Why Ewan McGregor Was ‘Very Reluctant’ To Play Obi-Wan Kenobi

Interestingly, the first actor to play Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sir Alec Guinness, was also ambivalent about the role.

“It wasn’t a done deal for me. I didn’t think it was at all who I was. I believed, at that point, I was a Danny Boyle actor. The Beach was more important and I meant it, it wasn’t flippant. I did ask a lot of people for advice.”

But McGregor didn’t end up being in The Beach, he was replaced by Leonardo DiCaprio following a dispute with Boyle.

The 52-year-old actor says whilst he is “happy” to be the character “for a lot of people” he remembers the films weren’t as loved as they are now.

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“When these films came out, they were so disliked. That was hard. The first one was panned and we still had to make another two! It was weird to be in a film that was hammered.”

While there were poor reviews, of the 1999 Episode I – The Phantom Menace, led by Liam Neeson, made over a billion dollars at box office. While McGregor did continue on with the next two films in the trilogy — Episode II – Attack Of The Clones in 2005 and Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith in 2008 — they did not make as much cash at the box office.

But despite the negativity, McGregor emphasizes that he enjoyed making Obi-Wan Kenobi and is wanting another season. McGregor rejoined the Star Wars universe with the Disney+ series.

“I would love to do the second season, but there’s no talk of it yet. There is a lot going on at Disney.”

Interestingly, the first actor to play Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sir Alec Guinness, was also ambivalent about the role.

Obi-Wan Kenobi has six episodes and can be streamed on Disney+.