Obi-Wan's Curse

From imdb.com:

Ewan McGregor's 'Star Wars' Depression Led to Boozing

Movie star Ewan McGregor has admitted to binging on alcohol in order to cope with the depression brought on by his role in the Star Wars prequels. The Scottish actor saw his career skyrocket when he played the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the hit franchise, but soon felt the pressure of being an international movie star. This fueled the Moulin Rouge actor's hatred of the George Lucas- helmed movies - and he began drinking heavily to get through the intense publicity. Ewan admits, "I used to get drunk before meeting journalists. I thought it would get me through. But then it just leads to you saying things that you wished you'd never said - stupid things." But the father-of-two has now curbed his boozing ways, and is happy to be recognized as Obi-Wan by young fans. He says, "After Attack Of The Clones, I stopped drinking for interviews. Now, I'm very happy to do them, I really am. And I like being Obi-Wan Kenobi. I like it when kids speak to me about it because I remember being that way about the first three Star Wars films myself."

I guess Ewan has learned what Alec Guinness learned-- the pressure of being catapulted from acting into inescapable association. Difference is, Guinness was an older man by the time of Star Wars (he was 63) with a long career behind him. And Guinness never turned to the bottle, as far as anyone knows. Not sure I'd have been that way; like Ewan, I'd likely have developed a distinct distaste for everything except alcohol. And, poor Ewan, he faced the inevitable comparisons to Guinness (including, I admit, from me); a tough act to follow. Suddenly, I actually have some sympathy for McGregor.