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Perthshire-born Hollywood star Ewan McGregor has come out in support of Scottish independence after claiming the Brexit vote changed his mind.
The Star Wars and Trainspotting actor revealed his change of heart when appearing via video chat on USA talk show ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’.
“I was always for keeping the union, I think it worked, it works,” said Ewan, who began his acting career at Perth Theatre.
“I think Scotland has been voting for a government that they haven’t been given for years. We’re a very left-voting country, Scotland and we’ve been under Conservative rule for years.”
McGregor, who grew up in Crieff, spoke out against independence at the 2014 referendum, but then later admitted to being “totally confused” about his stance as a result of Brexit.
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He said he was in Scotland filming T2: Trainspotting in 2016 when the Brexit vote took place.
After seeing the map of the areas that wanted to remain in the EU and the areas that wanted to leave the EU, he said: “I thought, ‘That’s it, you know. The Scottish people want to stay in the European Union and the English don’t.’
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The dad of four previously told BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that he tried hard to stay out of the independence debate in 2014.
“I was worried Scotland would flounder if it was on its own and I believed in the union and I felt like we were stronger together.”
He told how when he was filming and the EU referendum results were coming in, he had told colleagues the count would swing back in favour of remain.
He said: “By the time I got home, I switched the TV on and there’s Farage doing his victory speech.
« I thought, ‘He’s made a mistake, he’s going to be embarrassed because he’s announced victory too soon’.”