Obi-Wan Ken Laid To Rest

Ever since the concept of Episode I was first mooted, there's been speculation that Kenneth Branagh had originally been up for the part that Ewan McGregor finally nailed. But in an interview with Empire magazine this month, Branagh finally scotches the rumour. Asked whether he was ever really up for the role, Branagh insists that the story came about when an Australian artist suggested Branagh for a Star Wars trading card. 'When people were starved of information for the new film [this artist] suggested that I would make a good young Alec Guinnesss. And that was it - there was never a glimmer of interest from Lucasfilm.' 'I endlessly explained to people that there was absolutely no truth in the rumour at all,' says Ken, 'but it happened around the time of the real intensification of the internet, and was an example to me of how a rumour like that can travel around the world in 24 hours.' To read the rest of the Public Access interview in which Branagh answers questions put to him by Empire readers check out the May issue of Empire which is out 1 April 2000.