Ewan McGregor reunites with Hayden Christensen to receive his Hollywood star
“I would like to thank you for being the best Jedi Master one could hope for,” confided the man who was his young Padawan in the Star Wars saga.
Ewan McGregor put away his lightsaber yesterday to receive his star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. The man who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the second trilogy of the saga Star Warsnow advocates very close to another star from a galaxy far, far away, Carrie Fisher, the intrepid Princess Leia Organa, who received her star last year on the franchise’s tribute day – May 4. It is to her that his speech is dedicated.
To unveil his star, the British actor, nominated and awarded at the Golden Globes, was surrounded by his family, each member of which he took care to list, and composed largely of actors including his daughter Clara with whom he worked on Bleeding Loveand his wife, Marie Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim, Die Hard 4), met on the set of the series Fargo and with which he was able to play in Birds of Prey as well asA Gentleman in Moscow.
Ewan McGregor was joined by his family and wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead as he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today pic.twitter.com/0mTmaTJgIS
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 12, 2024
This one has also joined the intergalactic adventures thanks to the series Ahsokawhere she plays Hera Syndulla. While her stepdaughter, Esther Rose McGregor, plays alongside her father in the series Obi-Wan where she plays Tetha Grig. Star Warsit’s definitely a family affair!
What would the big family of the Star Wars without one of its leading actors? What would Obi-Wan be without his young Padawan? Amidst the cheers of the assembled fans, the actor who plays Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones And Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen climbed the stage to join his mentor in the force, but also in everyday life, considering him as “the coolest person on the planet.”:
“I remember seeing Trainspotting for the first time and being blown away by your work. (…) and I remember saying to myself that this is the kind of work that I’m going to be able to do as an actor.”
He then recalled their first meeting and recalled the actor’s enthusiasm and kindness, hugging him and saying he was eager to train with him with his lightsaber. For Christensen, Ewan McGregor doesn’t play Obi-Wan, he is him:
“It was obvious, I had just met someone unique, not only as an actor, but also as a person. I had just met a friend. A friend who, later, would saw off my legs and leave me for dead near a volcano… (laughs) I would like to thank you for being the best Jedi Master one could hope for.”
Hayden Christensen praises Ewan McGregor’s portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi: “He wasn’t just playing Obi-Wan, he WAS Obi-Wan. He IS Obi-Wan…I really hope we get more Obi-Wan because this man is just ‘Star Wars’ gold.” https://t.co/zjSxouZgwg pic.twitter.com/k2yxOh0WED
— Variety (@Variety) September 12, 2024
“I Was Convinced I Didn’t Get It”: Hayden Christensen Reflects on Being Cast for Star Wars
Also present for this ceremony, Mike Mills, the director of Beginners. Ewan McGregor plays a sort of alter-ego of the filmmaker, in this film partly inspired by his father’s coming out at the age of 75, five years before his death. The latter remembers the actor’s full and sincere involvement in this role:
“With this little look, he said to me: ‘I’m a very curious person. I’m up for it. I want to do what I’ve never done before, I’m ready to do it.’ I feel like that goes for all of his performances. You get the sense that he’s a person who loves what he does and is always ready to play.”
With an eclectic filmography, Ewan McGregor has diversified his acting palette. Before receiving his star, he spoke with Variety and looked back on the highlights of his career. From his friendship with Danny Boyle, for whom he played in Little Murders Between Friends And Trainspotting has Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrman, through Black Hawk Down by Ridley Scott and Big Fish by Tim Burton:
“I had high hopes of becoming Tim Burton’s new Johnny Depp. But of course, Johnny Depp will always be Tim Burton’s Johnny Depp, so I didn’t get the chance.”
In 2016, he directed his first feature film, American Pastoraland even though the experience gained was worth taking, he is no longer sure he wants to return behind the camera, explaining that it has dug a hole in his wallet.
Of course, it is above all for Star Wars that the public recognizes him. In 1999, when the first part of the second trilogy came out, he was twenty-eight years old. Today, he is fifty-three. Suffice to say that Obi-Wan is an integral part of his life and he hopes that it will continue to be so, embodying this key character again in the future:
“Between the time the series ended and the time Alec Guinness (editor’s note: the actor who played Obi-Wan in the first trilogy)appears on screen with Luke Skywalker, there are still some stories to tell, I think.”
Although a second season is not yet planned, the actor is ready to continue. Next, he will be seen in Flowervale Streetthe new film by David Robert Mitchell (Under the Silver Lake, It Follows) where he will give the reply to Anne Hathaway.
A release date and a prestigious cast for Flowervale Street, the new David Robert Mitchell