How much is Ewan McGregor worth?
| Net Worth: | $20 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | March 31, 1971 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Height: | 1.77 m |
“I think the script is the key. Regardless of how great everybody else is working on a film, if you’re working on a script that you don’t think is great, you’re not gonna be able to make a great film. Whereas if the script is great, then you can.” Ewan McGregor
About Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor is a famous actor from Perth, Scotland. His first name is pronounced “you-an”. McGregor has said that he was inspired to get into show business like his uncle, actor Denis Lawson. Lawson actually played the role of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy, released in 1977, 1980 and 1983. Of course most people know McGregor nowadays for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
McGregor was born in 1971, he dropped out of high school when he was only 16-years-old. During that time, he worked as a stagehand at Perth Theatre and had small roles in their productions. This was while he studied drama at Kirkcaldy College of Technology for one year until the fall on 1988. When he was 18, he moved to London to continue his education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for three years but says that he “left halfway through [his] third year to start Lipstick On Your Collar (1993), which was the first thing I ever did”. While in drama school he became friends with Naveen Andrews, who would later become the star of the television series Lost (2004).
After starring in one of the biggest movies of all time, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) (2005), McGregor finally relocated to the United States in 2008. He officially became an American citizen eight years later in 2016.
“Drama school can’t make you a brilliant actor, but you can do stuff for three years – you’re not going to be fired. You should just go for it all, even the stuff you think is codswallop.” Ewan McGregor
Breaking Down Ewan McGregor’s Net Worth
The frequency of McGregor’s appearances on the big screen have contributed to the size of his bank account. He originally broke through and became a big Hollywood star with his casting of Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas‘, Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. Star Wars has added more to McGregor’s net worth than any of the other films or series’ he has starred in. He earned an estimated $7 million from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III), alone. A movie that earned $868.4 million globally in 2005. That’s the equivalent of $1.3 billion in 2022 dollars after adjusting for inflation.
“I was nine years old when I made up my mind that that was what I definitely wanted to do.” Ewan McGregor
Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise from Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, in 2012.
Ever since Ewan can remember he always wanted to be an actor. “I was nine years old when I made up my mind that this was what I definitely wanted to do,” he has said. McGregor made his acting debut in 1993 in the British television series, Lipstick on Your Collar. He played the role of Private Hopper. A year later he appeared in Bill Forsyth’s Being Human and Danny Boyle’s thriller Shallow Grave (1994).
I never imagined it wouldn’t work out for me. I had absolute certainty in myself.
Ewan McGregor
In 1994, he was up for the male lead in Shopping (1994), however he lost out to another up and coming UK actor, Jude Law. It is the role he would play in 1996 however, that would at least cement his name as one of the new upcoming actors from the United Kingdom. He played the role of Mark Renton “Rent Boy” alongside other up and comers including Jonny Lee Miller “Sick Boy”, Ewen Bremner “Spud” and Robert Carlyle “Begbie” in the movie, Trainspotting.
He sacrificed his role of Christopher Eccleston’s role in Jude (1996) in favor of Trainspotting (1996). The movie that earned only $71,000 at the box office has since scored 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and is one of the most quoted movies of all time in the UK.
After Trainspotting McGregor felt he ought to reinvent his image a little, he didn’t want to get typecast after all. In deed he didn’t, in fact his role as Frank in Churchill in Emma (1996) raised eyebrows instead and was funny for audiences and apparently “embarrassing for him” on the account of the wig he had to wear.
These early performances in McGregor’s career didn’t go unnoticed, in 1997 he was ranked #36 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. It didn’t take too long before he found himself doing what every British actor dreams of doing, Making it in America. He had previously said “no, no, I’m not trying to crack into Hollywood, although I’ll make films there if they’re good scripts.” Although he has made many such statements throughout his career, he has often gone back on his word.
When he was cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode I), everything changed for the Scottish actor and before the age of 30. He was definitely hot at this time in the United States, they wanted him, and apparently he had to turn down the lead role in The Matrix (1999) due to his commitment to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).
In the beginning of his career McGregor had been deeply involved in indie, low-budget, and non-feature films and made statements leading others to believe, that is exactly where he wanted to stay. So when he was cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I, an interviewer politely reminded him of his “aversion” to major films, Ewan replied “I know what I said, but, hey! This is Star Wars!”.
McGregor’s uncle, actor Denis Lawson had played the role of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy, released in 1977, 1980 and 1983. When shooting a movie each actor is given a “call sign”. A call sign is an easy name to call an actor into position for their scene, so instead of continually saying “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Ewan McGregor was given another name instead. He was given the same name as his uncle was given when he was playing the role of Wedge Antilles, which was,”Red Leader”.
