Trainspotting (film) discussing which chapters of the book would and would not translate into film. Hodge finished the first draft by December. Macdonald secured financing from Channel 4, a British television station known for funding independent films. Pre-production began in April 1995. Ewan McGregor was cast after impressing Boyle and Macdonald with his work on their previous film, "Shallow Grave". According to Boyle, for the role of Renton, they wanted the quality of Michael Caine's character in "Alfie" and Malcolm McDowell's character in "A Clockwork Orange", "repulsive ... with charm "that makes you feel deeply ambiguous about what he's doing." McGregor shaved
Christopher Eccleston moving to Little Hulton when Eccleston was seven months old. Eccleston attended Joseph Eastham High School, where he became head boy. At the age of 19, he was inspired to enter the acting profession by such television dramas as "Boys from the Blackstuff". Eccleston completed a two-year Performance Foundation Course at Salford Tech before going on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama. As an actor, he was influenced in his early years by Ken Loach's "Kes" and Albert Finney's performance in "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", but he soon found himself performing the classics, including the