Ewan McGregor Discusses the Perils of Narrating Nature Docs

Ewan McGregor could simply live off of being Obi-Wan Kenobi for the rest of his life. No one would blame him. But his resume is a lot more impressive than that. He’s done just about everything in Hollywood. One job we didn’t even know about, though, is his role being Scotland’s answer to David Attenborough. The Star Wars alum narrates nature documentaries for the BBC in his home country. With smooth pipes like his, it’s easy to see why they picked him. However, as Seth Meyers pointed out, there is a downside to being the voice of the natural world. Because sometimes you tell the tale of a baby bird falling off a giant cliff into a rock. And that’s how you end up traumatizing a four-year-old.

McGregor virtually visited Late Night With Seth Meyers to discuss his new Netflix series Halston. But first the host wanted to discuss McGregor’s role with BBC Scotland. While trying to find a video about guillemots for his young son to watch during the pandemic, Meyers learned McGregor narrates nature documentaries. That sounds like a pretty great gig. Right up until you have to calmly describe a baby bird plunging to what appears to be certain death. (The actual clip makes the whole thing so much worse.)

That poor…. wait, really? They’re called “jumplings?” Guess that’s better than “probablygonnadielings.”

McGregor said the director assured him the baby bird survived. But he clearly isn’t sure if that’s true or not. What is a fact, though, is that McGregor had to do some of his recent nature narration in his underpants. The pandemic forced him to work in a tiny, overheated alcove in his Los Angeles home.

Split screen of Seth Meyers and Ewan McGregor, with 30 Rock in purple light behind themNBC

We’re not sure if that’s better or worse than possibly narrating a baby bird snuff film. But as a Star Wars veteran, at least Ewan McGregor knows things fall to their death all the time.

Top Stories
Trending Topics