Ewan McGregor first made his Star Wars debut as Obi-Wan Kenobi way back in 1999, but just like so many of us, the actor became a fan years before that.
The Doctor Sleep star appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night to discuss his return as the titular Jedi Master in Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus. When the conversation turned to all things galaxy far, far away, Ewan recalled his first time watching Star Wars in theaters because his uncle Denis Lawson portrayed Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles in the film.
“I remember standing outside the school. I was five or six, and I was standing outside the school with my brother, and my mom and dad picked us up, and they were taking us to ‘the big city’ to watch a movie that my uncle Dennis was in. And so we went, and we were so excited to go and see, you know, your uncle in a movie. It was so exciting! And then we sat down there and it was Star Wars! It just sort of blew our minds away.”
Denis Lawson reprised his role as Antilles for both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The last time we saw the character, he arrived in Exegol with Lando Calrissian to fight the resurgent Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
The five-year-old McGregor could never imagine that he’d grow up to play a character in future Star Wars movies, and one as prominent and integral to the narrative as Obi-Wan Kenobi, at that.
Now, almost two decades after his last rodeo in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the actor is returning on May 27 to bring Obi-Wan to life one more time.