McGregor drops his film company

McGregor has many acting commitments outside Natural Nylon

Actor Ewan McGregor has left Natural Nylon Entertainment, the film and theatre company he set up with other stars including Jude Law and Sadie Frost.

McGregor decided to break his ties because his mounting film commitments prevented him from being involved, his spokesman confirmed to BBC News Online.

The actor, who plays Obi Wan Kenobi in the latest Star Wars movies, has not appeared in a Natural Nylon production since starring in its debut film Nora, about the writer James Joyce, in 2000.

McGregor, Law and Frost joined Jonny Lee Miller and Sean Pertwee to form their company with the aim of supporting British acting talent - and to keep it in the UK.

Jude Law starred in Dr Faustus on the London stage

As well as Nora, the company's other movies include sci-fi thriller eXistenZ, which starred Law.

The company currently has the film Marlow, about the Elizabethan playwright, "in production", starring Law, UK actress Rachel Weisz and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Natural Nylon also teamed up with the Ambassador's Theatre Group in 2001.

Their joint aim is to produce "an exciting range of drama, comedy and mid-scale musicals on the British stage".

Most notable to date is Natural Nylon's staging of Dr Faustus at London's Young Vic in 2002, again starring Law.

Like McGregor, Law has been busy on high-profile projects outside Natural Nylon, such as A.I: Artificial Intelligence and Road to Perdition.