Charley Boorman

Charley Boorman is now one of the faces of modern TV adventuring. Having successfully produced adventure travel documentaries for the BBC, SKY and National Geographic Channel since 2004. His first big adventure was the iconic award winning series Long Way Round (2004) biking overland from London to New York via Europe and Asia alongside Ewan McGregor.

Actor

Being the son of the acclaimed film director Sir John Boorman, Charley’s acting career started as a child first appearing in the film ‘Deliverance’ in 1972. Since then he has appeared in ‘Excalibur’, ‘The Emerald Forest’, ‘Hope and Glory’, ‘Karoke’, ‘The Serpent’s Kiss’ and ‘The Bunker’. It was on the set of ‘The Serpent’s Kiss’ that he met friend and fellow motorcycle enthusiast Ewan McGregor, a relationship that sparked a series of adventures followed by fans across the world.

Travel Adventurer

Charley is now one of the best known faces in TV Adventuring . His first big adventure was the iconic award winning series Long Way Round (2004) biking overland from London to New York via Europe and Asia alongside Ewan McGregor. Charley returned to the saddle with Ewan McGregor in 2007 for the Long Way Down, which saw the duo travel from John O’Groats to Cape Town. This also proved an instant hit and produced a best-selling book and DVD. Charley’s love of motorcycles and racing has also led him in 2006 to take part in one of the most demanding and dangerous motor races on earth, the Dakar Rally, documented in the TV series and best selling book Race to Dakar. With fatalities most years at the Dakar, it was a big risk to take on this challenge, and Charley seriously damaged his hands in a crash in the desert. Charley took on the role of team manager and managed to get one rider of the team of three, Simon Pavey, over the finish line, which in a race where an average of only forty percent of entries finish, was still a considerable result.

One of Charley’s biggest challenges to date, captured in the best selling DVD By Any Means (2008), saw him travel solo from Ireland to Australia using any method of transport he could find. Covering some of the world’s most exciting and dangerous terrains, Charley ended the adventure on his best-loved form of transport, the motorcycle, with a visual feast of a convoy of over three hundred bikes across Sydney’s spectacular Harbour Bridge. In the wake of the success of By Any Means Charley undertook By Any Means 2 in 2009 travelling from Sydney to Tokyo.

Extreme Frontiers (2011) followed Charley’s 10,300 mile journey across Canada. Travelling principally on motorbikes, the series sees Charley traversing each of the 10 Canadian Provinces, 2 Frontiers, 3 Oceans and 4 Extreme Frontiers from East to West revealing a unique insight into this beautiful country. Each episode sees him embark on a series of dangerous, frightening, inspiring and hilarious tasks. Charley continued his Extreme Frontiersseries with Charley Boorman’s South African Adventure (2012) which saw Charley travel mainly on motorbikes from the southernmost coastline of the African continent. Traversing the vast and varying landscapes, Charley experienced the sights, sounds, smells, history and culture of the people, the places, the wildlife and the wilderness. From detonating dynamite deep underground, cage diving with Great White Sharks and searching the ocean floor for the perfect diamond, Charley’s South African adventure providesd him with some of his greatest challenges yet. Charley then travelled to the USA for Charley Boorman’s American Adventure (2013) where he and his crew got into some fairly hairy situations! From walking across lava fields next to a live volcano, to building an igloo in Alaska and bringing the rain to Death Valley, Charley experienced the dramatic scenery of the USA travelling from Hawaii up to Alaska and then over to Boston and all along the Southern Belt to California with the traditional biking convoy into LA.

In February 2016 Charley suffered a major road traffic accident in Portugal. Having spent all of his life on some form of motorbike, his world came crashing down after he was knocked off a Triumph Tiger Explorer,

shattering his left leg and breaking his hand and ankle. It was unclear if he would ever walk properly again, let alone ride a motorbike. Since then he has battled through countless operations to get back to strength.

In September 2017 he lead his first motor biking expedition since his accident and is delighted to back on his bike still today. His autobiography – The Long Way Back – was launched in 2017 charting his recovery and looks back at his life in a typically humorous but reflective way.

Most recently Charley took to the road again in 2020 with his long time friend Ewan McGregor travelling The Long Way Up 13,000 miles, through 13 countries from Ushuaia in South America to Los Angeles. An epic adventure travelling on electric Harley Davidson Livewire motorcycles.

Finally the pair have taken to the road again in the latest of their adventures – the Long Way Home – a journey which will launch with Apple TV+ in 2025.