starting off
At sixteen, Ewan left Crieff and Morrison Academy, where his father James is a Career Advisor and P.E. Teacher, to gain
experience with the Perth Repertory Theatre. His parents encouraged him to leave school and pursue his acting goals rather
than be unhappy. Ewan studied drama for a year at Kirkcaldly in Fife, then enrolled at London's Guildhall School of Music and
Drama for a three-year course. Right before graduating he snagged the role of Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's 1993
six-part Channel 4(UK) series Lipstick on Your Collar and left to pursue his promising acting career.
Lipstick did not turn out to be the success people had hoped for and Ewan was not turned into an overnight sensation like he had imagined. The phone was suddenly ringing off the hook with offers so Ewan went from that lead role to the blink and you'll miss him role of Alvarez in Bill Forsyth's Being Human, which turned out to be a huge box office dud for the the film's star, Robin Williams. But hey, Ewan did get to travel to Morocco to film his couple of lines so why not? He followed this experience up by hopping over to France to play the lead role of Julien Sorel in Ben Bolt's major three-part BBC adaptation of Stendah's Scarlet and Black. Again, stardom alluded Ewan but that never really was his aim to begin with.
breakthrough
And then came his breakthrough role as Alex Law in the brilliant Shallow Grave, directed by Danny Boyle, written by
John Hodge and produced by Andrew MacDonald. Wicked, dark, hilarious, scary, wonderful: only a few words to describe this
amazing film. With the cult success of Shallow Grave, came the opportunity for more work like The Pillow Book
and the role that finally created the most attention up to that point for Ewan– Trainspotting, the second film by
the Shallow Grave trio. Ewan starred as Mark Renton: heroin addict, hero, anti-hero. The film made waves for its
brilliance, refreshingly bold images and for being sick, wacky, fabulously funny, visually arresting and completely
innovative. Ewan was the heart of the film. Trainspotting introduced to the world a unique new talent.
star on the rise
The success of Trainspotting not only boosted British cinema but allowed Ewan more opportunities, adding plenty of
diverse and varied roles to his resume: Billy in Little Voice, Curt Wild in Velvet Goldmine, Robert in A
Life Less Ordinary among many. Ewan also won the coveted role of the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three Star Wars
prequels. His starring role in the innovative tragic-comic-operatic-musical Moulin Rouge as Christian displayed the
ability Ewan has in taking on any type of role and making the character come alive in a way few actors can. Ewan's
performance gained many fans and attention from the film world, garnering a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
getting personal
Ewan is married to French production designer Eve Mavrakis, who is a few years older than Ewan. They met while working on the
TV show Kavannagh QC, where Ewan played a young man accused of rape. They married in France in the summer of 1995 and
have two daughters, Clara Mathilde and Esther Rose. They currently live in London. Whenever possible, Ewan takes family with
him to each movie he makes.
Ewan also owns several motorcycles and is involved with a racing team in England. He has quite the passion for motorbikes. Ewan has stated in the past that he is a huge fan of Oasis and had the pleasure of announcing Oasis' act on the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards with Ewan Bremmer (Spud from Trainspotting) and gave out copies of their 3rd CD to members of the crew while filming the first Star Wars prequel. Despite playing a rock star in Velvet Goldmine, he still has dreams of being one. Starring in Moulin Rouge gave Ewan the chance to sing once again. But don't get him wrong, Ewan loves acting and can't imagine doing anything else. He also claims he would never move to Hollywood or back to his hometown as it is not the same as when he was there growing up. Ewan is very close to his parents who have accompanied Ewan to premieres and his older brother Colin, a RAF pilot. His mother Carol has a cameo as one of the would-be tenants in Shallow Grave. She helps handle Ewan's schedule, like charity guest appearances and fan mail. Carol is also involved in a program in England to offer descriptive audio tracks of movies for the visually impaired. Ewan visits Crieff whenever he can. He's made trips back to Morrison Academy to give a lecture on acting and to participate in the annual Crieff Highland Games. Ewan is also actively involved in numerous charity organizations and causes, doing his part whenever possible.
One thing to be sure of, Ewan does not want to make films he wouldn't watch himself–. He chooses his roles because of the
director, the cast, and the script. Sometimes, the film doesn't turn out the way it started off. In taking chances, Ewan has
risked films that fail at the box office. He took a risk in forming a production company with good friends Jonny Lee
Miller, Sean Pertwee, Jude Law and Sadie Frost called Natural Nylon which they hope will make innovative films that they
actively participate in and care about. Ewan starred as James Joyce in Nora, a film he co-produced with Natural Nylon's
involvement. He also dabbled in directing a short segment of Tube Tales that Sean and Jude were also involved with. Ewan, in fact, shared an apartment with Jude when they first started out as struggling actors in London. They are all part of the recent resurgence of British cinema, with Ewan well on his way to establishing himself as an actor with a long creative career ahead of him unlike any other.
