Broadway Favorite Ewan McGregor to Make Feature Film Directorial Debut

Film star Ewan McGregor, who recently made his Broadway debut in a revival of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, is set to take on another artistic first. McGregor will helm Lakeshore Entertainment’s film American Pastoral, according the Variety.

The film, based on Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, follows a successful Jewish-American businessman whose life is ruined by the turmoil of the 1960s. McGregor will also star in the film, along with Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning. John Romano wrote the screenplay. Phillip Noyce was originally announced to direct.

Ewan McGregor is known for his roles in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Trainspotting, and Big Fish, among others. In The Real Thing on Broadway, he starred with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Cynthia Nixon.