Ewan McGregor cried for 12 minutes for Mother, Couch

Ewan McGregor cried for 12 minutes straight as he filmed an emotional scene for his new movie 'Mother, Couch'.

The 53-year-old actor plays a son whose mother causes a scene at a furniture store by sitting down on a sofa and refusing to leave, prompting friends and family to flock to her side in a bid to persuade her to leave the shop - and Ewan's character is seen having an emotional breakdown during a call to emergency service which required plenty of tears.

Director Niclas Larsson told The Hollywood Reporter: "I saw him walking around with headphones and staying in the zone to do his job.

"So the only thing I would want as an actor in that situation is very technical direction, and I just said, ‘I have a 12-minute [camera] mag, so please cry until I see a rollout.’

"Of course, the scene in the final cut is not 12 minutes, but it’s a good five-minute cry. It’s one of the most excellent performances I’ve ever experienced."

The movie stars Ellen Burstyn as the mother as well as Rhys Ifans and Lara Flynn Boyle as estranged siblings.

Larsson added of his cast: "These actors are all role models. Ellen Burstyn played one of the scariest characters of all time in 'Requiem for a Dream', and I remember, as a 15-year-old, being terrified to the bone.

"So, prior to casting 'Mother, Couch', I was like, ‘Well, who’s the scariest old lady in town?’ And she’s the one; she knows it. That’s a real compliment."

He added: "I’m a rookie in Hollywood, so I don’t know how it works. I knew I wanted great actors, and the truth is that the ones you see in the film were on my list for the family. They were on my PDF. So we went out to Ewan and Ellen first. I wrote them letters, and while it sounds like I’m simplifying things, the truth is that, within two weeks, they had all said yes."