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Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is a TV personality, actor and motorbike fanatic who has made a successful career from his adventurous trips around the world.
The son of respected film director John Boorman, Charley was a struggling actor until he was cast alongside Ewan McGregor in The Serpents Kiss in1997. The two actors bonded over a love of motorbikes. One night McGregor suggested they do a bike trip together and things quickly snowballed, resulting in a book deal and TV series The Long Way Round, travelling around the world through some of the roughest terrain the planet has to offer. Since then, Boorman has taken viewers along for the ride on a host of marathon adventures, including undertaking the notorious Dakar Rally in 2006.
His trademark jovial style and affable nature gives audiences a unique insight into his experiences and the lives of those he meets along the way.
- Boorman made his acting debut at the age of four in Deliverance, directed by his father John.
- He was a page boy at the wedding of John Voight and Marcheline Bertrand.
- Boorman has been riding motorbikes since he was seven years old. His first motorbike was a Yamaha DT100 which he used to ride through the fields of the farm he grew up on in Ireland. He also took part in schoolboy motor cross and enduro races.
- His other great passion is travelling which he has been doing since he was a little kid, following his father round the world. He says: "I love meeting people and going to odd, dodgy places. The more odd and dodgy it gets, the more alive you become. I think we all need to go out and explore a little bit."
- He says one of the most important things he has learnt on his travels is to always take your own tent and under no circumstances share with another.
- When he was young he followed Olivia, his now wife, to Australia and spent six months in Sydney where he did some labouring and also worked in a bar in Five Ways, Paddington. He also spent three months up in Queensland at Mossman.
- He took part in Dakar Rally in 2006 but had to withdraw after 5 days after breaking his hand.
- His latest adventure, which follows him getting from Sydney to Tokyo By Any Means, started at Freshwater on Sydney's northern beaches where 1500 bike riders joined him on the first leg on his trip.
- His wife's visit to a vet led to his recent diagnosis of testicular cancer. When the vet said he was worried the family dog might have the disease as one of his testicles was harder than the other, she was more anxious about her husband who had noticed a similar change. He now has one silicone testicle.
- Boorman is dyslexic and was made president for Dyslexia Action in 2009. He is also an active supporter of UNICEF, visiting a number of their projects many of which have been covered in his TV shows.
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