Acting...

Reverend Sandy Tait (retired Minister of Crieff’s South Church)
(on Ewan’s appearance at age 6 in a Church play)
Unlike most children Ewan didn’t need coaxing (-) That year the story was to be David and Goliath. We had a large Sunday School, large enough to put together two armies - the Philistines and the Israelites. In the part of Goliath we cast a tall lad with a spear and eventually out comes this tiny child with his sling and lops Goliath’s head off. Ewan was the small child - David. In my diary I recorded that ‘wee Ewan was wonderful’. Of course it ran in the family. His uncle Denis Lawson was in my Youth-Fellowship thirty-odd years ago. But I firmly believed that this child was obviously a little actor and would be recognised as such. He was surely a natural. Ewan McGregor: A Force to be Reckoned With, 2000

Liz Carruthers (director Perth Rep Youth Theatre)
(about Ewan’s involvement with the Youth Theatre at the age of 16)
We did lots of workshops that year, but to be honest, I don’t remember Ewan being particularly outstanding in any way. I think he learned a hell of a lot during that period. We would always see him chatting to actors and crews, and talking to directors as well. Every little bit of information was important to him. But I don’t believe any of us would have possibly imagined him playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars just a few years down the line. Ewan McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography, 1998

Lynn Bains (co-director of drama Kirkcaldy College of Technology)
(about Ewan’s participation in a one-year drama course at age 17)
From the minute he walked in the door he was enthusiastic, willing to do anything you threw at him. He was talented and very hard working. Scottish Daily Mail, January 14 1997

Maggie McMillan (voice techniques instructor Kirkcaldy College of Technology)
(about Ewan’s participation in a one-year drama course at the age of 17)
Ewan’s speeches passed, but they were far from wonderful. I’d love to say he was, but I never felt he was that outstanding when he was here. I had forgotten all about him, then he suddenly popped up on TV. Ewan McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography, 1998 (thanks Karen)

Ann Mitchell (actor, teacher Guildhall School of Music & Drama)
It's a wonderful thing to see young people becoming successful and having opportunities like that. It's very exciting for a teacher. With Ewan, I always felt that he had something very special and he would become a film actor. www.bbc.uk.co Eastenders online Q&A (date?)

Lindy King (Ewan’s agent)
(on being one of 11 agents who tried to sign Ewan from drama school)
I would love to say I'm an unbelievably perceptive agent and I saw in him something nobody else did. Wrong. There was a feeding frenzy cause he's extraordinary. Ewan McGregor Revealed, E!Entertainment Television, January 19 2002

Brenda Blethyn (actor Little Voice - Mari )
His acting is so simple, with such economy, and he can create something in each of these wonderful characters that we can all relate to; there’s no ego there. He’s brilliant. Premiere magazine, February 1999.

Josh Brolin (actor Nightwatch - James )
He's a phenomenal actor. I purposely didn't see Trainspotting because I didn't want to see Ewan in that when I was working with him. I finally saw it once filming was over and I was completely blown away. Genre Magazine, 1996

Michael Caine (actor Little Voice - Ray Say )
I think Ewan McGregor, Stephen Dorff, Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Phillipe and Tobey Maguire are wonderful actors. There are many other fine actors in Hollywood. But . . . I've never seen a tall one. It seems to me that there's a generation of very talented small people . . . maybe they are more ambitious because they are more angry because they are short. New York Post, January 11 2002

Hayden Christensen (actor Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - Anakin Skywalker )
He's a fine actor. Really, really awesome in Moulin Rouge, to play that constant sense of elation, and just being in awe of love. That's such a hard thing to play, and not look like a total dork in the process. The Sunday Herald, April 7 2002

Hayden Christensen (actor Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - Anakin Skywalker )
He's such a strong actor so it's inspiring to work with him. He really brings up the level of everyone else and makes it a very enjoyable experience. He's a very gifted actor and a very kind man at the same time. The Mirror, April 11 2002

Cameron Diaz (actor A Life Less Ordinary - Celine )
Ewan is a remarkable talent. Every thing he does for the camera is so truthful and believable. Calgary Sun, October 19 1997

Roy Hudd (actor Lipstick on Your Collar - Harold Atterbow)
Ewan was mesmerising even then - you couldn't take your eyes off him. He was starring with big names and acted them off the screen. The Daily Record, April 9 2002

Nicole Kidman (actor Moulin Rouge - Satine)
There is another man that I would never have done this film without and that is Ewan McGregor. He’s so special, a magnificent person, a magnificent actor and he just makes you better being in a scene with you, so work with him. Golden Globe Best Actress acceptance speech, January 20 2002

John Leguizamo (actor Moulin Rouge - Toulouse Lautrec)
Ewan is amazing, such a naturally gifted actor. Some of us have to work and think about things, he just shows up. He is who he is, he's naturally charismatic, he just brings it to the role, and he has this incredible generosity. www.fox.co.uk (date?)

