Do we like Ewan McGregor?
Our score: 8 out of 10. No harmful words or acts turned up and there's real good on record, but the record on trans issues in particular is thin.
Ewan McGregor grew up in Crieff, Perthshire, with his uncle, the actor Denis Lawson, sparking his interest in acting. He left school at 16 to join Perth Repertory Theatre, with his parents' blessing, and was at London's Guildhall School by 18. Not a bad start for a kid from a Scottish market town.
The big break came with Shallow Grave and then Trainspotting, both with director Danny Boyle. After that came Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, Moulin Rouge opposite Nicole Kidman and Black Hawk Down. He was famously passed over for The Beach, which went to Leonardo DiCaprio, so even he gets knocked back.
The closest thing to a public stoush on the record is from 2017. Piers Morgan called the Women's March anti-democratic, and McGregor pulled out of a UK breakfast-TV interview, reportedly over those remarks. Morgan hit back on air and on Twitter. That is a bloke choosing not to sit on a sofa with someone, not a scandal.
On the harm check, we found no harmful words or acts of his own about LGBTQ+ people, women, people of colour or the planet. In 2022 he posted a message backing his Obi-Wan Kenobi co-star Moses Ingram after the abuse aimed at her, saying “There's no place for racism in this world.” When he played gay designer Halston, he said he respected both sides of the debate over straight actors in gay roles. Where you land on that debate is up to you. We found nothing on him and trans rights either way, so that gap is honest.
The nearest thing to trouble with authorities is a planning dispute over his listed Perthshire mansion. In July 2025 Perth and Kinross Council refused plans to replace the lead roof, saying parts of the work would not preserve the building's special character. His architects argued the existing roof was beyond repair. It's a heritage-roof argument, not a character flaw.
The good stuff goes back years. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador he rode a motorbike from Scotland towards southern Africa in 2007 to spotlight vulnerable children, meeting kids hurt by landmines in Ethiopia. An earlier 2004 trip took in UNICEF projects in Ukraine, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. And when fans targeted Moses Ingram, he stood up for her publicly.