Ewan Gordon McGregor was born March 31, 1971 in Crieff, Scotland. At 16, he left Crieff and Morrison Academy to join the Perth Repertory Theatre. His parents encouraged him to leave school and pursue his acting goals rather than be unhappy. McGregor studied drama for a year at Kirkcaldly in Fife, then enrolled at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama for a three-year course. He left right before graduating after snagging the role of Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's 1993 six-part Channel 4 series Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) (TV).