Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#311
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Ewan McGregor represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 32 years in, and Ewan is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Ewan McGregor appears in 64 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Ewan. Trainspotting is the clearest case: a film rated 8.1 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for fantasy, adventure, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with David Robert Mitchell, Mark Gustafson, David Gelb and others, Ewan McGregor helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Trainspotting (1996) as Renton · Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) as Cricket (voice) · Big Fish (2003) as Ed Bloom (young)
Career snapshot
Ranked #311 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
64
1994–2026
Career length
32 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
Trainspotting
Average Nutevio score
6.5
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.0
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Most frequent director
Danny Boyle
4 films together
Longest collaboration
4×
With Danny Boyle
Most common genre
Drama
33 titles
Average runtime
1h 48m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.1
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.6
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1990s
6.6 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Eye of the Beholder, Little Voice — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
6.6
Across 11 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
6.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Eye of the Beholder, Little Voice.
Most productive era
2010s
24 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.87 films | 6.58 films | 6.414 films | 6.54 films |
| Action | 6.81 film | 6.85 films | 6.35 films | 6.91 film |
| Thriller | 6.03 films | 6.27 films | 6.46 films | 5.82 films |
| Comedy | 6.64 films | 6.14 films | 6.59 films | 5.92 films |
| Crime | 7.52 films | 6.12 films | 6.54 films | 6.02 films |
| Romance | 6.64 films | 6.35 films | 6.66 films | — |
| Horror | 6.11 film | — | 7.21 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1994Shallow Grave
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Alex Law.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
1996Trainspotting
8.1 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Greg Platt.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
64 of 64 films
as Renton
Directed by Danny Boyle
as Cricket (voice)
Directed by Mark Gustafson
as Ed Bloom (young)
Directed by Tim Burton
as Christian
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Directed by George Lucas
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Renton
Trainspotting (1996)
Performance score8.6
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Renton gives Ewan McGregor a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Cricket (voice)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Performance score8.4
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Cricket (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Ed Bloom (young)
Big Fish (2003)
Performance score8.3
Big Fish asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Ed Bloom (young) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Christian
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Performance score8.1
Moulin Rouge! asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Christian is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Renton
Start here. Trainspotting is the clearest statement of what Ewan McGregor does — accessible, 94 minutes, and rated 8.1 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Ewan at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Keeps the drama register of Trainspotting but asks for a colder reading of it.
Big Fish (2003)
Keeps the drama register of Moulin Rouge! but asks for a colder reading of it.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Keeps the adventure register of Big Fish but asks for a colder reading of it.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Keeps the adventure register of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Danny Boyle
Director
4 films together
Notably Trainspotting
George Lucas
Director
3 films together
Notably Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Mark Herman
Director
2 films together
Notably Brassed Off
David Mackenzie
Director
2 films together
Notably Perfect Sense
Susanna White
Director
2 films together
Notably Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Marc Forster
Director
2 films together
Notably Christopher Robin
Rodrigo García
Director
2 films together
Notably Raymond & Ray
Peter Greenaway
Director
1 film together
Notably The Pillow Book
Douglas McGrath
Director
1 film together
Notably Emma
Ole Bornedal
Director
1 film together
Notably Nightwatch
Todd Haynes
Director
1 film together
Notably Velvet Goldmine
Baz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together
Notably Moulin Rouge!
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Black Hawk Down
Peyton Reed
Director
1 film together
Notably Down with Love
Tim Burton
Director
1 film together
Notably Big Fish
Michael Bay
Director
1 film together
Notably The Island
Chris Wedge
Director
1 film together
Notably Robots
Chris Noonan
Director
1 film together
Notably Miss Potter
Geoffrey Sax
Director
1 film together
Notably Stormbreaker
Woody Allen
Director
1 film together
Notably Cassandra's Dream
Mira Nair
Director
1 film together
Notably Amelia
Grant Heslov
Director
1 film together
Notably The Men Who Stare at Goats
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Angels & Demons
Glenn Ficarra
Director
1 film together
Notably I Love You Phillip Morris
Roman Polanski
Director
1 film together
Notably The Ghost Writer
Lasse Hallström
Director
1 film together
Notably Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
J. A. Bayona
Director
1 film together
Notably The Impossible
Bryan Singer
Director
1 film together
Notably Jack the Giant Slayer
John Wells
Director
1 film together
Notably August: Osage County
Seth MacFarlane
Director
1 film together
Notably A Million Ways to Die in the West
Gavin O'Connor
Director
1 film together
Notably Jane Got a Gun
David Koepp
Director
1 film together
Notably Mortdecai
J.J. Abrams
Director
1 film together
Notably Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Don Cheadle
Director
1 film together
Notably Miles Ahead
Ewan McGregor
Director
1 film together
Notably American Pastoral
Bill Condon
Director
1 film together
Notably Beauty and the Beast
Mike Flanagan
Director
1 film together
Notably Doctor Sleep
Cathy Yan
Director
1 film together
Notably Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
David Gelb
Director
1 film together
Notably Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
Mark Gustafson
Director
1 film together
Notably Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
David Robert Mitchell
Director
1 film together
Notably The End of Oak Street
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Danny Boyle
Director
4 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 4 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
TrainspottingGeorge Lucas
Director
3 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the SithMarc Forster
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Christopher RobinMark Herman
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Brassed OffDavid Mackenzie
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Perfect SenseSusanna White
Director
2 films together · 6.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Nanny McPhee and the Big BangRodrigo García
Director
2 films together · 6.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Raymond & RayMark Gustafson
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Guillermo del Toro's PinocchioTim Burton
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Big FishJ.J. Abrams
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Star Wars: The Force AwakensRidley Scott
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Black Hawk DownBaz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Moulin Rouge!J. A. Bayona
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The ImpossibleMike Flanagan
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Doctor SleepBill Condon
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Beauty and the BeastCathy Yan
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)John Wells
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
August: Osage CountyDavid Gelb
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's ReturnRoman Polanski
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Ghost WriterRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Angels & DemonsChris Noonan
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Miss PotterMichael Bay
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The IslandTodd Haynes
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Velvet GoldmineChris Wedge
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RobotsDouglas McGrath
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EmmaDavid Robert Mitchell
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The End of Oak StreetDon Cheadle
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Miles AheadLasse Hallström
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Salmon Fishing in the YemenGlenn Ficarra
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I Love You Phillip MorrisPeter Greenaway
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Pillow BookWoody Allen
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cassandra's DreamEwan McGregor
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
American PastoralSeth MacFarlane
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Million Ways to Die in the WestPeyton Reed
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Down with LoveOle Bornedal
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NightwatchGrant Heslov
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Men Who Stare at GoatsBryan Singer
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jack the Giant SlayerGavin O'Connor
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jane Got a GunMira Nair
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AmeliaDavid Koepp
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MortdecaiGeoffrey Sax
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
StormbreakerSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Big Fish
as Ed Bloom (young)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
as Cricket (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Trainspotting
as Renton
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
as Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice) (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Trainspotting
as Renton
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Ewan McGregor has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
32 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
33 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
as Cricket (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Trainspotting
as Renton
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Land of Sometimes
as The Wish Collector (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Ghost Writer
as The Ghost
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Jane Got a Gun
as John Bishop
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Valiant
as Valiant (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
as Obi-Wan Kenobi (voice) (uncredited)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Harry Dean Stanton
Works with the same directors — Ridley Scott
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Have your say
Community
Which Ewan McGregor performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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