TORONTO (CP) - Ewan McGregor has had an array of vastly different roles throughout his acting career, among them a strung-out junkie, a brave Jedi knight, a lovesick playwright with an impressive singing voice and a suave JFK-era playboy.

The next onscreen persona for the versatile Scottish actor is in Woody Allen's latest film, 'Cassandra's Dream,' in which he plays a struggling Londoner so eager for a well-heeled life that he agrees to kill off a wealthy uncle's business nemesis in order for the big pay-off that will secure his future.

McGregor's enthusiasm for the movie and his self-serving character, Ian, was infectious as he discussed 'Cassandra's Dream' on Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film goes into mainstream release on Nov. 30.

"He doesn't really know what he's doing, Ian - he doesn't really know where he's going but he can just sense that around the corner is a better life," the 36-year-old McGregor said as he leaned forward intently in his chair.

"He's got this idea to invest in these hotels in California, which probably wasn't going to work out. And his lovely girlfriend is going to run off with someone in L.A., there's no question, and he'll end up broke and alone, but he genuinely believes that life is better over the horizon, and so he's driven by his own ambition."

Colin Farrell plays McGregor's jittery brother and reluctant partner in crime. Sporting matching haircuts, the McGregor-Farrell pairing is fun to watch as they light up the screen with Allen's trademark fast-tempo dialogue, this time delivered in the cockney accents adopted by two of the British Isles' best-known actors.

Tom Wilkinson also makes a memorable appearance as their shady Uncle Howard in Allen's first movie to feature not a single American cast member.

Nor does it feature any full-frontal nudity from McGregor, who has proudly displayed his family jewels in at least four films. McGregor and Farrell - a well-known party boy - were on their best behaviour during the shooting of the film, the red-haired actor says, in part because Allen kept them so busy.

"He moves so quickly, Woody - he shoots at such a ferocious pace and he only likes three or four takes," McGregor said.

"So you end up shooting four or five big scenes a day, and then you're back doing four or five big scenes the next day ... so as soon as you get home you're sitting there learning tomorrow's work for three hours because there was so much of it. So there wasn't a great deal of time for going out anyway."

McGregor, in fact, hasn't had a drink in seven years, and is now a devoted husband and father to three girls who range in age from five to 11. He and his wife, Eve Mavrakis, adopted their third daughter from Mongolia last year.

"The girls are brilliant, and it's quite fitting as an actor to have that amount of emotional drama at home. I've never been into football but I do like drama, so it's kind of perfect for me."

McGregor's acting chops and Scottish pedigree led to something of a clamour a few years ago to have him anointed as the new James Bond, but the actor turned down the role in 'Casino Royale' that eventually went to Daniel Craig. While he's never said why, McGregor provided some hints on Tuesday.

"I think he's done a great job, Daniel, and I'll leave it at that," he says with a wide grin. McGregor and Craig are co-starring in an upcoming film, 'I, Lucifer.'

"But really, I think everyone thinks that for British actors, it's the be-all and end-all, and it's not. For me it's not. I enjoy Bond movies as much as the next guy, but there's so much that goes along with it," he said. "The amount of publicity that's required, for example. I like supporting films, but this one is like a day and a half's publicity. If you do a Bond film, that's about three months, and I don't think I could do that."