Who played the young Edward Bloom in Tim Burton’s 2003 film Big Fish?

Ewan McGregor played the young Edward Bloom in Tim Burton’s 2003 film Big Fish.

Big Fish contrasts the legendary stories told by Edward Bloom with the more skeptical viewpoint of his adult son, Will. As Edward approaches the end of his life, Will tries to understand which parts of his father’s extraordinary tales are based on truth.

Albert Finney played the older Edward Bloom, while Billy Crudup played Will Bloom. McGregor appears in the flashback sections that dramatize Edward’s younger years, including encounters with a giant, a witch, a werewolf, and the town of Spectre. Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman also appear as older and younger versions of Edward’s wife, Sandra.

The film was adapted from Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions. Its dual casting is important: McGregor is not the adult son and not the older Edward. He portrays the younger version of the father whose stories drive the film.