The story goes that McGregor’s also studied Alec Guinness’ original Star Wars films in minute detail in preparation for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace. He wanted to ensure every detail was as accurate as it could be and that he wouldn’t let fans down, a common trend among high achievers. He was very committed. In fact, even during filming he was imitating the noise of the lightsaber during his fights. George Lucas explained many times that the sound effects would be added in later by the special effects people, there was no need to imitate them… Ewan said “sorry I keep getting carried away.”.
Once you’ve agreed the script, you must be willing to go as far as it needs to go on set.
Ewan McGregor
Apparently when it came to using the lightsaber and developing the sword-fighting style, stunt coordinator Nick Gillard has said that “Ewan was probably faster than anyone else who was working on the film, including the stunt department.”
McGregor’s commitment to the part paid off and to this day, his performance is heralded as one of the best in any science fiction movie. He was highly commended for it; being called “phenomenal” and “fascinating”.
The Danny Boyle Situation
His pride was injured however when he was originally cast as the lead role in The Beach (2000), this seemed like a no brainer, after all Ewan McGregor had worked with Danny Boyle since the beginning of his career. Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996) and A Life Less Ordinary (1997). It also seemed that McGregor had that kind of personality where one would imagine a face like his would end up living on a secluded beach island in Thailand. Complete with a ragtag bunch of other backpackers, turned squatters. So when the role ultimately went to Leonardo DiCaprio, McGregor was very upset and blamed studio influence for the casting decision.
He did not speak to Boyle for years afterwards, commenting in an interview that he felt betrayed and the friendship was over. He was also apparently the original choice for the role of Jim in 28 Days Later… (2002), also directed by Danny Boyle. However, due to their temporary falling out between 2000 and 2009, Cillian Murphy was chosen instead. He was also considered for the role of Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) at that time but it eventually went to Orlando Bloom.
In the interim there were some tricky situations between Boyle and himself. For example the time they both booked the same first class travel on the same flight not knowing that it was to be an awkward eleven and a half hours. Despite their proximity in the cabin, neither spoke and it epitomized their relationship at the time. McGregor and Boyle did finally make amends however and in 2009, McGregor presented Boyle an award for Slumdog Millionaire.
Some years later Boyle apologized for how he treated McGregor, saying that he did indeed mishandle the situation. McGregor has said that he himself has changed his opinion about the whole matter, and moved past it. His only regret was all the films they didn’t make together, considering what could have been.
Overall, and in my opinion, it was a business decision and career choice for Danny Boyle. He wanted to take his films more mainstream and considered that Leonardo DiCaprio presented, possibly, a once in a lifetime opportunity to do that. I think it worked, too. The movie earned $144.1 million at the global box office, while in total, all three of the movies that McGregor had starred in with Boyle had only earned a total of $34.5 million worldwide.
Singing With The Stars
In 2001 McGregor was made whole from missing the lead role for The Beach; not to mention the $20 million dollar paycheck that was now going to DiCaprio. McGregor was cast and appeared in one of the most loved movies of all time, Moulin Rouge. In the film McGregor sang alongside Nicole Kidman. While it only scored 76% on Rotten Tomatoes it is especially loved by directors and those working in Hollywood.
He did all of his own singing in the movie and is very musical, McGregor also plays the guitar and has even written songs of his own.
After its release, he was ranked #8 in the 2001 Orange Film Survey of greatest British actors. He also received the Film Actor Award at the Variety Club Show Business Awards 2002 and attended the Royal Premiere of Moulin Rouge! alongside Kylie Minogue, Prince Charles and Nicole Kidman.
Bona Fide Movie Star
McGregor played the part of Christian in Moulin Rouge! and smashed the role, the movie earned $179.2 million at the global box office. A year later he reprised his role of Obi-Wan in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II) and it was 2005 when Star Wars: (Episode III) was finally released. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II was also a massive released earning $653.8 million in 2002. Star Wars: (Episode III) earned $868.4 million in 2005.
In between Star Wars movies both Ewan McGregor and Harrison Ford have worked for director Ridley Scott. Ford starred in Blade Runner (1982) after Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), but before Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983). McGregor starred in Black Hawk Down (2001) shortly after filming Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and thus before Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).
Other notable movies in McGregor’s career have been, Big Fish (2003), The Island (2005), Angels and Demons (2009), Lo imposible (2012), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Doctor Sleep (2019), Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (2020), and a personal favorite of mine, Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer (2010).
