Mcgregor ‘channels’ Sir Alec Guinness in reprising role as Obi-wan in Star Wars
SCOTS star Ewan Mcgregor said he tried to “think and feel” Sir Alec Guinness while reprising his famous role in Star Wars.
Obi-wan Kenobi appeared in the first six Star Wars films, played by Sir Alec in episodes IV-VI and then by Mcgregor in episodes I-III.
The upcoming Obi-wan Kenobi TV series for Disney+ will see Mcgregor reprise his role more than 15 years after he starred in the three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005.
He said: “It all came from Alec Guinness, he has this wit behind his eyes, he had a twinkle. I guess that’s in the writing, but for me I always try and think of him and try to feel him, hear him saying the lines.
“That’s why I think the writing was so, so good in this because right from the word go, all of his dialogue felt to me like it could have been Alec Guinness saying it, then I knew we were on the right path.”
The new Star Wars spin-off series begins 10 years after the events of the film Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith where Kenobi faced the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker.
Mcgregor said: “For 10 years Obi-wan has been in hiding living a solitary life – in a way he has lost his faith, like someone who has lost their religion. It was just interesting to take a character that we know and love from Alec Guinness’s creation of the character in the 70s, this wise spiritual sage-like man, to take him to a more broken place was really interesting to do.”
Obi-wan Kenobi will be available on Disney+ from Wednesday.