For a few years now, a story has circulated online about the time Ewan McGregor, fresh off getting the cherished role of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1999 Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menance, battled Noel Gallagher in a lightsaber duel one morning after a night of partying. The tale came from the mouth of the Oasis guitarist, and while we never really doubted it, it did seem like maybe this was just some hallucination. The late-’90s were a haze for all of us.
Via Gallagher, the story goes like this: “Ewan McGregor was my neighbour, right, and he came round my house the night he got the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I just happened to have two of those lightsaber toys, so I said, “Come on — in the back garden.” And we had a fucking lightsaber fight. His first Jedi training session was with yours truly in my back garden at eight in the morning.”
Hilarious.
Now, apparently, McGregor, who will reprise his role as Renton in the upcoming Trainspotting sequel, confirmed the interaction in a new interview. He tells it pretty close to how Gallagher has, so maybe he’s read all the memes and is just going along with it. Who knows? Either way, it’s pretty awesome.
Listen to McGregor’s side below.
