Ewan McGregor's Star Wars Stunt Double Suffered A Major Injury Shooting This Fight

In George Lucas' 2002 film "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) travels to the distant planet of Kamino, searching for an assassin that had previously given him the slip. Obi-Wan locates a mysterious figure named Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), but also actually discovers something far more insidious. It seems that Jango Fett has also been donating his DNA to the denizens of Kamino so that they can raise a massive army of clones. This has all been done in secret and under shady auspices. When Obi-Wan deduces that Jango Fett is indeed the assassin he had been looking for, there is a brief fight between the two. Obi-Wan has trouble fighting in the Kamino rains, however, and Jango flees with his son Boba (Daniel Logan). 

Much of "Attack of the Clones" was filmed on partial sets and against green screens. The amount of digital filmmaking that went into Lucasfilm was unprecedented at the time, and he even insisted that the film be projected on the then-new digital projectors whenever possible. Many of the characters were also animated, another boon for digital special effects.

But real-world actors were still required to engage in high-octane fights, and stunt people had to do just as much hard work as usual to perfect their fight choreography. Indeed, some of them still got injured, as was the case with Nash Edgerton, Ewan McGregor's stunt double. In a recent appearance at the Chicago Fan Expo (handily covered by EW), McGregor talked about the Obi-Wan/Jango Fett fight, and how poor Edgerton took an unexpected blow to the mouth when performing a backflip. It was not a pleasant sight. And, to make matters worse, Nash Edgerton's mother just happened to be visiting the set that day, and she witnessed her son break his teeth. 

If the name Nash Edgerton is familiar, it's because he's known for more than just his extensive stunt work. Edgerton is also a director who helmed the 2008 thriller "The Square" and the 2018 comedy "Gringo." His brother, Joel Edgerton, also appeared in "Star Wars" movies as the young Owen Lars. McGregor was positively chuffed to have an experienced stunt performer like Edgerton as Obi-Wan's stunt double, knowing that he had worked on films like "The Matrix." McGregor, however, recalls witnessing the unfortunate backflip that crushed Edgerton's teeth. From the sound of it, Edgerton was actually quite badly injured, but moreso, it was embarrassing to have hurt himself in front of his mother. In McGregor's words: 

"He was my stunt double for years in 'Star Wars' ... His mum was on set to visit, and he was doing, you know, the fight in the rain with Jango Fett. [...] I had to do a big backflip, and he landed, and he broke his teeth! And he was like, he was so aware that his mum was there that he was just, like, 'I'm alright, mum!'"

McGregor said that Edgerton "had really hurt himself," but that he did make a full recovery. McGregor even noted that Edgerton's teeth these days are very lovely. EW noted that Edgerton once expressed how stoked he was to be part of "Star Wars," saying in an IGN interview that "Ewan is one of the nicest guys I've ever worked with, and just to hold a lightsaber in my hand was awesome." It's far past due, but beginning in 2028, the Academy Awards will have a special category honoring stunt performers. Edgerton would certainly have been nominated had the category existed in 2002. And there were no hard feelings. Edgerton returned for "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" in 2005.