Ewan McGregor, who plays gay opposite
Jim Carrey in I Love You Phillip Morris, says he didn't want
to play a gay stereotype.
The film, which first premiered at the
2009 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, arrives on DVD and
Blu-ray on April 5. (The film's trailer is embedded in the right
panel of this page.)
I Love You Phillip Morris is
based on the true story of Steven Russell (played by Carrey, Liar
Liar) and his improbable transformation from small-town
businessman, father and former cop to gay white-collar criminal and
ingenious jailbreaker. While in prison, Russell falls in love with
his cellmate Phillip Morris (played by McGregor, Star Wars).
In
a clip released on Tuesday, McGregor says he met with the real
Phillip Morris to prepare for the role.
“I went and spent a couple of days
with him in Arkansas and hung out with him a little bit,” McGregor
said. “We talked a lot about his time in prison. And we talked a
lot about his time before that. I just wanted to know as much about
his life as I could.”
“I didn't want to look like a
straight man playing gay,” McGregor added. “I didn't want to
play kind of stereotype – what straight people think gay people are
like. I wanted it to be honest and believable.”