Movies

Ewan McGregor reveals his most hated film and admits it’s so bad he’s never seen it and won’t even name it

BBG News

From the gritty shooting locations of Trainspotting in Scotland to the dazzling Parisian atmosphere of Moulin Rouge, Ewan McGregor‘s acting resume is a dream for many actors to achieve.

McGregor, who rose to fame from the rundown Leith backstreets, where he portrayed Mark Renton, a drug addict, to becoming the sword-wielding Obi-Wan Kenobi in a distant galaxy, has been firmly established as one of Britain’s top acting talents for many years.

Among all the remarkable films I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing, there’s one that truly steals the show, despite not being celebrated for its quality. In fact, it’s quite infamous for reasons that make me, as a devoted fan, even more intrigued.

As a lifestyle aficionado, I recently had the pleasure of joining Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on their Dish podcast, where I found myself in the company of my Long Way Round partner, Charlie Boorman. In an intriguing turn of events, Conor McGregor, at 54 years old, revealed a rather peculiar confession: he has never watched a film so dreadful that he refuses to even mention its title by name.

Speaking about his fondness for the bagpipes, the Scottish actor openly shared that he began learning to play this unique instrument during the filming of a movie he disliked, which was set in London. This happened several months after he finished working on the 2012 film “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

He mentioned that he hails from a family with a rich history of drumming: Specifically, he played the side drum in various pipe bands, including his school’s band and the regional one, but he always specialized in the side drum position.

Growing up, I was part of a musical lineage – my father was a drummer, and so were other relatives. Our family had quite the history with pipe bands. This inspired me to learn the bagpipes myself. I managed to find an instructor to guide me on this new musical journey.

Once I acquired my pipes, I had already begun working on another movie in London, one I refuse to mention because I despised it so much that I never once watched it – it was truly a terrible film. However, moving on…

He mentioned: ‘You should be able to grasp it. It wasn’t about Salmon Fishing… I found Salmon Fishing delightful, it was a wonderful movie. That’s where I drew my inspiration from.’

Following the release of “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” Ewan McGregor starred in the English-language disaster movie titled “The Impossible.” This film was predominantly filmed on location in both Spain and Thailand.

The next year saw him portraying Elmont in the spectacle-filled CGI adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk titled “Jack the Giant Slayer.” Multiple picturesque English landscapes were utilized to depict rustic settings for this production.

In 2013, it was his first return to London since the movie “Salmon Fishing In Yemen” was released, as he had taken on a part in the controversial crime drama “Mortdecai” starring Johnny Depp.

In this movie, directed by David Koepp, we see Johnny Depp playing the lead character, while McGregor portrays Inspector Alistair Martland. This film was based on the Mortdecai book series written by Kyril Bonfiglioli.

The illustrious lineup of actors featured stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Goldblum, Olivia Munn, and Paul Bettany as well.

However, despite Mortdecai’s high-profile promotion and visually stunning London settings, the movie struggled at the box office, causing US theaters to pull it from screens only three weeks following its premiere.

2015’s film reviews were overwhelmingly negative. The Huffington Post even went as far as to say that it could potentially become the worst movie of that year, a prediction I wholeheartedly agree with.

In other places, The Guardian’s Mark Kermode criticized it as a humorless and dull comedy-thriller, having just one truly amusing moment.

Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers. 

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2025-06-25 14:34

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