Hayden Christensen praises Ewan McGregor at Walk of Fame ceremony

Hayden Christensen is paying tribute to “the best Jedi Master” that any young padawan could ever ask for: his Star Wars castmate Ewan McGregor.

At McGregor’s Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony Thursday, Christensen — who played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the prequel movies and on the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka — fondly remembered meeting his “brother” for the first time on the Australian set of 2022’s Attack of the Clones.

“I walk into this room where I’m told Ewan is going to be, and before I can even put eyes on him, I hear his voice. And he exclaims my name with more enthusiasm than I think I’d ever heard it spoken with before,” the Canadian actor recalled. “I turn and I see him, and then he’s coming at me, and he just gives me the biggest hug. Like, just the most disarmingly warm embrace.”

Christensen noted that McGregor, who played Anakin’s mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, was just “the nicest person” during their initial conversation, telling him all about how excited he was to work with him and to begin their lightsaber training together. 

“He’s just beyond kind to me, and it was immediately apparent to me that I was meeting someone truly special. Not just as an actor, but as a person, and that I was meeting a friend,” Christensen said. He then teased, “A friend who would later go on to chop off both my legs and leave me for dead on the side of a volcano, but I guess I kind of had that coming.”

McGregor burst into laughter and turned toward the crowd after Christensen’s joke, which was a quick nod to Anakin’s fate after his heartbreaking battle against Obi-Wan at the end of 2005’s Revenge of the Sith.

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Christensen maintained that McGregor’s work as Obi-Wan over the years represents a “masterclass in great acting.”

He continued, “To watch him embody this character, it’s like watching magic. And the best kind of magic — not the kind that involves any like trickery or sleight of hand, but the kind that really makes you believe in something bigger. Because he wasn’t just playing Obi-Wan, he was Obi-Wan. I mean, he is Obi Wan. And I really hope we get more Obi-Wan, because this man is just Star Wars gold.” 

Christensen noted that McGregor “brought all of the sort of qualities that we knew about the character” from Alec Guinness’ portrayal of older Obi-Wan in the original trilogy, while simultaneously “imbuing the role with his own depth and emotion” along the way. He added, “I was just in awe the entire time.”

Christensen concluded, “So, my friend Ewan, I want to thank you for being the best Jedi Master that anyone could have ever hoped for. You always had my back and I thank you for that. I’m just so happy to get to be here with you right now. It’s been an honor and a thrill to get to work with you, and swing a lightsaber with you, and more than all of it, call you my friend. I love you, brother.” 

McGregor similarly praised Christensen in his own speech at the end of the ceremony. “We’ve grown up in this crazy world together over these last however many years — it’s been too many, 20, 30 years,” he teased, “and I love you so much.”

McGregor also reflected on his Walk of Fame star being placed mere feet away from late Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher’s star. “I’m so moved that I’m close to my old friend Carrie Fisher, on the pavement here,” he said. “That means a great deal to me too.”