Natalie Portman (actor Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones - Padme Amidala)
(about Attack of the Clones)
Ewan's wonderful and so funny and he's so good in this film. I think he totally steals the movie. I think Hayden carries it, but it's sort of expected, and Ewan is just so on and funny as Obi- Wan. He really is that character, and after seeing him in Moulin Rouge, it's hard to believe he can be so different. There's absolutely no trace of that character here, or even of Ewan himself. He's just got Obi-Wan down perfectly. imdb.com, June 2002

Ethan Hawke (actor)
I mean, Jude Law is one of my favourite actors and I love Ewan McGregor, too, but it does amaze me that American directors think they're soooo wonderful that none of us Yanks can compete. Evening Standard, September 12 2002

Sir Ian McKellen (actor)
(expressing his regret that Ewan was not nominated for an Oscar for Moulin Rouge)
A spectacularly good performance -- who else can sing and dance like that and look so marvelous? He got my vote. Los Angeles Times, February 13 2002

Brad Pitt (actor)

(when asked to name his favorite film of the year)
Love the Moulin Rouge, that was - I was blown away with Ewan... and Nicole. BBC Film 2001, December 21, 2001

Vanessa Redgrave (actor)
I admire the young actors of today so much. Among them Eve Best, Joely Richardson, Katrin Cartlidge, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Ewan MacGregor (sic), Jeremy Northam, Sam West, Rupert Graves, Jasper Britton, Richard Coyle and Kananu Kirimi. There are so many more. The Independent, June 20 2002

Kate Winslet (actor)
I´ve always admired Leonardo DiCaprio, so when I knew I was going to work with him I just couldn´t believe it. I also love Harvey Keitel, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson. And I think Ewan McGregor is very good too. Cinemania, January 28 1998 (translated from Spanish by Ignacio Prieto, Kate Winslet Fan Club)

Danny Boyle, (director Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary)
I'm just so glad he's got what he deserved - he's an incredible actor, just brilliant. And he does things and makes choices other actors wouldn't dare - audiences just can't get enough of him. Celluloid, 1997

Danny Boyle, (director Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary)
Ewan's a mate. He's also the best film actor in Britain at the moment. He's Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman rolled into one. Toronto Sun, October 18 1997

Jerry Bruckheimer (producer Black Hawk Down)
He really can do just about anything. He’s smart. He becomes the character. US WEEKLY, January 21 2002

Todd Haynes (director Velvet Goldmine)
When I saw Trainspotting, I just could not think of an American actor in his age group with that kind of energy and that kind of physicality. The Johnny Depp generation has this kind of brooding, weighty, introspective quality, very James Deanish. Which is nice, great for a lot of characters. It wasn't what I wanted for Curt. I wanted something very volatile and flame-like, almost. There was just nobody else I could think of. I just thought he was so great, and I wanted to work with him. The Onion, 1998(?)

Todd Haynes (director Velvet Goldmine)
Ewan looked at tapes, but he is not like a hypertechnical actor who analyzes and does ridiculous amounts of research. He ultimately works very instinctively, but he obviously internalized a lot of that stuff. When he went out on stage, he became so freely all of that stuff. Just that whole pelvic posture is so incredibly Iggy (Pop). I think it was pretty much instinctive on his part. BigStar, 1998

Mark Herman (director Little Voice, Brassed Off)
(about Ewan in Little Voice)
You know you see the guy in "Trainspotting" against this guy here or the guy in "Brassed Off," he's so brilliant and so diverse in the work he does. The same applies to Jane, you know. People who've seen Jane Horrocks. . . they don't know that it's the same girl. Chameleons. It was good getting Ewan on this, like you said it was casting against type, but he adds a real charm to what was basically a fairly nerdy character. He's such a hip actor but it's such an un-hip role. IndieWire, December 14 1998

