Ewan McGregor -Obi-Wan Kenobi
Stars of Star Wars 2002

When Ewan McGregor was a young boy growing up in Crieff, Scotland, he didn't dream of becoming a movie star- instead, he fantasized about being a star pilot, or maybe even a Jedi Knight. "I used to play Star Wars all the time," Ewan says. "Now they're paying me to do it!" Returning to the role of Jedi Knight and future hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi for the second episode of the Star Wars saga, Ewan is now a part of the universe that captivated him as a child.

The 30 year old star of Moulin Rouge and Black Hawk Down recalls, "I wasn't fanatical, but I loved the movies. I used to know all th lines to the first one." Laughing, he adds, "I suppose that is quite fanatical, isn't it-knowing every line!" The father of six year old Clara and newborn Esther Rose, Ewan sees Star Wars not only through memories of his childhood but also through the eyes of his daughters. "When you watch the movies as a child they take over," he says. "Fairy tales are so important to kids. Because I grew up with that, I read them to my daughter."

"Some people don't- a lot of people have stopped, and so nursery rhymes have stopped. So in a way, if this replaces that, then I'm really happy to e part of it. I love kids, and I remember how it felt watching Star Wars when I was six. I love seeing kids' reactions to it." Ewan and his wife, Eve, a movie production designer, have had a chance to see those reactions up close thanks to their daughter's friends. "I went to a Star Wars birthday party for a six year old kid, and there were 15 Obi-Wan Kenobis swordfighting in the garden," he says. "It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen-15 little me's!"

But unlike most kids who love Star Wars, Ewan had a direct link to that faraway galaxy-and to the world of acting. His uncle Denis Lawson appeared as a heroic Rebel pilot in A New Hope, Them Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. "My uncle Denis played Wedge," Ewan says. "He's so unimpressed with the while thing, it's funny. He came up one day to the set, and as we were walking across the canteen to George, he said, 'He's wearing exactly the same shirt he was when he directed the first one!" Even though Ewan now plays Star Wars for a living, he still approaches his work on the et with the same enthusiasm he's always had for the Force. "Ewan is unique in his sense of humor," says Natalie Portman. "He has this sense of humor between takes, and then an ability to be serious during the takes. He makes everything really funny when we're rehearsing a scene, and then when he acts, he focuses really well. I'm impressed with how he can make light of pretty much anything."

When Ewan was 16, he left Crieff with his parents' blessing to join the Perth Repertory Theatre in the center of Scotland, and then studied drama in London. He soon broke into British TV and film making his biggest splash as a heroin addict in the independent drama Trainspotting, which became a crossover hit in the U.S Ewan also made a memorable appearance on the U.S. tv show ER and starred in the films Emma, Shallow Grave, The Pillow Book, and Velvet Goldmine. Then came word that George Lucas was making the prequel trilogy for his epic space opera and he needed a new actor to portray a younger version of the wise, jaded Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, played originally by the legendary Sir Alec Guinness. "It was one of those parts that I thought, 'I've got to do this,' " Ewan says, "mainly because of how I felt about the first three when I was a kid. To be a part of that is unbelievable, and for my daughter, too."

Doing justice to Sir Alec's memorable performance was a high priority for Ewan. "That was the challenge, really," he says. "The step between the end of Episode III and the beginning of Episode IV has to be one that you can believe. It's a leap of faith that I become him, so I worked very hard on trying to get the voice right. I'm trying to imitate the tone of his voice, and get a younger-sounding version. It's quite a trick to try to imagine what it sounded like." Sometimes Ewan gets it just right. "There was a line on the balcony with Hayden, and I say, 'Dream pass in time,'" Ewan says. "After we did the take, George said it was very reminiscent of Alec Guinness." Entrusting such a major character to any actor for three films would be a risk, but George Lucas says he never thought twice about turning over Obi-Wan's Jedi robes to Ewan.

"He's a great actor," George says. "it's a very hard role- I would actually say it's the hardest of all roles because he's the steady center of the story and it doesn't give him a big range to work in. He and Yoda are the ones who go straight through all this. In the last movie, he was simply the kid standing behind the Jedi. Now he is the Jedi. He has to play the straight man in this one, and in the next on it becomes more complicated.

That's when his emotional challenges and acting challenges, will be much more fun for him." One visible sign of Obi-Wan's evolution over the last decade is his beard, helping him look older and more experienced than his headstrong charge. "Since Episode I, he's been training Anakin heavily-day in , day out," Ewan says. "They are sent on peace-keeping missions." Other than that, he adds, "I would'nt know what he's been up to the last ten years- and it wouldn't help me to find out because the dialogue is so immediate. It's all about what's happening right here and now. There's not much time for back stories!"

In Episode II, Ewan finally fulfills a childhood dream. "I get to fly a really cool space-ship- a little starfighter of my own," he says. "I got really excited about that. We've never seen Obi-Wan Kenobi ever fly, actually controlling anything, before. I get to take off and go on a search, a bit like Luke Skywalker in his X-wing when he goes to find Yoda. I have a little journey, and it looks fantastic!" Looking fantastic on-screen is one thing-but reality can be quite different. Take Ewan's Jedi costume, for instance. "It's so huge," he says. "You're always falling over. Fighting in it, my sword's going up my sleeve and under my cloak. It looks great, and it's a great idea on paper, but it's pretty hard to wear." Although he's most famous in his Jedi guise, Ewan had a major success lat year when he starred in the international hit musical Moulin Rouge and sang on it's topselling soundtrack.

He acted in the recent war drama Black Hawk Down for director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner) and stars in the umpcoming action film Nautica. In addition, Ewan has hosted popular wildlife and travel documentaries for British television, including the recent Ewan McGregor: The Bear Facts and Trips Money Can't Buy. He'll also be back for Episode III in three years-which won't be a moment too soon for his family. "Clara is mad for Artoo-Detoo," Ewan says. "She wants to marry him. She cried herself to sleep one night because she wasn't with Artoo-Detoo. She said,'I love him-where is he?' She cried over a robot!" Clara isnt' exactly alone in her feelings for the little droid. "I don't personally want to marry him," Ewan says, "but I can feel great affection for him. I don't' know if it's his shape, his high-pitched whistle-but there's some combination that really works, and clearly it's not just because we've known him for years. Clara didn't know him before. He's just incredibly appealing, and I don't know why. As soon as he comes on set, everyone goes a bit silly because he's a legend."

He may feel like he's still playing Star Wars in his backyard, but Ewan McGregor is a part of the legend now.