank you Barbara)

2003-05-14T07:13:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
(after Ewan told a reporter about having once unsuccessfully put insincere moves on a woman)
Can I say this about Ewan McGregor? I have never seen this man be anything but completely compassionate. Honestly. And if that's what it took to learn it, to have some girl shut the door on you and never come back again before you found out that we would love you just the way you are, I'm glad it happened. USA Today, May 13 2003

2003-05-13T18:54:00.000-04:00

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
What the character of Catcher Block needed, besides incredible good looks, was that crazy charisma that Ewan has. You can feel the eyes of every woman in sight on him. Ewan also has a strong ‘edge’ – a real sense of danger – that was perfect for Catcher, who is a player and playboy … a kind of James Bond without the espionage. Twentieth Century Fox press kit, movieweb.com (thank you Gail)

Morag Rhodes (pr coordinator Children's Hospice Association of Scotland)
(on the filming of a fundraising commercial for CHAS)
On the morning of the shoot, there was an air of quiet anticipation, as the night before everyone was told that Ewan McGregor was coming to make a short film at Rachel House for Pearl & Dean’s 50th Anniversary. When Ewan arrived it was just like a reunion of old friends, lots of laughter and excitement and interest in the filming. www.pearlanddean.com, May 2003 (thank you Roxanne and Georginita)

2003-05-12T12:10:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
For seven years, I've been going, 'Where's Ewan McGregor? What's Ewan McGregor doing? Is he making this? Is there a girl? What kind of girl? Can we make that happen? We've been acquaintances for a long time, but I've been his fan for even longer. We were literally like kids at recess — dumb, dancing in place and clapping our hands after the scenes. I cannot wait to go find something else to do with him. TV Guide, May 12 2003 (thank you Candlefairy)

2003-05-11T07:54:00.000-04:00

Martin Compston (actor)
I love the way he's always loyal to British films. The only advice he gave me was don't sleep with the director. As it was Ken Loach, it wasn't in my plans anyway. Sunday Mail, May 11 2003

2003-05-10T20:10:00.000-04:00

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
I love the idea of seeing him with slick hair and a tuxedo, looking like (Cary) Grant. He's not afraid to mix up his roles. USA Weekend Magazine, May 1 2003 (thank you Alyse)

Charley Boorman (actor The Serpent's Kiss)
We met [making] the film "The Serpent's Kiss" in 1997 and both had newborn children at the time. We had play dates and had a great time. We were in Ireland, and we took our families all over the place. I'm not surprised that he's having such a good time in the South (filming Big Fish). He likes to get out and experience everything with his family. USA Weekend Magazine, May 1 2003 (thank you Alyse)

2003-05-09T07:16:00.000-04:00

REVIEWS - Down With Love

Hollywood seems to have found its new Cary Grant in McGregor, who scored as an idealized heartthrob in "Moulin Rouge" and backs that with a pitch-perfect rendition of a vapid playboy rating a comeuppance. Jack Matthews, New York Daily News, May 8 2003

In ''Down With Love,'' McGregor, speaking in his natural Scottish accent, plays Catcher as a real-world Austin Powers with straighter teeth and better clothes. It's hilarious to see a movie's male sex symbol define cool by the way he rolls on his spandex stay-up socks, and McGregor, who has so much heart that he puts feeling into his jokes, is wonderfully charming as this toxic bachelor with no idea that his ways are on the way out. Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, May 7 2003 (thank you Cara)

Unlike Day and Hudson, who inhabited their characters with an effortless charm, Zellweger and McGregor appear to be straining for effect, conveying little of the natural sexiness of their predecessors. Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter, May 8 2003

Zellweger and McGregor are constantly mugging in a tiresomely self-aware way. David Rooney, Variety, May 6 2003

The Hudson-Day roles are taken up by Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger, unflappable veterans of the recent campaign to revive the movie musical. They demonstrate together, as they did (separately) in "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago," a thoroughly charming immunity to embarrassment. They also remind you that the real Rock Hudson and Doris Day flourished in the days before personal trainers, Diet Coke and the Atkins Diet turned Hollywood into the land of ropy biceps and flat tummies. Mr. McGregor's wiry, wolfish energy is more like the young Sinatra than the bulky, slow-moving Hudson, but never mind. His high-flying playboy, a magazine writer named Catcher Block, is a lithe Lothario, a woman's man, a man's man, a man about town. A. O. Scott, New York Times, May 9 2003 (thank you Mary)

