Ewan McGregor’s naked ambition

Ewan McGregor likes getting nude and rude, says Sanjiv Bhattacharya in the London Observer. Although he’s best known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the kid-friendly Star Wars series, the Scottish actor has spent much of his career half, or entirely, naked. The 40-year-old memorably stripped down in Velvet Goldmine, Trainspotting, and The Pillow Book (throughout which he hardly wore a stitch). Regarding his much-flaunted equipment, he says it’s got “a great career. It’s got its own Facebook page and Twitter account and everything.”

This lack of inhibition has occasionally caused him trouble. McGregor recalls the time he starred in Joe Orton’s play What the Butler Saw, at a fusty English theater. “I had to stand up naked from behind a sofa and grab a policeman’s helmet to cover myself and dash across the stage,” he says. “One day I let the helmet go, just for effect.” The audience gasped. “I loved it! I felt very powerful in that moment. So I kept doing it.” But during one performance, someone spilled water onstage. “I slipped and landed on my back. I was sliding with my legs up, arse first into the front row!”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up