Ewan McGregor says he wanted to do heroin while preparing for Trainspotting

Ewan McGregor has revealed that he considered trying heroin with director Danny Boyle while preparing for his role in Trainspotting. 

McGregor, who played heroin addict Mark Renton in the 1996 flick, admitted that he was young and he ‘just wanted to get f***ed up’.

McGregor made the comments on SmartLess podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, telling the hosts: "At first, early on, I thought: how can you play a heroin addict without having taken it?

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"I was young and I thought, f**k it, just do it. And also John Hodge, our writer, was a doctor, so I thought he could probably get us some and administer it so we don’t die.

"I thought I’d do it with Danny.

"I just wanted to get f***ed up with Danny.

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"But we didn’t.

"Because of course as soon as we started the first thing I remember doing was meeting heroin addicts in Glasgow.”

And it was meeting those addicts that dissuaded the star from trying heroin after all, as he decided it would be ‘disrespectful’ to those who were genuinely dealing with addiction issues.

He said: "We went up to Glasgow and we worked with this group of recovering addicts called the Calton Athletic Club.

"They have soccer teams and they have five-a-side competitions.

"They kicked our a**e.

"I didn't do heroin and I've never done it but I did think about it.

"It did cross my mind and I did say to Danny, 'Do you think we should do it?'.

"But it just really became apparent that that was a really disrespectful idea to the people we were working with."

Last October, it was reported that a spin-off series, centring on Trainspotting character Francis Begbie, was in the works. 

Based on the book The Blade Artist, by Trainspotting writer Irvine Welsh, the series is set to see Robert Carlyle return to the role of Begbie, Deadline reported. 

Carlyle said the ‘prospect of working with Irvine and bringing Francis Begbie to life once more is an absolute gift’.

Welsh added: “Begbie is Begbie and Robert is the long-term friend and collaborator who inspirationally brought the character to life with his incendiary portrayal.

“To say I’m excited at us reuniting creatively on this project is obviously something of an understatement.”

Topics: TV and Film, Ewan McGregor, Drugs

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]