In 2015, he also made an uncredited voice cameo as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. In 2017, he appeared for a second time as Mark Renton in T2 Trainspotting alongside the original main cast. Notably he was going to give an interview live on Good Morning Britain in 2014. He had planned to talk about the upcoming Trainspotting 2 movie but pulled out exactly one hour before, when he considered the conversation might purposefully turn political. It turns out that it was going to be Piers Morgan conducting the live interview. Morgan had recently made comments criticizing those protesting against Donald Trump, calling them “rabid feminists,” I think McGregor became wise of what the interview may have turned in to, and cut loose of it.
I’m not a guy who takes films for strong political messages.
Ewan McGregor
For the 2006 movie Casino Royale it was rumored that McGregor could have been cast to play James Bond. In an interviews he has said that he would be tempted if offered, but would likely turn it down as he “doesn’t want to be tied down to an open-ended series”. In 2007, while shooting Cassandra’s Dream Ewan became friends with Colin Farrell. Like most movie stars McGregor has met and become friends with many of his peers, including Black Hawk Down (2001) co-star Hugh Dancy and Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri.
Over the course of his career Ewan McGregor has earned an estimated net worth of about $20 million dollars. I somewhat feel his contribution to cinema has been far greater than that.
Real Estate
For $1.9 million in 2002, Ewan McGregor and his then-wife Eve Mavrakis bought a 1930s-style property in Brentwood, Los Angeles. When they separated some 17 years later in 2018, after McGregor filed for divorce, it was governed by California law. McGregor had become an American citizen two years earlier in 2016 and he and his family lived there. California law demanded that, in the circumstances, his assets must be split equally between himself and his wife. What’s more because of their four daughters, Clara Mathilde, Jamyan, Esther Rose and Anouk, the family house purchased in 2002, was to be awarded to the mother Eve Mavrakis. The house at that time, having appreciated greatly during that time, was worth an estimated $6 million dollars.
Success is tricky to deal with, both professionally and in your personal life.
Ewan McGregor
Divorce Settlement
He and his family were very close for most of his career. He and his wife share the same initials E.M and did so both before and after the marriage. Ewan would usually take his family along with him during his movie shoots and it was all seemingly a match made in heaven. Of course things change over time and despite the tabloids using words like “ugly split” and “bitter divorce” I would not be too easily led to think that there wasn’t a lot of love in their marriage. He has also shown himself to be protective over his children and directly expressed that he doesn’t want his children’s privacy invaded. When he was filming Black Hawk Down (2001), he wouldn’t let them visit him on set because he felt the scene was too violent for them to see. He seems like a nice person, to me.
The divorce settlement was directed by the state of California, and concluded that Eve Mavrakis receive the house, five cars, cash in the amount of $500,000, all her belongings including expensive jewelry purchased by McGregor for her. As well as a portion of his royalties, for movies such as the three Star Wars movies and so on. They married in 1995 after all, that was before Trainspotting and relocating to the United States. I am sure that Ewan had no problem with any of this. McGregor also pays $15,000 per month in child support as well as $36,000 per month in spousal support, which seems quite substantial.
Ewan McGregor remarried in 2022 to his Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (2020) co-star, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. They actually initially met on the set of the FX show Fargo (2014).
Reasons Why Ewan McGregor Is So Famous
Ewan McGregor’s official acting career began in 1993 with the British television series, Lipstick on Your Collar.
“I never imagined it wouldn’t work out for me. I had that absolute certainty in myself that has seen me through, I think, and my parents were absolutely behind me all the way.” Ewan McGregor
He portrayed the leading role of Mark Hopper for the entirety of the six-episode series. He then went on to work on Scarlet and Black before proceeding to break into the movie industry.
Television shows are all well and good, but McGregor had bigger plans for his acting career. His big movie debut came one year later when he was cast in Being Human, a comedy-drama film that follows several reincarnations of one human soul across different time periods.
I’ve never found acting that difficult.
Ewan McGregor
McGregor was able to work alongside other great actors during this production, including Robin Williams, John Turturro, Bill Nighy and Theresa Russell, to name a few.
McGregor’s most recognizable role is featured in the 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. McGregor was cast as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, a character who was portrayed by Sir Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars trilogy.
“The script, I always believe, is the foundation of everything. And if you don’t connect to that foundation, if you don’t believe in that and feel that you wanna spend three, four months of your life exploring it, then all of the other elements are secondary.” Ewan McGregor
McGregor retained the role for the remainder of the prequel trilogy, appearing in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones in 2002 and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith in 2005. McGregor recently confirmed his plans to return and reprise his role in the Star Wars franchise in an upcoming Disney+ series.
The film I like the best is always the one I’m working on now or next.
Ewan McGregor
McGregor is no stranger to voice work either. He reunited with Robin Williams in the 2005 animated feature, Robots. He also served as a narrator for Astronaut — a film created for the National Space Centre — and JetSet, both in 2006.