2003-05-08T06:57:00.000-04:00

Jeri Ryan (actor Down With Love)
Here's the role: can you go make out with Ewan McGregor for three days? Alright, twist my arm! It's a tough gig. Extra, May 7 2003 (thanks Specs)

2003-05-04T07:17:00.000-04:00

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
(Ewan is) one of the few significant British stars. The Scotsman, May 4 2003 (thank you Claude)

2003-05-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
You can watch Ewan across the parking lot and see the eyes of every woman on him, what more could I ask for (in a leading man). US Weekly, May 12 2003 (thank you OnlyEW)

2003-05-03T07:03:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
Ewan McGregor was a hoot. I love that man.... There is nothing he can't do. And, I have to admit, he is so dreamy in his little suits. He was great. But I have to say, I think my little pink suits, and hair flips are the cat's meow. I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this movie. Let me tell you, it ain't a bad life, boys and girls. Famous (Famous Players Theatres magazine), May 2003 (thank you Cora)

2003-05-02T08:32:00.000-04:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
I really can't rate how well Ewan and I came to achieving the chemistry (Rock Hudson and Doris Day) had, but I know we had a great time. He was my partner in crime on the set. It was a joyful experience, and I hope people will feel that way when they see the film. We could all use a little joy right now. Good Housekeeping, June 2003 (thank you MrsObiWan)

2003-04-23T05:58:00.000-04:00

Kerry Fox (actor Shallow Grave)
(about filming Shallow Grave)
It was great fun to film and I remember Andrew McDonald, the producer, saying Ewan was going to be a really big star. Daily Record, April 5 2003 (thank you Karen)

2003-04-19T06:44:00.000-04:00

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
Strangely, not all actors look great in tuxedos, but Ewan looks... fantastic. We dyed his hair - and to me he's like a young Sean Connery in From Russia With Love. The one thing we needed for this role was a guy who had a sense of danger about him. Vogue, May 2003 (thank you Mary)

Peyton Reed (director Down With Love)
Men are drawn to Ewan because they wanna be Ewan. Vogue, May 2003 (thank you Mary)

2003-04-11T08:59:00.000-04:00

Evin Driver (child actor Big Fish)
Ewan is my best buddy. When I first met him, he asked me, 'Do you know who I am?' And I said yes, 'Yes, you're Obi Wan Kenobi.' And he said, 'Yes, I was.' The Huntsville Times, April 6 2003 (thank you Karen)

2003-04-09T18:55:00.000-04:00

Danny Boyle (director Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary)
Ewan is not a star by accident. Every now and then an actor comes along who captures the spirit of a generation. Ewan is that actor. When the audience looks at him, they don't just see him up there performing, they see themselves. Sky Magazine, March 2003 (thanks ParisRouge)

2003-04-06T19:47:00.000-04:00

Tim Burton (director Big Fish)
(discussing life in Alabama - specifically, visits to Wal-Mart)
Once you walk into that place, you lose all track of time and space. When Ewan came back after his first trip to Wal-Mart, he had this weird gleam in his eye. No matter what country you're from, it's a different country down here. Details, May 2003 (thanks Narevane)

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
I think that people tend to associate Ewan McGregor with younger characters, but the audience will see in Young Adam Ewan playing a more mature character which is more interesting. It is a development from his other roles. Erasing Clouds, January 2003

2003-04-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Nicole Kidman (actor Moulin Rouge)
(on press reports she had an affair with her Cold Mountain co-star Jude Law)
He's a wonderful man and a good friend of mine, but there was no affair. We spent seven months shooting and it's an intense love story so we were waiting for that. They did it with Ewan McGregor too, on 'Moulin Rouge'. Reuters, April 3 2003 (thanks Karen)

2003-03-26T08:40:00.000-05:00

Dennis Drake (screenwriter Down With Love)
Ewan is a godsend. What he brings to this immediately from day one is the energy and brightness, which is a real gift for light comedy. Out Magazine, April 2003 (thank you Melanie)

