I was first conscious of Ewan McGregor when he guest starred in ER. Well, I knew the name. I think he'd just done Trainspotting, to great acclaim, but I've never seen it.
Obviously he could act. But it wasn't until I saw him in the rainforest that I truly appreciated him as a person. He took every adversity (and there were a lot, many of them potentially fatal) in his good-natured stride. Not long before, actress Caroline Quentin had done a programme where she was required to camp in the Amazon rainforest, and she was a bitch throughout. She moaned about everything (what had she expected?) and was really rude to her poor guide. So it was refreshing to see a proper star behaving so well.
Ewan's brother Colin is a former RAF pilot who I believe served in Iraq. They just made a TV programme together about the Battle of Britain. Colin got to fly a Spitfire, which clearly made him very happy indeed. He even did some aerobatics. But he couldn't let his brother go without the experience, so he forewent his final flight to let Ewan have a go.
The nicest thing was the tribute they paid to the pilots who fought to give us a future. They met a couple of the survivors, who were great characters themselves.
Now, Ewan McGregor may be a nice guy and a good actor, but he isn't dishy, at least I don't find him so.
But check out big brother! Altogether chunkier and more delectable, methinks. A filled-out version of Ewan, and all the better for it.
