Star Wars’ Ewan McGregor spilled the tea at NYCC 2023 spotlight panel

At his spotlight panel at New York Comic Con 2023, actor Ewan McGregor couldn’t say much about Star WarsOr Moulin Rouge!, or TrainspottingOr even Velvet Goldmine. He could give an informal class on tea making to Americans.

“I find it difficult to find a good cup of tea in America,” McGregor told the audience in the Javits Center’s Empire Room. “In America, it’s an art that’s maybe not as known. The best way to make a cup of tea is in a teapot… [Boil water]In less than 3 minute, you get a nice color but no taste. More than 3 minutes, you get both.”

He’s not a fan of honey or sugar in his tea, though. (“Boooo!” cried one of his fans.) He doesn’t seem into sugar in hot drinks, whatsoever. “I like strong black coffee. I don’t like any syrup anyway. I don’t like vanilla in my coffee.”

He also dropped this New York-local bombshell: “I’m not a big bagel guy.”

New York Comic Con participants can debate about the best shows before they arrive. Star Wars Prequel Trilogy films, McGregor couldn’t speak of Star Wars Due to the current SAG-AFTRA Strike. It’s hard to believe that his panel on the spotlight (moderated Ashley Robinson) is his first NYCC.

He kept to the rules of the strike and talked about himself and his career without mentioning anything directly about the role he played as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Moulin Rouge.The Scottish Kenobi actor did deliver his support for the strike: “It’s very important we’re taking this action. Many things have not been addressed. It’s such a shame that it’s taking the studio this amount of time to come to a solution. But as a result, I’m 100% behind the strike You can also find out more about the following: involved with my union.”

He offered an apology for not being able to speak of his film and television projects, “but that’s just the way we have to do it.” McGregor’s words land around the time that SAG-AFTRA reported industry CEOs have resorted to “bully tactics,” and failed to offer reasonable protection from AI replacement, wage increases to keep up with inflation, and sufficient work revenue.

He describes his strike life as domestic. He said, “My children need to get to school.” He’s reading to pass the time. Under strike parameters, McGregor could articulate he was inspired by Ted Simon’s books, Jupiter’s Travel and Don’t Boil the Canary.

McGregor talked about his previous role as Iago. OthelloProduction at London’s Donmar Warehouse. “There’s a sort of unwritten rule when you go and watch an actor, when you go and watch somebody’s show. You either don’t tell them that you’re coming, just so that you don’t put people on edge or anything. In the middle a soliloquy I looked up, Oh, it’s Jude Law.”

“The worst one was when I looked up and it was Peter Hall [founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company],” he divulged. Shakespeare is approached with his instincts and sense of himself, rather than with formalities like iambic-pentameter rhythms. But seeing Hall at that time, “I fell apart. My confidence was gone,” he fretted.

McGregor confessed that he covets the Shakespearean role of “the Great Scottish king” (that is, MacBeth — to say the name aloud could risk casting a theatre-mandated curse). He said, “I watched one of my best friends, Douglas Henshall, play him. ” He estimates that he could grow very old by the time he gets that chance to play the Scottish King.

He finds the career of acting as “ethereal… it all comes bubbling out when it’s needed,” he said, as he credited his uncle Denis Lawson (coincidentally the guy who plays Wedge Antilles) as his “hero.” His advice to aspiring performers is to actively practice their craft in front of people. He cautioned against the “danger” of just waiting for it to happen, or waiting to just be discovered.

The moderator inquired, “Do you think “being discovered” is fallacy? Is it just hard work paying off?”

He elaborated, “Well, you do get discovered [when]People see your work, and want to include you in their own work. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a I’m going to make you a star [moment].” As long as you develop the craft along the ride, he said, that’s what matters. “Then you get the hurdle of getting that film seen. Even if nobody sees it, you learn from that.”

McGregor did not mention his more famous roles but he shared one of the most embarrassing memories he had as a child. His father, a drummer, tricked him into drumming in front of a New Year’s Eve party, despite not ever planning for a live performance. “Luckily, it was late at night, so everyone was absolutely plastered.”

You can check out the rest of Polygon’s coverage of all of New York Comic Con 2023’s news, trailers, and highlights right here.