Scottish actor Ewan McGregor became emotional while discussing the difficult period after he split from his first wife Eve Mavrakis in 2017. Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the 55-year-old said it was a 'very painful time' with his children around the time of the divorce from their mother.
Painful family rift
McGregor married Mavrakis, 60, in the summer of 1995 after reportedly meeting on the set of the TV show Kavanagh QC, where she was working as assistant art director. They have four children together, one of whom – Clara – starred in the 2023 film Bleeding Love alongside her dad.
According to The Telegraph, McGregor noted that Clara was 'expressing her anger very well'. He said: 'My children were very hurt, Clara was very hurt and Clara was – I'm very grateful for it now – but she was very open with me, very vocal with me.'
Healing through film
Later, Clara approached her father to tell him she was writing a story about them and wanted him to play the father. The film, which premiered at SXSW festival in 2023, was written by Ruby Caster but came from an original story by Clara, Vera Bulder and Caster. It centres on an estranged father who embarks on a road trip with his daughter after she suffers a drug overdose.
Referencing the film, McGregor said: 'It was about the reparation of a relationship between a father and daughter that hadn't fully happened between us.' He clarified that although the film was 'not biographical', there are 'massive elements' that were. It sounded cathartic for the 30-year-old.
A cathartic moment
McGregor mentioned an 'incredible, brilliant moment when she [Clara] fully lets her dad have it; really tells him what she thinks of him and she was able to do so in reality'. Initially, he said his daughter was 'slightly reluctant to go there'. But the Star Wars actor instructed her: '"Clara, just let me have it. Do it."'
McGregor is now with Fargo co-star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, whom he married in 2022. The couple welcomed a child in 2021 – Laura McGregor was born on June 25 and is now five years old.
