Ewan's first night nerves

Ewan McGregor is preparing for his role as Sky Masterson in Guys And Dolls
11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Hollywood star Ewan McGregor told today how he is preparing his voice for his new role in the musical theatre production of Guys And Dolls.

The star of films such as Star Wars, Moulin Rouge and Trainspotting plays the lead role of Sky Masterson in the forthcoming West End production.

Today McGregor, 34, said he had been taking singing lessons for his part in the revival of the 50s show.

The Scottish actor will be making his West End musical debut as the chronic gambler who falls in love with a missionary.

McGregor danced and sang in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge with Nicole Kidman, but this will be his first stage singing role.

The actor's last stage appearance was in 1999, when he starred at the Comedy Theatre in Little Malcolm and his struggle against the Eunuchs.

Although initially worried about the singing aspect of the role, it was the physical aspect which left him slightly nervous on his first day.

McGregor said: "It's quite full-on. But maybe it was the element of the musical that I considered the least beforehand.

"I was worried about singing and going back on stage and then suddenly I saw the choreography and thought 's**t'."

He said about his voice: "It was something I worried more about before we started. A lot of people were worrying me saying, 'How's your voice'. I could sense there was this kind of panic around me but I worried a lot less once we started. Your voice gets stronger and stronger.

"You become incredibly aware of not damaging your vocal chords, you don't go to places that are too noisy, you don't go to noisy or smoky restaurants. You just take care of it."

He said he loved returning to the theatre. He said he was excited about returning to the theatre.

"I love it. We've rehearsed for two weeks and I feel full up on it. I think it's really important to work on stuff like this.

"These two weeks have been more fulfilling than any of my movies which can be very draining. I needed my fix."

McGregor stars with Alfie actress Jane Krakowski as Miss Adelaide, Douglas Hodge as Nathan Detroit and Jenna Russell as Sarah Brown.

Hodge said the physical nature of the piece meant the main ensemble looked like they were competing in the Olympic Games.

"The minute you arrive you can see that they can all do the splits and things like that and Ewan and I were just standing at the back holding hands and worrying about how fit they are.

"But we all do work-outs in the morning, physical workouts every day... it's a heightened energy show."

McGregor said he would not be comparing his performance as the chronic gambler who falls in love with a missionary with Marlon Brando, who immortalised the role in the 1955 Hollywood movie which also starred Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra.

"I can assure you that I don't start thinking, 'That's a bit like Brando I mustn't do that'. You just try to find the character and see how it fits in your shoes."

The stars promised that the production, directed by Michael Grandage, artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse would be different to the 1982 production at the National Theatre and that the audience would "come out with a smile on their face".

Asked why he took the role, McGregor said: "Little Malcolm... was almost five years ago and up until that point it had been seven years until I had been on stage.

"I promised to never let it be that long again. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to go back to the theatre.

"My experience of Little Malcolm... was being part of an incredible theatre company and cast.

"As opposed to coming back to the theatre as a movie actor doing Hamlet or a Scottish King I was much more interested in being part of a company. You can rely on them and they can rely on you.

"I'd never done a musical before other than a movie and it's great to do things you've never done before."

The show will open at the Piccadilly Theatre on June 1.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in