I didn't decide to change it, I was told to because British Equity already had somebody called Iain Morton. I chose Euan for one reason : it sounded like Iain. I didn't want to change my name, I really liked the name Iain, and my mother certainly didn't want me to change it. My parents suggested "change your last name to something else !". Actually my mum came up with a really good name recently, she said "why didn't you call yourself Iain Emms ?", because my real name is Iain Middleton, and Iain Morton, and Iain Marshall — my mother's maiden name — so it's always been Ms. Iain Emms would have been a really good name, but I said "Mum you're 9 years too late !". I would have loved that name but I'm Euan Morton and there's nothing we can do about that. Even my grandparents sent me a card "Happy Christmas to Euan " last year. Everyone is used to calling me Euan now and that's a great name, I can just live off Ewan McGregor's fame ! Someone said to me once in the Food Emporium on 43rd street, "You're Ewan McGregor !" and I said "No, I'm really not, thank you, but I'm not", "No you are, you're Ewan McGregor from Taboo ! ". And I said "No, I'm Euan Morton from Taboo, Ewan McGregor is a Scottish, very famous, very wealthy film actor, not me, not me". So I'm living off his fame, that's cool ! (laughs)
Q: Do you like the countryside ? Would you define yourself as rural or urban ?
I'm urban when I need to go out for a drink, and I'm rural when I need to be alone.
Q: But do you sometimes spend time in the countryside ?
Sometimes, and sometimes I spend time in the city. You see, I don't understand the difference between rural or urban because we're all living in the same fucking world. You might be surrounded by a farm and some trees and I might be surrounded by the Time Warner building but that does not give me the right to be different from you. I love the countryside, when I was a kid we travelled all over Scotland. That's where we holidayed, it was always rural holidays, living in a caravan for a couple of weeks, hanging out with the sheep, swimming in the sea...
I try not to look at the world as being rural or urban, or black or white or green or yellow or gay or straight, or marriage or not. I try not to separate myself in that way, because it's far too narrow, we're not living in such a world these days. I look at my life as a part of a globalized society. So I can be globalized but live in Derby in Britain, or I can be completely secular and insular and live in Marseilles in France. It doesn't matter where you are or what you're surrounded by, it's about how you approach it. Put me in the city or put me in the country, I'm not any different as a person. Neither of them make me any better or worse, they just happen to be the places I am in. I live my life for who I am as a person, not for where I am in the world, except Mallorca, which changes everything ! (laughs)
Q: A completely random question now : can you repair things ? Do you sometimes use things like a hammer or a screwdriver ?
My God, every now and then, yeah ! I've been living on my own for a year and a half now, since I came to America, so I kind of have to. You know, I'm good at changing light bulbs, and changing plugs, making sure the microwave works... I guess I can be as handy as I need to be. And if I can't do it I'll just phone somebody and get them in. (laughs)
Q: But for example would you call the plumber or would you repair things yourself ?
Well it depends, doesn't it ! If my toilet was blocked I'd try and do it myself, but if my shower were leaking into the flat downstairs I'd call a plumber. I mean, I'm an actor, not a plumber ! (laughs)
Q: Can you tell me about your eating habits ?
They're all bad, that's all you need to know ! (laughs) I eat bad food, bad !
Q: You're not a vegetarian ?
No, I tried to be a vegetarian once but oh God I had McDonald's in the end... I no longer eat McDonald's though, because they're fascists !
Q: A few months ago you said you were writing songs, how is it going ?
It's going well, we were in fact going to do one in this current show [Ed note: Zipper Theatre gigs in New York] but I need to build up my confidence before I start performing my own writing. So right now we're doing David Nehls' writing rather than mine.
Q: Do you focus more on the lyrics or the music ?
The lyrics, as I said I don't play any instruments.
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Our conversation ended shortly afterwards as Euan had to get ready for the Rockin' At The Zipper concert that was taking place later on the same night. We hope you enjoyed reading this refreshing, outspoken interview. No doubt we will soon hear of Euan's song- and film-writing projects !
We would like to thank Euan for taking the time to answer our questions, but most of all for speaking his mind so freely on so many different subjects. ;)
Special thanks to Kristine for her precious help. :p
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