Part of Star Wars featuring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Natalie Portman, and Ewan McGregor.
Rise to Fame
Before Anakin Skywalker turned him into a franchise mascot, the roles he was landing were legitimately interesting. Life as a House (2001) earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG nod. Casting director Robin Gurland screened 1,500 candidates before George Lucas made the call, which made sense on paper. Shattered Glass (2003) showed he could carry a drama without a lightsaber. Then the prequels dropped, the internet ran with the wooden dialogue and the sand speech. The ridicule stuck, and audiences forgot the real work he'd done before it.
In the Spotlight
The recovery arc took about fifteen years. After the prequels, he retreated to a farm in Ontario, passed on projects with Clint Eastwood and Liam Neeson, and admitted that stepping away would hurt his career. Ewan McGregor's call about Obi-Wan Kenobi changed the math. The Disney+ series became the platform's most-watched premiere ever. He won a Saturn Award for it. The fans who once memed his performance now show up to conventions specifically for him.
Side Notes
The farm in Uxbridge, Ontario wasn't a brand pivot. He bought it in 2007 and has said he had ambitions for lavender and apple orchards. He co-founded Forest Park Pictures with his brother, the company behind Shattered Glass. His daughter Briar Rose, named after the original Sleeping Beauty character, is shared with Rachel Bilson. When he came back for Obi-Wan Kenobi, she was reportedly his first lightsaber sparring partner.