Ewan McGregor as Black Mask in Birds of Prey
Warner Bros.

Obsessed With the Ghost Who Tried to Kill Ewan McGregor

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Warner Bros.

I am but a humble fan of Ewan McGregor. I have been since I was seven and watched Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. (I then went on to love Moulin Rouge at nine and thus my life has been one constant pull towards Ewan McGregor movies.)

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While I love the actor exceedingly and have for quite some time, I think I have never loved him more than when he started to tell Seth Meyers about a ghost haunting that he experienced when he was younger. On Late Night to promote Birds of Prey, McGregor had quite the story to tell about his apartment from drama school.

The apartment? Oh, it just happened to be inhabited by a ghost who burned the back of McGregor’s robe and dropped in the ceiling on him for no reason.

In the video, McGregor explains that he was a broke drama student living in this apartment and he went to watch Blue Velvet in a VHS player. Afterward, he felt like something hit him on his back. He worried that the VHS player was on fire and had sparked his robe, but no cigar. Then, when he took off the robe, he realized that the entire back of it was burned. The surprise? That Ewan McGregor just continued to live there, after what was clearly some sort of ghost-warning. He later learned that the ghost who was haunting him was a former reclusive tenant of the apartment below his—who had an awful, tragic story that aligned with McGregor’s experience.

Later, the ceiling fell in, and he also experienced phantom phone calls and squeaking-open doors.

Why might this unfortunate ghost decide to target Ewan McGregor? Let’s go on this journey if you will. For context, here are some pictures of Ewan McGregor when he was younger. Is this what he looked like at the time? I don’t know, but I’m going to believe this is the kind of energy he was bringing into this ghost’s home that caused a reaction.

Now imagine you’re the ghost, and there’s this kid who strolls up into the nice home that you’re haunting, and he’s talking about acting nonstop. As an actor, I know how insufferable we are, so this old man who died while just trying to make some food had to sit and listen to acting techniques and the struggle of emotionally connecting to the work.

If I was this ghost, I’d probably also be like “oh, you want to struggle? Here how about struggling to find a new bathrobe.” I do have to say though, I love that the landlord defended the ghost by talking about how nice the old man who used to live there was. Love to stan a nice tenant.

Ewan, I’m glad you survived this ghost attack and went on to become a Force Ghost and also fight your ghost father in Doctor Sleep. May you continue your ghost adventure!

Do you have a ghost story of your own? Tell us in the comments.

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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.