Ewan McGregor's uncle tried to talk him out of appearing in Star Wars

Ewan McGregor's uncle Denis Lawson played X-Wing pilot Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy but he wanted his nephew to turn down the role as a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy because he found his association with the sci-fi franchise annoying.

In an interview on TV show 'Sunday Today', the 48-year-old actor said: "When my parents took me to see Star Wars for the first time in the cinema, to see my uncle on screen but also it was Star Wars, it blew my mind.

"(My uncle) was always really dismissive of it because he did a couple of weeks work, sitting in a cardboard spaceship ... and yet he had this massive following. It sort of annoyed him."

However, Ewan is pleased he ignored the pleas of Denis, 72, because he loved playing the Jedi Knight in George Lucas' three movies.

The Birds of Prey actor recalled: "He was one of the people who said, 'Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it'. And then the nearer I got to it, the more I wanted to do it. I'm so glad I did because it was so interesting to be part of that."

Ewan is set to reprise his role as Obi-Wan in a new Disney+ series but the project has been put on hold as the makers wanted to improve the scripts, although the actor suggested that the news shouldn't be any cause for concern.

Ewan said: "The scripts are really, really good. They want to make them better. It's not as dramatic as it sounds."