Ewan McGregor's Most Impressive Movies, Ranked

With Obi-Wan Kenobi hitting Disney+ imminently, let's revisit star Ewan McGregor's best cinematic output.

For nearly 30 years, Ewan McGregor has established himself as one of the most charming and captivating actors alive.

Warner Bros.

With the upcoming release of his Disney+ series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the actor returns to one of his most popular roles and takes an iconic Star Wars character into bold new territory. As such, I've been inspired to revisit McGregor's best films over the years, which I've since assembled for the definitive ranking of his cinematic portfolio.

23. A Life Less Ordinary

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

Time has been kind to this ambitious, unique, and dark romantic comedy, which was critically panned upon release but has since morphed into an endearing cult classic.

22. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation / Courtesy Everett Collection

Gone is the fresh-faced McGregor of Phantom Menace, as the actor goes for a more cynical and grizzled performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi, which helps elevate this film as the clear standout of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

21. Nightwatch

Dimension Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

This remake of a 1994 Danish horror-thriller was largely rejected upon its theatrical bow in 1997, but the tense and engaging mystery and McGregor's quirky performance have helped to rebrand the film as a hidden gem in the genre.

20. Down with Love

20th Century Fox Film Corp / Courtesy Everett Collection

Peyton Reed's 2003 romantic comedy served as a fun and slightly subversive homage to the goofy, sex-free romcoms of the '60s, with McGregor's multifaceted performance as a wounded ladies' man among its many highlights.

19. The Island

DreamWorks / Courtesy Everett Collection

Michael Bay's underrated sci-fi action epic may not be the most original film in the world, but it's undeniably entertaining, especially once McGregor gets to play dueling performances as a deceptive and spiteful automobile designer and his desperate, lovelorn clone.

18. Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

With this largely vocal performance as Lumiere, McGregor puts a committed (and, admittedly, cartoonish) spin on a renowned Disney character and goes above and beyond to stand out in this modern update of Beauty and the Beast.

17. T2: Trainspotting

Tristar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

While this belated sequel to Trainspotting does ultimately trade in diminishing returns, the film still works excellently as a fitting and visually spectacular epilogue to the strange, drug-fueled story of Rent Boy, Spud, Sick Boy, and Begbie.

16. Christopher Robin

Laurie Sparham / Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Ewan McGregor's wonderful and occasionally heartbreaking performance as the dispirited adult version of the title character anchors this magical realism-doused big-screen reboot of Winnie the Pooh.

15. The Pillow Book

Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

McGregor shines as a translator tasked to write prose on the body of his lover in this hypnotic and stylistic erotic drama from cinematic provocateur Peter Greenaway.

14. Emma

Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

Featuring a performance from McGregor that helped gain the actor the honor of the British Actor of the Year by the London Film Critics' Circle, Emma is a solid, if not necessarily top tier, Jane Austen adaptation.

13. Velvet Goldmine

Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

Todd Haynes' dazzling fictionalization of the 1970s glam rock scene may put style over substance, but there's no denying that McGregor's performance as a Lou Reed-esque rocker is bold, flamboyant, and absolutely unforgettable.

12. The Ghost Writer

Summit Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

In this breathtaking adaptation of Robert Harris' twisty 2007 novel, The Ghost, Ewan McGregor plays a ghostwriter who finds himself wading into dangerous waters after being assigned to finish the autobiography of a former British Prime Minister following the suspicious death of his predecessor.

11. Beginners

Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

McGregor's natural charisma and charm help steer Mike Mills' witty and sentimental drama about a young man who finds love while reflecting on the unpredictable final years of his father's life.

10. Birds of Prey

Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Ewan McGregor kills it with his loud and hilariously over-the-top villainous performance as Roman Sionis in Cathy Yan's frenetic and stylish R-rated superhero romp.

9. I Love You, Phillip Morris

Newmarket Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

Based on Steve McVicker's stranger-than-fiction tale of prison lovebirds, Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey offer two of their best performances in this hysterical comedy of a con man who falls madly in love with his cellmate. 

8. The Impossible

Summit Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

Though the film never quite fully comes together as it should, Ewan McGregor is an emotional powerhouse in this nail-biting story of a family that is literally torn apart by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

7. Young Adam

Sony Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

McGregor went outside of his comfort zone (and earned rave reviews as a result) in this bleak and devastating modern tragedy about a Scottish drifter who happens upon the dead body of his ex-lover.

6. Shallow Grave

Gramercy Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

In the inaugural collaboration between McGregor and filmmaker Danny Boyle, the young actor became a star overnight in this thriller about three flatmates who stumble upon the body of the fourth roommate next to a large sum of cash that they decide to keep for themselves.

5. Doctor Sleep

Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

McGregor effortlessly jumps into the shoes of Danny Torrance as he is haunted by the literal and figurative ghosts of his past while attempting to save a supernaturally gifted woman from a sadistic roaming gang of vampires in Mike Flanagan's terrifying and terrific sequel to The Shining.

4. Black Hawk Down

Columbia Pictures / ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Though the inspiration of the character has since been disgraced after being convicted of unspeakable crimes, Ewan McGregor's performance as "Grimesey" stood out among the impressive ensemble of Ridley Scott's acclaimed and harrowing war film.

3. Big Fish

Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

In Tim Burton's imaginative masterpiece, Ewan McGregor provides audiences with nothing short of a winning presence as a young Edward Bloom, a charming, blue-collar optimist who changes the lives of others throughout his supposedly extraordinary adventures in the '40s and '50s, as the elder Bloom faces his mortality and a difficult relationship with his estranged son many decades thereafter.

2. Moulin Rouge!

20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Considered by many to be Baz Luhrmann's irrefutable musical masterpiece, Ewan McGregor is in stellar form as the starry-eyed, not-so-secret lover of Nicole Kidman's Satine, the lead performer at the titular cabaret.

1. Trainspotting

Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

From the heart-racing opening moments to the soul-shattering ending, Ewan McGregor has simply never been better than in the performance that put him on the map. He breathes life and a true sense of humanity into Danny Boyle's otherwise distressing tale of love, friendship, poverty, and crippling addiction in Edinburgh.