“I’m just into making quality stuff if I can, with interesting people and good scripts. But it’s very important that it’s about something and that it says something. Otherwise, I don’t know what the point is, really.” Ewan McGregor
McGregor has continued to hold regular acting roles since his first appearance. Most recently, he was cast alongside Margot Robbie as the main antagonist in the 2020 film, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Reasons Why Ewan McGregor Is So Successful
Anyone who has had the pleasure of watching one of Ewan McGregor’s films surely agrees that the Scot is a phenomenal actor. He may not appear in many box office busting blockbusters (aside from Star Wars, of course), but he does manage to hold regular roles in other successful films, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) is such an example. McGregor has a tendency to accept roles in smaller, more obscure independent films.
“Producing good stuff can be quite tough, and it involves a lot of frustration, but I always like things to be jolly and happy, and I forget that’s actually not the point at the end of the day.” Ewan McGregor
He has portrayed a wide range of characters and avoided becoming typecast. Playing such a diverse range of characters has allowed him to hone his abilities as an actor, making him a rare gem in Hollywood.
“Sometimes I feel like doing smaller budget stuff. When I did ‘Young Adam’, for instance, I’d come out of ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘The Island’, and I really wanted to be on a small film set. I wanted to be on something intimate and small again, and then ‘Young Adam’ cropped up in a pile of scripts I was sent.” Ewan McGregor
He is also known to be clear and sharp between the ears, he quit drinking in 2000 and that was useful considering, he enjoys playings cheese, and motorcycling is where his true love lays.
One of the things that I notice about Ewan McGregor is that he has courage. Not only in the movie business and the moves that he has made in his career. It is perhaps more clearly seen in what he does for fun, charity and in his travels. In 2004, he embarked on a motorcycle trip around the world along with his friend and fellow actor Charley Boorman. That meant a 115 day trip from London to New York ‘The Long Way Round” by riding a motorbike east, via Europe, Mongolia, Russia, Alaska and Canada to Manhattan.
The trip was linked to his work with UNICEF and he visited multiple UNICEF programs as he made tracks around the world. Although McGregor’s motorcycles of choice would be the MV Agusta F4S or a KTM Duke, he and Boorman each rode a BMW 1150 GS Adventure for their marathon trip.
McGregor had always been near sighted but before his trip he had a laser eye surgery allowing him not have to wear glasses or contact lenses. That must have been useful when it came to navigating his way on two-wheels up and down and through remote passages, in some of the most dangerous environments in the world no less.
“It’s just fantastic to go out and meet people in the world and visit really remote places.” Ewan McGregor
UNICEF
Ewan has supported UNICEF UK since 2004 and continues to fundraise and advocate for UNICEF’s work for children worldwide.
- In 2004, Ewan visited UNICEF programs in Ukraine, Kazakhtan and Mongolia while filming The Long Way Round. He also adopted his daughter Jamyan that year, a 4-year-old girl from Mongolia.
- In 2007, Ewan took part in The Long Way Down. A program helping child soldiers in Uganda and land mine awareness in Ethiopia. Also that year, he filmed a documentary highlighting UNICEF’s work with children affected by HIV and AIDs in Malawi, The Missing Face.
- In 2011, he adopted another girl, Anouk, as an infant. Much of McGregor’s personal life he keeps private and that includes her nationality which has not been disclosed to the public.
- In 2012, he broadcasted a documentary film on UNICEF’s work immunizing the world’s hardest-to-reach children, Ewan McGregor: Cold Chain Mission.
- In 2014, Ewan supported the UNICEF UK Glasgow Commonwealth Games partnership
- In 2015, McGregor read Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl for the children’s fairytales app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF UK. Many other British celebrities also contributed, including, Roger Moore, Stephen Fry, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Michael Caine, David Walliams, Charlotte Rampling and Paul McKenna.
- In 2016, Ewan visited Debaga camp in Iraq where he met with families that have escaped brutal violence.
- In 2020, he travelled from Argentina to Los Angeles by motorbike for Long Way Up. Ewan made the trip with his fellow Ambassador Charley Boorman, who he originally met on the set of the movie The Serpent’s Kiss (1997). Together they visited many UNICEF programs along the way. In Bolivia, Peru and Honduras, they saw first hand the difference UNICEF UK is making to children in some of the most remote parts of the world.
In 2013, for his services to drama and charity, McGregor was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
Summary
While most may recognize Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, that portrayal is far from his only successful role. Historically, McGregor has made more frequent appearances in obscure arthouse movies than Hollywood blockbusters, but that trend seems like it’s about to change. His recent work in Birds of Prey was relatively well-received, scoring a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. It seems like so many times in the past, don’t so much listen to what Ewan McGregor says, watch what he does, because it’s usually epic.
