Ewan McGregor with his wife, Eve Mavrakis
Ewan McGregor with his wife, Eve Mavrakis Reuters

Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor has revealed that he was with "many, many, many women" before he found love with his wife, French production designer Eve Mavrakis.

The 41-year-old heartthrob made the admission that he had enjoyed countless flings in his heyday during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on 13 April.

The Trainspotting star also said he felt lucky to have found the right person to settle down with and has been married to Mavrakis for 17 years.

He told Norton: "I knew right then that I really wanted to be with her and I knew I wanted to be with her in a different way to all the other many, many, many women I had been with up until that point. And I wasn't wrong. I made the right choice."

The Scottish actor appeared on the show to discuss his new movie, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

McGregor met Mavrakis, 45, on the set of the British TV show Kavanagh QC, before his he broke into big screen movies.

The couple, who tied the knot in 1995, live in Los Angeles and have four daughters, who range in age from 15 to one.

A heart and dagger tattoo on the family man's right arm bears the names of his wife and daughters.

Despite fierce speculation in the past about extra-marital affairs with Moulin Rouge co-star Nicole Kidman and French actress Melanie Laurent, McGregor insists that his love for his wife is strong.

"[There is a] lovely feeling of having been with someone for a really long time," he said. "You're so comfortable in each other's company."