The top 15 best performances in Star Wars
By Tom Farr
4. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Alec Guinness was outstanding as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy. He portrayed the character as experienced and wise. But Ewan McGregor’s performance as a much younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy was perhaps the standout performance of that trilogy. Like Guinness before him, McGregor brought a certain dignity to the character that made him worthy of respect. Even though his role was fairly minor in The Phantom Menace, McGregor played the role of master to Anakin’s apprentice in Attack of the Clones in a way that made audiences love him. Though he was younger, he exuded wisdom, but what stood out the most was the chemistry he shared with Hayden Christensen as Anakin.
His standout performance as Obi-Wan came near the end of Revenge of the Sith after his epic lightsaber battle with Anakin on Mustafar. The emotion audiences felt when he said, “You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you,” was truly memorable because it perfectly captured the tragedy of Darth Vader’s fall to the dark side. Even though the prequel trilogy was disliked by many fans of the original trilogy, it seems that McGregor’s Obi-Wan was one unquestionable bright spot in the story.