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Ewan McGregor Took Nine Months Off to Spend Time With His Kids Amid Girlfriend Drama

Ewan-McGregor
Ewan McGregor poses on the red carpet upon arrival for the European premiere of the film "Christopher Robin" in London on August 5, 2018.ANTHONY HARVEY/AFP/Getty Images

What would Winnie the Pooh do? Ewan McGregor believes the beloved bear would do nothing, a philosophy he has adopted by taking time off from work to spend with his kids.

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“Since the moment we wrapped, I haven’t worked since making this film last November,” the Christopher Robin star, 47, told Good Morning Britain in an interview that aired on Thursday, August 8. “I just took this time off. I needed to, and I wanted to. I’m about to start something in September, and I look back now and think, ‘What have I done?’ And I’ve done nothing really! But I’ve been really busy doing nothing!”

He added: “That’s a bit of a Pooh-ism really that nothing leads to the best something.”

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Ewan McGregor and Clara McGregor attend the afterparty for ZOE during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival at The Ainsworth on April 22, 2018 in New York City. Rob Kim/Getty Images for 2018 Tribeca Film Festival

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McGregor has used the time to connect with his kids. (He shares Clara, 22, Jamyan, 17, Esther, 16, and Anouk, 7, with estranged wife Eve Mavrakis.) “In actual fact it’s been brilliant having this time off,” he admitted. “I’ve spent a lot of time with my kids. I’ve spent a lot of time doing things that I like to do like riding my old bike and tinkering with old cars … Things that I felt like I wasn’t having any time to do and not really having a great deal of time.”

He continued: “I was thinking, ‘What am I working for?’ I was just working to work and I want to work to live.”

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Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead attend the “Fargo” For Your Consideration event at Saban Media Center on May 11, 2017 in North Hollywood, California. Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

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The Moulin Rouge! actor’s eldest daughter, Clara, made headlines in July when she called out his girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, on Instagram. “Most beautiful and talented woman on earth???” she wrote on a fan account on July 9, along with laugh-cry emojis. “Oh man y’all are delusional. The girl is a piece of trash 🙂 x.”

The Fargo costars were photographed kissing in October 2017, before McGregor publicly split from his wife of 22 years. Mavrakis addressed the breakup rumors in November when a fan expressed disbelief over the situation. “What can I do?” the 52-year-old production designer replied.

McGregor filed for divorce in January 2018. The Golden Globe winner wanted joint custody of the couple’s minor children, while Mavrakis sought sole physical custody and for her ex to get visitation.

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