The Best Time Ewan McGregor Broke Character In Star Wars
More than two decades after the premiere of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy is still inspiring discourse. Ewan McGregor, who co-starred in the prequels as Obi-Wan Kenobi and who will be reprising the role for the upcoming Disney+ series focused on the iconic character, has been honest regarding his experiences with the franchise. As noted during a profile of McGregor in The Hollywood Reporter, fan reaction to the prequel trilogy was fiercely divided, and McGregor admits that he found this "quite difficult." And that wasn't the only thing he struggled with when it came to the films.
"There's not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when there's no environment there. It was quite hard to do," the actor told The Hollywood Reporter, referring to the use of bluescreens when it came to shooting the prequel trilogy. McGregor is an accomplished actor who won an Emmy in 2021 for his performance in Netflix's "Halston." But sometimes even great actors slip while in character, and as an eagle-eyed YouTuber captured, that may have happened to McGregor in "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith."
Did Ewan McGregor almost smirk while detailing Anakin's turn to the dark side?
"Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" is full of moments that should be serious. Anakin (Hayden Christensen) spends part of the movie looking for a way to save Padme's (Natalie Portman) life after having a vision of her premature death, while the Galactic Senate is turned into a dictatorship. But some aspects of the film are so outlandish that it appears even a seasoned actor like Ewan McGregor couldn't keep it together.
Anakin's turn to the dark side became complete when he killed a group of Padawan learners in the Jedi Temple. After Obi-Wan discovers this, he informs Padme, telling her, "I have seen a security hologram of him ... killing younglings." But one fan, in particular, noticed that McGregor appears to be trying hard to keep a straight face while delivering the line. YouTube user pickmanfox posted a clip of the scene in question with the caption, "You can see poor Ewan McGregor struggling to suppress a smirk as he has to deliver this awful line." The moment is subtle, but judging by the number of people jumping in to agree in the comments, it appears pickmanfox wasn't the only person who saw the almost-smirk.
Anakin's murder of children is arguably the most inopportune time for a laugh, which is likely why this moment stood out to fans.