Dan Jinks (producer Down With Love)
What Ewan has in common with Rock Hudson’s screen persona is that he's a guy who women find incredibly attractive - along with gay men - and he also makes men feel incredibly comfortable. He really is a ladies' man and a guy's guy. Out Magazine, April 2003 (thank you Melanie)

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
(commenting on Ewan and a scene he did wearing only a towel)
He gives so much and he's so good at what he does. And that towel. He's a wonderful person and a nice guy and fun ...and the towel! That poor man endured so much harassment from Sarah [Paulson, who costars] and myself. And every day you go to work and there's his gorgeous, really smart, multilingual wife with their two gorgeous children. A wonderful family. Out Magazine, April 2003 (thank you Melanie)

2003-03-22T06:48:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
(on whether she and Ewan have chemistry in the film)
I didn't think about it. I guess that's part of not forcing something to happen. I've known Ewan for a very long time. I'd see him in passing at different things I'd go to and we would always laugh, so I knew I liked him. We were like preschoolers every day on set. It's nice when you can find a partner in crime. I recently recorded a song with him and I laughed like a little girl for eight hours. Every time we did it, we put a different spin on it. I guess chemistry is so that people can feel your joy, feel the fun you had. I think people seeing the movie will feel that we had fun. You can feel that everyone was kind of joyful on that set. Variety's V Life, April 2003 (thanks Mary)

2003-03-16T07:08:00.000-05:00

Peter Mullan (actor Trainspotting - Swanney, Young Adam - Les)
Trainspotting was a fairly dark subject, but none of us were prepared beforehand to see this dead baby and when we did, it was pretty devastating. We all just went in the other room and wept for about an hour afterwards. That's me, Jonny Lee Miller and Ewan McGregor - we all just huddled together and wept. Daily Record, March 15 2003

2003-03-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

I've been having major problems getting the template on this blog to update, it's been driving me nuts. I have figured it out at last, so I can finally add a link to a great site put up by Alabama's Montgomery Advertiser newspaper. It's all about the filming of Ewan's current project, 'Big Fish'. There are articles galore and many fantastic pictures, please visit.

2003-03-15T08:26:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
(on filming Down With Love)
It was a real challenge to find the balance between what's ironic and what's reality based. I just walked away thinking 'God, Ewan McGregor is such a movie star.' Premiere, April 2003 (thanks Mary, Claude and Gail)

Dan Jinks (producer Down With Love, Big Fish)
(about Ewan in Down With Love)
He’s been working out with a trainer for weeks now. He looks incredible. He’s supposed to be this macho playboy guy, we wanted to accentuate the leading-man body. Out Magazine, April 2003 (thanks Candlefairy)

2003-03-07T07:25:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
My girlfriend Sarah Paulson (her co-star in the movie) and I were laughing one day because we couldn't get over how gorgeous Ewan McGregor is. You just die when you see him. Cosmopolitan, April 2003

2003-03-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

David Mackenzie (director Young Adam)
(on Ewan's sex scene with Emily Mortimer)
There is sex and violence in there, and the two are kind of linked. They all went into the whole sexual side very much with their eyes open and as fine actors, and we’ve got some good stuff. They weren’t spanking very hard. The Scotsman, February 23 2002 (thanks Claude)

2003-02-21T06:47:00.000-05:00

Peter Mullan (actor Young Adam - Les)
I play this impotent Barge owner called Les. Ewan arrives on the scene and repays Les’s kindness by proceeding to shag his wife, followed by every other woman in the film! It’s a brilliant role! Ewan’s beaming at me like a Cheshire cat because he goes through about eight women in this film. The one sex scene I get - I play a man who can’t get it up! I didn’t get any cast-offs, sloppy seconds, nottin’! There’s even two scenes where I’m driving the boat and Ewan’s shagging on the barge steps! I think girls like seeing Ewan getting up to naughties. They seem to go for that for some strange reason. Manchester online, February 2003 (thanks Mary)

2003-02-20T06:55:00.000-05:00

Val brought this to the attention of the Ewanspotting board last October, somehow I forgot to post it here:

Jason Isaacs (actor Black Hawk Down - Cpt Steele)
(on the actors' one week boot camp training experience)
You don't understand, Ewan McGregor doesn't take orders from me. But god bless him, for a week he did. Rise, Channel 4 morning show, October 29 2002 (thanks Val)

2003-02-10T18:39:00.000-05:00

An older quote taken from a RealOne audio interview clip found on Sandy's hard drive - if anyone can confirm the source and/or the date I would really appreciate hearing from you.

