Obi-Wan Kenobi was a central character in the Star Wars Skywalker saga, giving both Anakin and Luke precious guidance and wisdom, and Ewan McGregor has had the longest time in the role. McGregor played Obi-Wan in the prequel trilogy and acted as a Master and close friend to Anakin. He gave life to some of the most pivotal moments in all of Star Wars, from his duel with Darth Maul to Order 66 and beyond. McGregor’s portrayal of the character helped make Obi-Wan an iconic character, partly because he has played him at different ages.
Like co-star Hayden Christensen, McGregor received a lot of negative feedback for his portrayal of Obi-Wan in the Star Wars movies. The prequel trilogy has since become a beloved set of movies to many Star Wars fans, and McGregor’s performance was a large part of what made the prequels so great. His popularity even earned him a solo show, and even though Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2 seems unlikely, it proved he was one of the best characters in the franchise. Here’s how old McGregor was in all of his Star Wars appearances.
Obi-Wan Was Responsible For Anakin’s Fall – Even After George Lucas’ Retcons
Lucas’ original idea for how Obi-Wan and Anakin met in Star Wars was vastly different, yet Obi-Wan still carried the blame for how Anakin turned out.
6 Ewan McGregor Was 26 Years Old In The Phantom Menace
Release Date: May 19, 1999
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
- Director
- George Lucas
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor , Liam Neeson , Natalie Portman , Jake Lloyd , Ahmed Best , Ian McDiarmid , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Pernilla August , Frank Oz , Ray Park , Samuel L. Jackson
- Writers
- George Lucas
McGregor first became Obi-Wan in 1999 with the release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The movie was filmed from June to September 1997, which meant that McGregor was 26 years old in The Phantom Menace. At that age, McGregor was well suited to playing the apprentice of Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jin. He was also able to effectively convey his own inexperience as a Jedi, which would become a major problem as he began training Anakin as his Padawan.
5 Ewan McGregor Was 29 Years Old In Attack Of The Clones
Release Date: May 16, 2002
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- Director
- George Lucas
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor , Hayden Christensen , Natalie Portman , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Lee , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Frank Oz , Temuera Morrison , Ahmed Best , Daniel Logan
- Writers
- George Lucas , Jonathan Hales
McGregor continued playing Obi-Wan, albeit with shaggier hair and a beard, in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. His second outing as Obi-Wan was filmed between June and September 2000, and McGregor was 29 years old in Attack of the Clones. McGregor portrayed a much more confident and capable Obi-Wan in the second movie, as he discovered the clone army on Kamino by himself and demonstrated his wisdom in seeking the Jedi Council’s guidance. However, he also showed that he often couldn’t control his Padawan’s impulses, a failure that led to Anakin’s fall.
4 Ewan McGregor Was 32 Years Old In Revenge Of The Sith
Release Date: May 19, 2005
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
- Director
- George Lucas
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Hayden Christensen , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Lee , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Frank Oz , Ahmed Best , Temuera Morrison
- Writers
- George Lucas , John Ostrander , Jan Duursema
The last of the prequel trilogy movies, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, was also McGregor’s last appearance as Obi-Wan for a decade. The movie was filmed from June to September 2003, which made McGregor 32 years old in Revenge of the Sith. That movie was the culmination of Anakin’s destiny to become Darth Vader, and McGregor showed the emotional impact his fall had on Obi-Wan as he declared his love for his former Padawan. McGregor’s age also lent itself to his final duel with Anakin, as Obi-Wan’s experience was crucial to his survival.