Mark Herman (director Little Voice, Brassed Off)
The few times I've used him they've been very low-key performances but I think he's great at that. In Brassed Off, there were scenes where you'd do the take and you'd think Ewan didn't do anything. Then you get the film back and he's not doing anything but you just can't take your eyes off him because he's actually working so subtly. Amazon.co.uk, August 2000

Chris Kelly (producer Kavanagh QC)
He had to be this adorable young man which he played so convincingly. He still wasn’t too well known when he worked on Kavanagh, and he was very excited to be working. He was very committed without wearing it on his sleeve. Ewan McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography, 1998

Chris Kelly (producer Kavanagh QC)
Emma is an example of why I think he has to be a bit more careful. No-one can play everything. In Emma he wasn’t perhaps cast as accurately as he might have been. I’m sure that’s something he would agree with himself. Ewan McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography, 1998

Denis Lawson (actor, director Little Malcolm, Ewan's uncle)
(on Ewan’s performance in Little Malcolm)
He's not much good. I'm thinking of getting rid of him. Guardian, August 20 1999

Denis Lawson (actor, director Little Malcolm, Ewan's uncle)
He was playing Orlando in As You Like It in his second year at drama college, and he was extraordinary. He was on a completely different level from everybody else. But I couldn't say at the time because it was too much. I couldn't say to him, 'You know you're going to be a huge star.' I couldn't even say to my sister. It was just silly. But what surprised me was how fast it happened. That was fantastic. The Herald, 22 May 2001

George Lucas (director Star Wars)
Ewan knows how to make a line believable, to make it sound fresh. He makes things, even absurd things, seem real. GQ, May 1999

Baz Luhrmann (director Moulin Rouge)
(about Ewan’s acting in Satine’s death scene)
It’s always a surprise even for me but when Ewan does that scene, I mean, you know undoubtably actors can just, you know, they can turn on the waterworks but that’s what it’s not about. It’s not about crying, it’s actually about really exposing yourself emotionally (...) it’s only when you feel completely distraught that you would make that kind of guttural and embarrassing but deeply, deeply exposing sound. It’s embarrassing in the sense that you’re completely open and vulnerable and I think it was really - it was one of the great - boy you appreciate when an actor can expose their emotions at that level. DVD Commentary Track, 2001

Baz Luhrmann (director Moulin Rouge)
It's much easier to find an actor today who plays like a pale photocopy of Marlon Brando - like "Gee, I'm suffering." But it is (difficult) to get a young actor to stand, look at the camera, and sing, "I love you" without a jot of cynicism - that is hard to find, and for me, that's Ewan McGregor's great achievement. About.com, date?

Andrew Macdonald, (producer Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary)
He is something special. He’ll soon get offers which could make, break or turn him into a big star. We’re lucky to have him. Tell him to take two steps back, one to the side and do a back flip while singing, and he’ll do it three times exactly right. He looks ordinary, but he’s magic looking on camera. Telegraph Magazine, September 27 1997

Rick McCallum (producer Star Wars)
He is a fantastic Scottish actor. He can play a variety of roles. If you saw his performance in Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and Emma you’d see he’s like a chameleon. He is really a mercurial, multi-talented, multi-faceted human being. He just seemed to us the perfect Obi-Wan. Star Wars Insider, Issue 34, Spring 1997.

Otto Plaschkes (producer Doggin’ Around)
My only reservation is that he can’t play period. He’s not very good at it. It’s something to do with the space, something to do with how you carry yourself. Ewan is relaxed in modern parts, in the Gap look of jeans and T-shirts, but not in tight-fitting breeches. Ewan McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography, 1998

Philippe Rousselot (director Serpent’s Kiss)
He's got star quality which I know is a bit of a cliché but you can't take your eyes off him on screen. He is amongst those actors that can display a wide range of emotions by hardly moving their face. It brings back memories of the great actors of the Hollywood era. He is also extremely quick at understanding what the character is, what the situation is and how to get it. official film site http://www.guerilla-films.com/sk/, date?

Rosemarie Whitman (producer Lipstick on Your Collar)
(On auditioning Ewan after a long search)
We had been told he was wonderful and that we had to see him, but agents always say things like that. It was the eleventh hour and I was seeing this student who had not even graduated yet (-) I knew I had found the man. We sat there and thought he was just brilliant. Ewan McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography, 1998