Cameron Diaz (actor A Life Less Ordinary - Celine)
We had a great time together. Our first week together we did dance rehearsal, so we were dancing right away. We were cheek to cheek and I'm jumping into his arms off the tables. You start to trust somebody right away - immediate trust. We just started laughing, having a good laugh together. The first day we met one another, it just sort of clicked. We just had a good time from there on out really. Hollywood Online, 1997 (thanks Sandy)

2003-02-03T19:57:00.000-05:00

William Perkins (indoor batting cage owner)
(on teaching Ewan to hit a baseball for a scene in Big Fish)
I've worked with him three times now. He's an easy student, a real personable guy. Birmingham News, February 2 2003 (thanks Darth Mystique)

2003-02-01T08:36:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love - Barbara)
Ewan McGregor is phenomenal as this character, and it is nothing we have seen him do before. I am a big fan of his, and I have been for a long time. I think there is nothing he can't do. And he is dreamy in his little suits. He was great. Bloomberg Financial News, January 2003 (thank you firingsquard)

I added a new spotlight

2003-01-27T19:20:00.000-05:00

Richard Zanuck (producer Big Fish)
Until we signed Albert (Finney) to play the father, we didn't know whether we could sign Ewan to play the younger version of the character. We actually decided on Ewan when we saw an old People magazine from about five years ago that had a picture of Ewan beside a picture of Albert when he was the same age. They looked like they could have been twins. Montgomery Advertiser, January 24 2003 (thanks Darth Mystique)

2003-01-23T19:07:00.000-05:00

Jules Asner (reporter, interviewer)
(when asked to name her favorite interview)
Ewan McGregor. I knew he had been naked in a few movies so I said "Has that really been hard?" And he said "Well, actually it has been hard a few times!" I just blushed! NW Magazine, January 2003 (thanks Darth Mystique)

2003-01-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

Antonia Kidman (reporter, Nicole Kidman's sister)
Of all the people I've interviewed Ewan McGregor was definitely one of my best. He was a riot, a typical Scotsman. Kind of wild but in a good way. Sunday Mail, January 19 2003

Charlie Croughwell (stunt coordinator Big Fish)
(about a scene where Ewan rescues a dog from a burning house)
Ewan is doing most of his own stunts. He's great with the dog, and it likes him. Montgomery Advertiser, January 18 2003

2003-01-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love)
That Ewan McGregor is so cute in his suits you are just going to die. Just going to die. I would come to work every day and I would say, 'You are going to have to go away!' USA Today, January 10 2003

2003-01-03T08:42:00.000-05:00

It's a really dry time for new quotes right now but I dug up some older quotes that I hadn't seen before...

Ian McDiarmid (actor Star Wars - Palpatine)
A lot of us used to have to pinch ourselves to remind ourselves what we were involved in. Ewan, every now and again he'd be holding a lightsaber -- "Hey, I'm holding a lightsaber!" Took him back to when he was a kid, I think. Star Wars Insider #37, May 1998

Christine Vachon (producer Velvet Goldmine)
Ewan does "Gimme Danger". He sings live and is the only performer to do so - everyone else sings to playback. Ewan throws himself into his performance. Todd decides not to rehearse him too much because he's afraid he'll be burnt out before we commit him to celluloid. Shooting to Kill (book), 1998

In Velvet Goldmine, Ewan MacGregor's (sic) character leaps off the stage into the crowd, and Ewan wanted to leap himself. Todd Haynes wanted Ewan to leap, too, so he could put the camera underneath him and shoot it in one continuous take. I was nervous. The solution was to have two stunt guys in the crowd to catch him when he jumped. It worked beautifully. Shooting to Kill (book), 1998

