Ewan McGregor Is Keen to Tell More Scottish Stories on the Big Screen

Ewan McGregor is one of Scotland’s most famous sons. A genuine icon in his home country, the Star Wars star always takes the opportunity to talk up his place of birth whenever he can. And now, he’s been talking about doing some more work there in future — including a passion project he’s been trying to make for years, which would see him take to the high seas as well as the Scottish Highlands.

During an interview with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt at this weekend’s San Francisco Fan Expo, McGregor was asked about any stories from Scottish history or folklore that he would like to see shown on screen, and went into detail about a project which he’s always dreamed of making — Kidnapped, the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, set against the backdrop of historical events in Scotland, including the Jacobite uprisings.

The plot follows the journey of a young man named David Balfour, who is sold into slavery on a ship bound for the American colonies. There, he befriends Alan Breck Stewart, a Jacobite who becomes a central character in the story. The novel is is known for its vivid depiction of the Scottish landscape, its engaging adventure narrative, and its exploration of historical and political themes.

“Yeah! I was going to make Kidnapped, the Robert Louis Stevenson novel some time ago, and I was excited about it. That’s a classic adventure book that was written just shortly after the Highland Clearances in Scotland, set in the 1700s, real swashbucking stuff, and a great character, and then, long story short it didn’t happen. That I would like to do, it’s left me wanting. Some projects fall apart and you don’t think about them again, but that one I think would be an amazing story.”

How Does Ewan McGregor Feel About Scotland?

Expanding, McGregor reflected both on his love for his home country and its stunning landscape, as well as his fond memories of working on beloved projects — including Trainspotting, his breakthrough role with Danny Boyle — from his past. Additionally, he admitted that he had a yearning to make more projects “back home” and would consider making his next directorial feature there.

“Scotland is so beautiful, it’s the most amazingly beautiful country and the landscape and the people there are amazing,” he enthused. “I’ve enjoyed working there over the years on Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, I made two films there with David MacKenzie, Young Adam and Perfect Sense, so those four films plus Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was filmed there too.

“I love working at home, I’d like to do more, Kidnapped might come back, I really hope so. I’d love to make a contemporary film there, there’s a beautiful Ken Loach film called The Angel’s Share, that’s a lovely film. There’s a specific tone to Scottish comedy in movies that goes back to my uncle Denis Lawson‘s days, like Local Hero which he was in, and Gregory’s Girl. It’s the kind of humour I get, because I’m from there, so I’d love to try and do something funny. Maybe I should direct my next film there. I’ll find a Scottish script, direct it there and my Uncle Denis will star in it.”

Trainspotting

Release Date

February 23, 1996

Director

Danny Boyle

Cast

Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald

Rating

R

Runtime

94

Main Genre

Crime