Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor has said he is “very touched” after being awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 53-year-old was inducted into the famous street with a speech from Hayden Christensen, 43, who he starred with in the Star Wars prequel trilogy as Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the Anakin Skywalker actor praising him as “the best Jedi master anyone could’ve asked for”.
Director Mike Mills, 58, also gave a speech, saying his crew “couldn’t wait for him to turn up in the morning” when he was working alongside the actor on 2010 comedy drama Beginners, and added that McGregor was able to make himself “vulnerable” and “go to such an authentic place”.
Receiving the honour, McGregor said he was particularly pleased that his star would be next to that of his late friend Carrie Fisher, who starred in the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the three films made by Disney.
“I just want to thank everybody, all of you, for coming today.
“I absolutely had no idea what it would feel like, or what it would mean, but it is meaning a great deal, and it feels very, very nice and I feel very touched by the whole thing.
“I’m so moved that I’m close to my old friend Carrie Fisher, on the pavement here, that means a great deal to me.”
Speaking about McGregor, Christensen said he was “the coolest man on the planet” and described him as a “brother”.
He said: “I often think about the first time that I met you, and we were both in Australia, many moons ago, getting ready to do Star Wars episode two.
“And I was so excited, I was already such a huge fan of his, and so I walk into this room where I’m told Ewan is going to be and before I can even put eyes on him, I hear his voice, and he exclaims my name with with more enthusiasm than I think I’d ever heard it spoken with before.
“I turn and see him, and then he’s coming at me, and he comes and just gives me the biggest hug, like just the most disarmingly warm embrace, and we start chatting, and he’s just the nicest person.
“He’s telling me how excited he is to be working together and how much fun we’re going to have doing our lightsaber training, and he’s just beyond kind to me.
“It was immediately apparent to me that I was meeting someone truly special, and not just as an actor, but as a person, and that I was meeting a friend.”
McGregor’s star has become the 2,789th on the walk and is located outside the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard after it was unveiled yesterday.
The actor achieved stardom playing Renton in 1996’s Trainspotting, before playing Obi-Wan in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the 2022 Disney+ spin-off series about the character.
He has also starred in Fargo, Salmon Fishing In The Yemen and Moulin Rouge!.
McGregor was made an OBE in 2013 for services to drama and charity and has won an Emmy Award and one Golden Globe.
