Ewan McGregor quit London for Los Angeles because he was sick of posing for "soulless" selfies.
The ‘Birds of Prey’ actor – who has four children with ex-wife Eve Mavrakis and is now dating ‘Fargo’ co-star Mary Elizabeth Winstead – admitted he’d rather be criticised for making "s**t" movies than have to stand around getting his picture taken with fans and used to walk with his head down to avoid making eye contact with people.
He said: "As an actor you have to put yourselves in the shoes of other people and if you don’t get to be in the world then your work isn’t based on anything.
"I don’t want to have to not walk down the street. There are some places where it is easier to do than others.
"It got harder for me in London I felt and I don’t live in London anymore probably, maybe as a result.
"I noticed that when I would go somewhere alone I would be walking very fast with my head down.
"I’m always happy to speak to people if they want to come up and talk about my work, I really am, but it’s turned into just doing selfies with people.
"There is no conversation, there is no communication. All it is is someone comes up and wants a photograph so you stand and you take the photograph and they’re happy and off they go.
"It’s a soulless thing. There’s no exchange of anything.
"Whereas before it used to be ‘Oh I saw you in that movie’. Even if people didn’t like something, especially in Scotland, I would get ‘That movie you were in was s**t by the way’.
"At least there was some sort of exchange and that’s more satisfying for both parties I would think.
"But that’s turned into just the selfie now."
And the 48-year-old star found it particularly "embarrassing" when he’d be approached while trapped in a queue because it would attract a lot of unwanted attention.
He told the ‘Sunday Sitdown’ podcast: "If you’re in a busy place it’s difficult.
"I’ve been asked for selfies when I’m at the airport and going through the line to get to passport control and then you’re stuck there in the queue and everyone’s like ‘Who’s that?’. It’s so embarrassing.
"So I realised I would just be walking with my head down really quickly around London and I don’t really want to be like that in the world."
The ‘Trainspotting’ actor admitted it is difficult to find a balance between wanting to be famous and not always enjoying the attention it brings.
He said: "Partly as an actor you want the success and you want to be famous and at the same time it can make you uncomfortable and difficult so you are sort of wrestling with it."
Ewan McGregor left London to escape ‘soulless’ selfies
