The Major Star Wars Actor You Likely Didn't Know Was Related To Obi-Wan Kenobi's Ewan McGregor
The year was 1977, and director George Lucas' "Star Wars" (later changed to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) hit the big screen in May to much fanfare. Of its many memorable aspects, ranging from the epic space dogfights to the mind-blowing lightsabers, sat a colorful cast of characters that moviegoers couldn't help but connect with. Among them was Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi (Alec Guinness): a hermit that called the desert of Tatooine home and once belonged to an order of warrior monks known as Jedi. Now nearly 50 years beyond his theatrical debut, he is still a fan favorite.
Guinness' take on Ben Kenobi may have died in "Star Wars," but he continued to appear throughout the original trilogy. However, when Lucas later got production rolling on his now-beloved prequel trilogy, a younger actor had to take on the role. That responsibility went to Ewan McGregor, who successfully reinvented the character for a new generation of fans in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," and "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith." Over 20 years have passed since his first Kenobi performance, and he hasn't retired his Jedi robes yet.
Disney+ will host a limited series titled "Obi-Wan Kenobi," detailing the titular Jedi's pre-"A New Hope" life under a burgeoning Galactic Empire. With the highly anticipated project on the horizon, now is as great a time as any to relay the interesting fact that Ewan McGregor is actually related to a mainstay actor from the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
Denis Lawson, aka Wedge Antilles, is McGregor's uncle
After leaving his Tatooine home, rescuing Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and witnessing the death of his mentor, Ben Kenobi, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) joins the Rebel Alliance proper in "A New Hope". Thus, he takes part in the assault on the first Death Star battle station, doing so with a fleet of skilled X-Wing pilots at his side. One such rebel was Wedge Antilles, who'd go on to be the only X-wing pilot to feature in and survive all three "Star Wars" original trilogy battles — the battle at the Death Star I, the battle of Hoth, and the aerial battle above Endor.
The actor behind Wedge is Denis Lawson, who's Ewan McGregor's uncle in real life and actually warned him not to join the "Star Wars" universe decades after he did. In an interview with People from 2020, McGregor explained that when he was younger, he recalls Lawson harboring a dismissive attitude toward the first three films. "He was one of the people who said, 'Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it,' And then the nearer I got to it, the more I wanted to do it," McGregor said, adding that he had no regrets when it came to his first "Star Wars" stint.
Despite his previous claims, Denis Lawson ultimately returned to the part of Wedge Antilles as a brief cameo during the battle of Exegol in "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker." Considering how popular both he and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi are, it's great to see them both back in the modern "Star Wars" spotlight.