Born in 1971 in Cardiff, Scotland, he rapidly became one of the greatest Scottish movie stars since Sean Connery, climbing in the Hollywood ranks with movies such as Trainspotting, Star Wars Episodes I-III, Moulin Rouge, Black Hawk Down and Robots.

When cast as Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace, an interviewer reminded him of his "aversion" to major films, and he replied "I know what I said, but, hey! This is Star Wars!"

In a recent interview, he told Playboy magazine that "None of my directors ever said: 'I'd rather you didn't drink at work.' And they must have known.".

"I think drinking and being out of control narrows your options in front of the camera. I was just ashamed of myself, really," he added. "Originally, I was a happy drunk. But later I was miserable because it's a depressant."