Ewan McGregor has shared how starring alongside his eldest daughter, Clara McGregor, in the 2024 film "Bleeding Love" contributed to healing their relationship after a difficult period following his divorce from her mother.
During an interview at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, McGregor, 55, became emotional discussing the impact of the father-daughter road trip movie. He described the time after his 2020 divorce from his first wife, production designer Eve Mavrakis, as "a painful time" for his family, which includes daughters Clara and Esther, and adopted daughters Jamyan and Anouk.
McGregor and Mavrakis were married from 1995 to 2017. McGregor married his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, in 2022, and they welcomed a son, Laurie, in 2021.
"Bleeding Love," which Clara also produced and co-wrote, explores themes of reconciliation during a cross-country journey. Clara McGregor asked her father to play her father in the film, a role he accepted.
"It was a very difficult time because I had separated from Clara's mum, and divorced from Clara's mum, and it was a very painful time," McGregor recounted. "My children were very hurt, and Clara was very hurt."
He paused during the interview, visibly emotional, stating, "I'm sorry that took me by surprise." He added that Clara had "expressed her anger very well."
McGregor explained that when Clara later shared she was writing a story about their relationship, he was initially apprehensive. "And when I read it, it was so beautiful and moving, and about reparation of a relationship between a father and a daughter that hadn't fully happened yet between us," he said. "And so it was a very important part of that, for me and her, by being set together, and by telling the story about an estranged daughter.
"It's not autobiographical in any way but there are masses of elements in it that are."
He recalled a specific scene where Clara's character confronts her father. "There was a brilliant moment where she had to fully let her dad have it – and really tells him what she thinks of him in a way, things that she had said to me that she was able to do so in reality," McGregor said. He encouraged her to "just let me have it. Do it" when she hesitated.
The actor's candid remarks follow speculation from 2019 regarding Clara's reaction to his divorce from Mavrakis and his subsequent relationship with Winstead. At the time, Clara McGregor made social media comments that were interpreted by some as critical of her father's new relationship. She later clarified her statements, denying they were directly aimed at her father and stating her mother deserved someone respectful.
McGregor has also collaborated with his younger daughter, Esther, in the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi." He has also starred alongside Winstead in multiple projects.
Speaking at the Edinburgh event, McGregor emphasized that he never ceased to be a father or husband while working with family members on set.