Ewan McGregor Refuses To Wear One Thing In His Movies & TV Shows
It might seem like splitting hairs, but when Ewan McGregor steps into the shoes of a character with a beard or mustache, he makes sure to grow one of his own. It's one of the actor's unwritten rules, he revealed in an interview regarding his role in "A Gentleman in Moscow," that he won't wear fake facial hair for a part and instead relies on his homegrown efforts.
As McGregor told The New York Times, the caterpillar resting on his upper lip in the miniseries was his own. "I had to. I couldn't have a stuck-on mustache. I've had them in the past, and they're terrible to wear," he explained. "You come in in the morning, you've had to shave, and then you put glue on that shaved skin, which is [expletive] horrible. Then you stick it on, and it stops you from moving your face. The last thing you want to be thinking about when you're acting is not moving. So I grew my own."
As accommodating as McGregor might be when it comes to changing his appearance for a part, there are many occasions when actors have thrown a spanner (or comb) in the works by growing hair where it wasn't previously. Let us never forget, for example, the entire Henry Cavill Superman mustache controversy where he was simultaneously shooting "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" and was unable to shave for his "Justice League" reshoots as Superman.
Ewan McGregor had a long time war with wigs
Ewan McGregor experienced repeated instances of bad hair days, facial and otherwise, when it came to playing Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was apparently a galaxy far, far away from a decent barber. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor was quick to highlight the hair issues he had when taking on the career-changing role of the legendary Jedi knight. One standout point for the actor during his time shooting the prequel trilogy was Obi-Wan's beard looking so strange in the "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" Kamino scene, given that it was a fake one. Prior to that, though, his time on "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" had some mishaps too.
Upon returning for reshoots, after he had already altered his hair, McGregor had to wear a short-hair wig to maintain on-screen continuity. "If you've got a wig and it's long hair, you can disguise the fact that it's a wig, but when it's a short hair wig, it's a nightmare." It was an issue that haunted the Jedi-in-the-making even after completion, much to his surprise. "Some bright spark decided to put me on a poster in the wig. They picked an image of me from the reshoots, and I saw myself in this huge poster in the wig, and I'm like, 'Are you kidding me? You couldn't find an image of me from the real shoot?'" Having the high ground is always important, but as the young star learned, having a good trim is essential.
If you're a fan of the star (fake hair or not), be sure to check out our story on every Ewan McGregor movie, ranked from worst to best.