2002-12-21T20:24:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love)
It was natural that Ewan McGregor should go and do a movie musical because he has it in him. When we were making Down With Love, Ewan was on his guitar the whole time. You could hear him playing and singing down the hall every day. Everything he does has rhythm to it. He's also very suave but he is not conscious of it. Even when he is joking around, he has this tremendous presence. He dances far better than I do. He is such a dancer you can't believe it. We have dance numbers in this movie and we sing a little bit. We are talking about a duet right now - that'll be as soon as my voice heals from screaming on Cold Mountain. I don't know if there will be a single, they are talking about it. We'll see what happens. Sunday Mail, December 22 2002 (thanks xcbug)

2002-12-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

Inspired by the George Clooney quote I added yesterday, I did up a new spotlight: Sex and Skin

2002-12-19T07:34:00.000-05:00

George Clooney (actor)
(about his nude scene in the film Solaris)
I don't know what all the excitement is about. I just showed my butt. It's not like I did the full monty, like Ewan McGregor, and showed everything I'm packing. Daily Record, December 19 2002

2002-12-16T08:59:00.000-05:00

Jenny Topper (artistic director Hampstead Theatre)
(about Ewan's appearance in a play at the Hampstead Theatre)
Ewan’s role in Little Malcolm made people say, ‘This is a proper actor’. The Times, December 13 2002 (thanks Gail)

Nicole Kidman (actor Moulin Rouge - Satine)
(when asked to say the 1st thing that came to her mind when various actors where named)
Ben Chaplin: "Quirky, darling, and really underrated." Viggo Mortensen: "Sexy and poetic." Ewan McGregor: "Just one of the dearest, most gorgeous men to walk the earth." Jude Law: "The most open spirit, giving, Jude glows." Russell Crowe: "My best friend. Loyal, loyal. Fiercely loyal. And strong. A deep friendship for the rest of our lives. I'll be there for him for everything. It's nice to have him in the world. He's always been kind to me." Tom Cruise: "Great actor." Elle, January 2003

2002-12-10T20:52:00.000-05:00

Renee Zellweger (actor Down With Love)
(about working with Jude Law and Ewan on separate films)
Jude Law just now and Ewan McGregor just before that. I'm getting them all in there aren't I? A delight! No complaints. I don't have to pick. They're all there on the set, it's fantastic. So why choose, you know, why choose? BBC Radio 1 news, December 9 2002 (thanks bubblebobblegirl)

2002-12-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

Daniel Logan (actor Star Wars:Attack of the Clones - Boba Fett)
I always think about Ewan. It was so fun with him - we always knocked around on the set, and it always took at least three takes. He was my best friend on the set. Star Wars Insider: Issue 57, June 2001

2002-12-03T08:58:00.000-05:00

Barry Norman (film critic)
He's the only movie star I know who turns up at a premiere with his whole family. Cambridge News, October 29 1998

Jaci Stephen (reporter)
There are very few things that embarrass me in life. I blush almost as rarely as I enjoy Panorama. The last time I remember turning a ghastly shade of puce, however, was after a long lunch in Soho's Groucho Club. Alighting upon a handsome young man at the bar on my way out, I stopped to comment on his good looks. After informing him of my powerful position in the Press to make stars of gorgeous nobodies, I asked whether he had ever done any acting. He said he had done a little and, after much pressing, said that I might have seen him in some things. 'Honestly,' I droned on, 'you've got that real star quality. I know what it is! It's that Ewan McGregor kind of charisma. What's your name?' 'Er, Ewan McGregor.' Blush? I would have committed harakiri had someone thrown me a sword. Mail on Sunday, December 1 2002

2002-12-01T16:26:00.000-05:00

REVIEW

Solid Geometry (2002) - tv short
Solid Geometry was sexually explicit, narratively inexact, and only McGregor, a home-grown Tom Hanks, could have made likeable an obsessive character who may be a murderer. The Herald, November 29 2002 (thank you Gail)

2002-11-29T08:40:00.000-05:00

REVIEW

Solid Geometry (2002) - tv short
Even the best television dramas rarely surprises or challenges or takes us into unfamiliar mental landscapes. However silly, Solid Geometry did all that and so it was extremely refreshing. The fact that it was beautifully acted by McGregor and (Ruth) Millar and was designed and directed with stylish minimalism helped, too. Dare to be different, please, commissioners, at least occasionally. You will not always have to entice the viewers with the prospect of McGregor’s bare bum. Paul Hoggart, The Times, November 29 2002