Ewan McGregor's Underrated Performance Sees Him Play Jim Carrey's Lover (2024)

Ewan McGregor’s acting versatility sees him play roles that range from a heroin addict and a Jedi Knight to a melodic, hopeless romantic and an evil maniac with a split personality. McGregor possesses a poised self-assurance which helps him assume diverse roles while also bringing a sensibility to each character that he plays. Aside from McGregor’s most famous roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars and Mark Renton from Trainspotting, he has also brought various characters to life who are extremely underrated. From the young, impressionable, and poverty-stricken Andy in the British cult drama, Brassed Off, to the ridiculously handsome yet totally self-absorbed bachelor in Down With Love, McGregor goes from underground indie films and rom-coms to Hollywood blockbusters and back again. But there is one particular role that McGregor played back in 2009 that totally slipped under the radar when he co-starred alongside Jim Carrey in a film called I Love You Phillip Morris.

The title, I Love You Phillip Morris, sounds more like a romance than a film about an ex-cop who comes out of the closet and becomes a conman, but this plot is actually based on a true story. Steven Jay Russell is an American con artist who became famous for escaping prison four times. In 1995, Russell was placed in a Texas jail for fabricating credentials, but it was there that he met a fellow inmate named Phillip Morris. While in jail together, Russell and Morris fell madly in love. I Love You Phillip Morris details the life and crimes of Steven Jay Russell, who is played by Jim Carrey, while Russell’s boyfriend, Phillip Morris, is played by McGregor. Although Russell and Morris do not meet until about halfway through the film, their lustful and all-encompassing love brings tragedy to the film because Russell begins to commit more fraudulent crimes in order to secure his future with Morris. Russell’s crimes are motivated by love, but this puts a strain on their relationship and compromises Morris’s safety.

I Love You Phillip Morris

R

Comedy

Documentary

Romance

See Also

Steven Jay Russell - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia ReaderVoices from Solitary: The Life of an Escape ArtistSteven Jay Russell: The Great Escape Artist – 1957 | Weird History Facts'Trump is a bigger conman than me': Gay four-time prison escapee Steven Russell

Release Date

January 18, 2009

Director

Glenn Ficarra , John Requa

Cast

Jim Carrey , Ewan McGregor , Leslie Mann , Rodrigo Santoro , Antoni Corone , Brennan Brown

Runtime

102

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

John Requa , Glenn Ficarra , Steve McVicker

Tagline

Do some time with the one you love.

Website

http://www.phillipmorrismovie.net/

Ewan McGregor Has Always Portrayed Gutsy Characters

Morris was put in jail for failing to return a rental car, so the extremities between his and Russell’s crimes are very different, and the same goes for their personalities. While Carrey brings a deluded confidence and an obsessive nature to Russell’s character, McGregor plays Morris as a sweet, caring, humble, and naive man. McGregor brings a vulnerability and realness to his portrayal of hom*osexuality.

Early on in his career when he was starring in indie cult films, McGregor played a few characters who were averse to wearing clothes. For the majority of Pillow Book, an erotic-yet-compelling film about the beauty of the human body, McGregor's character is naked for just about the entire film; he also has a sex scene with an older man. All of that—that takes a lot of guts, but McGregor is a natural when it comes to playing gutsy characters. The ease and openness he brings to his characters reveals his strong sense of self-possession and confidence.

In I Love You Phillip Morris, McGregor plays Morris as someone who is deeply in love as opposed to bringing queer clichés to the character. The element of gender does not seem to occur to McGregor—he simply portrays Morris as a lovesick person, tragically devoted to someone who can't help but engage in deceitful behaviors. Although the film does have comedic elements to it (and Jim Carrey can't help but bring humor to his character), the relationship between Russell and Morris is no joke. They may indulge in materialism after Russell becomes rich illegally, though their love is spurred in jail during a time when they both had nothing to offer except each other's company.

Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey's Relationship Is the Best Part of 'I Love You Phillip Morris'

The chemistry between McGregor and Carrey is wonderfully convincing and sincere: they're open and comfortable with each other, which highlights a shared confidence in their masculinity. The two first meet in the jail library as Morris struggles to reach a book from a high shelf, which Russell then assists him with. While they introduce themselves to each other, Morris is flustered and a little nervous, though their connection is instant: it's love at first sight. Prior to meeting Morris, Russell didn't have much to believe in, and due to his deceitful inclinations, there's some worry that he'll take advantage of Morris. However, Morris quickly becomes the light of his life; his delightful and devoted nature makes Russell's life a whole lot brighter.

McGregor's Scottish inflections are undetectable through his gentle, Southern accent, and his tender kindness makes him stand out in jail. He doesn't belong in such an environment, but he also doesn't change himself in order to fit in or seem tough. In fact, one of the greatest scenes in I Love You Phillip Morris is when Russell is being discharged from jail. As Russell steps onto the bus, Morris navigates his way through all the different areas inside the jail until he is in earshot of Russell. Morris clings onto the wire fence and yells, "I love you!" Russell gazes fondly at Morris from the bus and simply replies, "I love you, Phillip Morris."

'I Love You Phillip Morris' Is a Love Story

McGregor’s multifaceted acting talents are shown in the way that he brings humanity and relatability to his characters. On the surface, the characters in I Love You Phillip Morris don't seem as though they could appeal to us emotionally, and yet, McGregor’s acting invites us to empathize with Phillip Morris. Morris is an innocent, loyal, and honest character who got swept up into a world of crime and deceit simply because he loved Russell. I Love You Phillip Morris is a film that slipped a bit under the radar, perhaps because Hollywood wasn't ready for such a compelling and passionate portrayal of gay love back in 2009. Or, maybe, it's because McGregor and Carrey perform roles that are unlike anything we've seen them play before.

I Love You Phillip Morris is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.

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