3 Ewan McGregor Made A Cameo At 44 Years Old In The Force Awakens
Release Date: December 18, 2015
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
- Director
- J.J. Abrams
- Cast
- Daisy Ridley , John Boyega , Oscar Isaac , Harrison Ford , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Adam Driver , Andy Serkis , Lupita Nyong’o , Max Von Sydow , Peter Mayhew , Simon Pegg
- Writers
- Lawrence Kasdan , J.J. Abrams , Michael Arndt
McGregor had an easily-overlooked cameo in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as Obi-Wan’s disembodied voice. He offered eerie foreshadowing for Rey’s journey to becoming a Jedi, as he said, “These are your first steps,” in a vision she received when she touched the Skywalker lightsaber. His voice line was added much later in the film’s development, so McGregor was 44 years old in The Force Awakens. McGregor later said that his fateful words almost didn’t happen at all.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, McGregor revealed that his cameo was only put into the movie a few weeks before its release. Director J.J. Abrams emailed him at that time and said that he believed McGregor should be part of the movie. While it was a surprise to him, McGregor said that he was glad to play Obi-Wan again for the first time in a decade. He also said he enjoyed The Force Awakens and that even though he had a part in the movie, it felt different from his viewings of the prequel trilogy because he had little involvement in the rest of the movie.
2 Ewan McGregor Did More Voice Work At 47 Years Old In The Rise Of Skywalker
Release Date: December 20, 2019
Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
- Director
- J.J. Abrams
- Cast
- Carrie Fisher , Oscar Isaac , Anthony Daniels , Joonas Suotamo , Mark Hamill , Adam Driver , Ian McDiarmid , Kelly Marie Tran , Billie Lourd , Keri Russell , Richard E. Grant , Daisy Ridley , Lupita Nyong’o , Dominic Monaghan , John Boyega , Domhnall Gleeson , Billy Dee Williams , Naomi Ackie
- Writers
- Chris Terrio , J.J. Abrams
In the penultimate scene of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, while Rey was facing off against Emperor Palpatine, she heard the voices of past Jedi call out to her. One of those voices was Obi-Wan Kenobi, who finished the line he gave in The Force Awakens by saying “These are your final steps, Rey. Rise and take them.” Filming for the movie lasted from August 2018 to February 2019, but his birthday is in March, so McGregor was 47 years old in The Rise of Skywalker.
1 Ewan McGregor Was 50 Years Old In Obi-Wan Kenobi
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Cast
- Bonnie Piesse , Hayden Christensen , Moses Ingram , O’Shea Jackson Jr. , Simone Kessell , Ewan McGregor , Grant Feely , Joel Edgerton , Maya Erskine , Benny Safdie , Indira Varma , Marisé Álvarez , Sung Kang , Rupert Friend , Kumail Nanjiani
- Writers
- Joby Harold , Hossein Amini , Stuart Beattie , Hannah Friedman , Andrew Stanton
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney
- Directors
- Deborah Chow
After almost 17 years, McGregor finally returned to the role of Obi-Wan in live-action with the Disney+ show, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Set during the Dark Times between the prequel and original trilogies, the show offered a chance for McGregor to bridge the gap between his time as the character and Alec Guinness’ original performance. Filming was underway by May 2021, and McGregor was 50 years old in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi saw McGregor playing an older version of the character than he ever had before, and one with more regrets. Set years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan had been living with his grief and guilt for failing his Padawan for a while. A quest to rescue Leia Organa brought him out of retirement and back in tune with the Force, though, and also gave him a reunion with Darth Vader. McGregor played his iconic character brilliantly, and expressed all the emotions that came with Obi-Wan’s tragic story.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in all of Star Wars. While he is often used as one of the best examples of a Jedi, much of his charm comes from being a deeply flawed man. Obi-Wan used the dark side to win some of his fights, and his failures directly led to Anakin becoming Darth Vader. The power of Obi-Wan Kenobi was not that he was a perfect Jedi, but that he was eventually able to redeem himself and become a better man. McGregor played Obi-Wan’s internal turmoil tremendously, and Star Wars was much better for him.
Star Wars
- Created by
- George Lucas
- Cast
- Mark Hamill , James Earl Jones , David Prowse , Carrie Fisher , Harrison Ford , Daisy Ridley , Adam Driver , Ian McDiarmid , Ewan McGregor , Rosario Dawson , Lars Mikkelsen , Rupert Friend , Moses Ingram , Frank Oz , Pedro Pascal
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