The principal actors behind Obi-Wan Kenobi in major English-language Star Wars screen productions are Alec Guinness, Ewan McGregor, James Arnold Taylor and Stephen Stanton. Guinness and McGregor played him in live action; Taylor voiced him in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, while Stanton voiced an older Ben Kenobi in Star Wars Rebels and Disney Infinity 3.0. This guide covers those documented performances; it is not a complete roster of every dub, game, archival recording or uncredited performer.
Who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in live action?
Obi-Wan’s live-action history spans two performers and two generations of the character: Alec Guinness established the older Ben Kenobi in the original trilogy, and Ewan McGregor played the younger Jedi in the prequels before returning to the role in 2022. StarWars.com’s character page lists the character’s appearances in the original trilogy; Lucasfilm and StarWars.com document McGregor’s later performances.
Alec Guinness: the original-trilogy Ben Kenobi
Guinness played the older Obi-Wan, known as Ben Kenobi, in Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. His portrayal introduced the character to movie audiences as a seasoned Jedi living in exile.
The official Star Wars pages cited here establish his Kenobi appearances but do not provide a sourced account of his other screen work. This guide therefore does not attach an unsourced list of additional credits to Guinness.
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Ewan McGregor: the younger Jedi and his return
McGregor played Obi-Wan in the prequel trilogy and returned for the six-part Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which premiered on Disney+ in May 2022. Lucasfilm described the series as his return to the role more than 15 years after Revenge of the Sith; StarWars.com’s announcement places the story ten years after that film. Lucasfilm’s production page documents the series and its format, while StarWars.com’s series announcement identifies McGregor as its star and gives the story’s setting.
The official sources used here focus on his Star Wars work rather than documenting comparable non-franchise career highlights, so no additional filmography is asserted here.
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Who voiced Obi-Wan in animation?
James Arnold Taylor in The Clone Wars
James Arnold Taylor is the principal voice performer for Obi-Wan in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars. StarWars.com describes Taylor as known for voicing Obi-Wan and Plo Koon in the series and discusses his wider voice-acting work. In the show’s “Deception” arc, Taylor voiced both Obi-Wan and the Jedi’s undercover identity, Rako Hardeen, as an official StarWars.com video page notes.
StarWars.com also profiled Taylor’s voice work and one-man show, offering context for his career beyond this particular performance. Read the profile. These sources do not amount to a complete catalogue of his non-Star Wars roles.
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- OBI-WAN KENOBI: Legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a noble man, gifted in the ways of the Force. He trained Anakin Skywalker and served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars
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Stephen Stanton in Star Wars Rebels
Stephen Stanton voiced Old Ben in Star Wars Rebels’ “Twin Suns.” He also recorded Ben for Disney Infinity 3.0. In a StarWars.com interview, Stanton describes studying Guinness’s performances to shape his voice match. That connection makes Stanton’s performance distinct from Taylor’s recurring animated portrayal of the younger Obi-Wan.
How the Obi-Wan performances differ
| Performer | Version of Obi-Wan | Documented Star Wars work | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alec Guinness | Older Ben Kenobi | A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi | Live action |
| Ewan McGregor | Younger Obi-Wan | Prequel trilogy; Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) | Live action |
| James Arnold Taylor | Animated Obi-Wan; also voiced Rako Hardeen in the “Deception” arc | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Animation |
| Stephen Stanton | Old Ben | Star Wars Rebels episode “Twin Suns”; Ben in Disney Infinity 3.0 | Animation and game voice work |
The character’s appearances are listed in the StarWars.com Databank; McGregor’s series return is described by Lucasfilm; the animated and game credits are detailed in the cited Clone Wars video and Stanton interview.
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What “every actor” means here
These four names cover the principal English-language portrayals supported by the cited official material: two live-action actors and two voice performers associated with major animated productions and a game. They should not be read as an exhaustive list across all languages and media. Dubbing casts, other game appearances, archival or reused recordings, uncredited performers and stunt doubles fall outside this documented scope.
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