Names and faces

■ Ewan McGregor felt somewhat tortured for the past few years because while he was signed up to reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, he couldn’t publicly talk about it. McGregor, 48, added that while he understood the silence was a necessary evil, “I’m not really brought up that way. I’d much rather be honest with people. But the studios are, and the franchises are, understandably secretive,” he said. “And they want to keep everything a secret till they want it released.” The actor revealed in August that he’ll reprise the role for a new Obi-Wan series on the Disney Plus streaming service announced at Disney’s D23 Expo. McGregor made his debut as a young Obi-Wan in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999 and was also in the other two Star Wars prequels. So he would often be asked by reporters if he would return to other Star Wars projects. “I was asked every time I did an interview by people, would I do it? And it just became embarrassing, because it sounded a bit like I was trying to get the part from Disney. You know, like, I was saying, ‘Well, you know. Well, if they give me a call, I’d be, you know, I’d be interested,” he said. “Fans [would] like being angry with Disney, saying, ‘They better not cast someone else.’ And I was thinking, ‘Who else are they going to cast, you know? Like just let me say it.’”

■ Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges in an updated misdemeanor indictment that includes allegations from a new accuser in his New York City sexual misconduct case. Prosecutors at Gooding’s arraignment said they’ve also heard from several more women who could testify that the 51-year-old actor has had a habit of groping women over the years. The case now includes allegations from three women, growing in recent weeks from a lone allegation that led to his arrest in June after a 29-year-old woman said he squeezed her breast without consent at a Manhattan night spot. An indictment unsealed Oct. 15 included allegations that Gooding also pinched a woman’s buttocks at a nightclub in October 2018. Gooding’s lawyers argued that the indictment and accompanying paperwork don’t specify any wrongdoing in that reported counter. Gooding, who won an Oscar for his role in Jerry Maguire, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. He is free on his own recognizance.