And one who wants to show every, well, intimate aspect of a character. Even those rather exposing sides that other actors may shy away from. (Not Ewan, though, as evidenced by his frequently full-frontal body of work on display in Velvet Goldmine, Young Adam, The Ghost Writer, The Pillow Book, Trainspotting and...we're probably forgetting one or two.)

"I believe the movies that I make say something about the world and therefore they should reflect human instincts and natures and desires," he went on. "A big part of that for us is our sexual life and romantic life."

The man is an artiste.