Charley Boorman (born 23 August 1966) is a British television presenter, travel writer and actor. A motorbike enthusiast, Boorman has made four long-distance motorcycle rides with his friend Ewan McGregor, documented in '' Long Way Round'' (2004), '' Long Way Down'' (2007), '' Long Way Up'' (2020) and '' Long Way Home'' (2025)

Early life and background

Born in Wimbledon, London, Boorman spent much of his formative years in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, Ireland. Boorman is the son of German costume designer Christel Kruse and film director Sir John Boorman. Lee Marvin, a lifelong friend of his father, was Charley's godfather.

Acting career

At an early age, Boorman started appearing in films directed by his father. His first role was in ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

'' (1972). In 1981 Boorman played a young

Mordred Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...

in ''

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

'', and was joined by his older sister Katrine Boorman who played Ygraine, Mordred's grandmother. In 1985 he played a leading role in '' The Emerald Forest''. In 1987 he had a non-speaking role in '' Hope and Glory'' as a young German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

pilot parachuting into wartime London, having been shot down; his sister Katrine also appeared in the film. His further acting appearances include '' The Serpent's Kiss'' (1997), on which he met Ewan McGregor, and '' The Bunker'' (2001).

Theatre show

In 2007, Boorman appeared on stage in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

at the Tyne Theatre. The 'evening with' style show then went on a tour around the UK and Ireland in 2010. Around this time Boorman revealed he had

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

. Caught early, he had a testicle removed and has since been a supporter of Movember. Boorman was given the all-clear, but continued telling audiences across the country about his ordeal, encouraging more men to be aware and get checked out early if there was any concern. In 2011, the Charley Boorman Live show toured the UK and Ireland again, following a similar format to the first tour but without support acts. Boorman also began promoting African Adventures, which are commercial 17-day BMW motorcycle trips across Africa. Taking 50 riders from

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

to Victoria Falls, Boorman used various technologies to help promote the trip, including a GPS satellite tracking device allowing people to follow the trip day by day.

Charity work

Boorman has supported the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 2004, carrying out a number of visits to UNICEF projects, which have been noted in his television programmes '' Long Way Round'', '' Long Way Down'' and '' By Any Means''. In 2009, Boorman was made president of Dyslexia Action; he is dyslexic. Boorman has been on many visits to Dyslexia Action's regional centres and was involved in the charity's appeal "It's ME!". He also supported its school initiative "P4L" (Partnership for Literacy). Boorman participated in
live web chat
for the charity where he answered questions about his dyslexia and his various adventures. In 2009, Boorman went to

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

, Afghanistan and visited troops. Kandahar and Bastion were the two key camps he visited, just before Christmas. In February 2014 and November 2016 Boorman presented Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award

at St James's Palace, on behalf of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Edinburgh.

Accident

Boorman was involved in a serious accident test riding a motorbike with journalists in Portugal in 2016. He broke both legs after colliding with a wall while avoiding a car that pulled out in front of him. He then broke his hip riding a Vespa while still in recovery. After a period reliant on a wheelchair, Boorman is back riding, but now walks with a limp as his left leg is 1 cm shorter than his right after operations to repair the breaks.

Presenting career

In 2004, Ewan McGregor and Boorman undertook an international motorcycle journey from London to New York, riding east across Europe, Asia, and North America. This was recorded for a popular television series and book titled Long Way Round. Critical responses were mixed. Along with producer Russ Malkin (from ''Long Way Round'') and a motorbike team, Boorman competed in the 2006 Dakar Rally in January 2006. The event was filmed and the series ''Race to Dakar'' began on Sky2 in the United Kingdom in October 2006. During the rally Boorman was injured and was forced to retire from the race after five days. In 2007, he took another journey with McGregor: '' Long Way Down'', a trip from John o' Groats in Scotland, to

, South Africa. This was televised on BBC2 starting in October 2007. Charley Boorman2

In 2008, Boorman produced '' By Any Means'', which started in his hometown in

, ending in Sydney. He set out to complete the journey "by any means", using local transport appropriate to the area being travelled, and using air travel only when necessary. In 2009, Boorman undertook a journey titled '' Right to the Edge: Sydney to Tokyo By Any Means'', travelling from Sydney to Tokyo via the Pacific Rim. The programme documenting this trip has been shown on BBC2. In 2011, Boorman presented a prime-time adventure series for Channel 5, ''Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers''. This show was another collaboration between Boorman and producer-director Russ Malkin, who made frequent on-screen appearances. ''Extreme Frontiers'' claimed to 'take in all four extremities of Canada'. Accompanying the show was book and DVD. From 9 June to 22 July 2012, Boorman and his team journeyed around South Africa on two motorbikes and a 4-wheel vehicle. Boorman and Malkin returned on Channel 5 at the end of 2013 for his next trip, which was in the US. Starting in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, he moves to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, then to the Eastern seaboard and down to the Southern states, inland to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, up again to the Rockies and finishing on the Pacific Coast at

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. For '' Long Way Up'', Boorman and McGregor travelled in 2019 from Ushuaia in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

through

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire motorbikes. In 2022 Boorman began presenting ''Motorbike TV'', a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

entertainment show for Motorsport.TV.

Filmography

Film

*''

'' (1972) - Ed's Boy *''

'' (1981) - Boy Mordred *'' Nemo'' (1984) - Cunegond / lift Operator *'' The Emerald Forest'' (1985) - Tomme *'' Hope and Glory'' (1987) - Luftwaffe Pilot *''Ada dans la jungle'' (1988) - Nancy *'' Mister Frost'' (1990) - Thief *''Connemara'' (1990) - Loup *''Massacres'' (1991) - Ronny *'' Beyond Rangoon'' (1995) - Photographer *'' Two Nudes Bathing'' (1995, Short) - The Painter *'' The Serpent's Kiss'' (1997) - Secretary *'' Cannes Man'' (1997) - Himself *''Cash in Hand'' (1998) - George Tompkins *'' The Bunker'' (2001) - Pfc. Franke *'' I, Cesar'' (2003) - Charley Fitzpatrick *'' In My Country'' (2004) - Adam Hartley *''Travellers'' (2011) - Brian Seaborn *''David Knight: Iron Man of Enduro'' (2004) - Himself - Narrator

Bibliography

*'' Long Way Round'' (2004 – With Ewan McGregor) *'' Race to Dakar'' (2006) *'' Long Way Down'' (2007 – With Ewan McGregor) *'' By Any Means'' (2008) *'' Right to the Edge: Sydney to Tokyo By Any Means'' (2009) *'' Extreme frontiers'' (2011) *''Long Way Back'' - Autobiography (2017) * " Long Way Up" (2020- With Ewan McGregor) * " Long Way Home" (2025- With Ewan McGregor)

References

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995''. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 363.

External links

* * * ''WideWorld'' magazine �
Interview with Charley Boorman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boorman, Charley Living people 1966 births English explorers English male child actors English male film actors English people of Dutch descent English people of German descent Long-distance motorcycle riders Male actors from County Wicklow Motorcycling mass media people People educated at Sibford School People educated at St Gerard's School, Bray People educated at St Kilian's German School Actors with dyslexia People from Wimbledon, London British actors with disabilities Television presenters with dyslexia British writers with disabilities Actors from the London Borough of Merton Writers from the London Borough of Merton Male actors from London