Charley Boorman

Charley Boorman (born 23 August 1966) is a British television presenter, travel writer and actor.

His first role was in Deliverance (1972).

In England, he went on to attend Sibford School, a Quaker school near Banbury, Oxfordshire (from 1980 to 1983).

He and his wife Olivia have two daughters and live in London.

At an early age, Boorman started appearing in films directed by his father.

In 1981 Boorman played a young Mordred in Excalibur, and was joined by his older sister Katrine Boorman who played Ygraine, Mordred's grandmother.

In in 1985 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 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).

A motorbike enthusiast, Boorman has made three long-distance motorcycle rides with his friend Ewan McGregor, documented in Long Way Round (2004), Long Way Down (2007), and Long Way Up (2020).

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

Boorman attended three schools in Ireland: St Gerard's School (Bray, County Wicklow) and St Oliver Plunkett Primary School (Monkstown, County Dublin), both Roman Catholic schools, the latter a school dedicated to teaching children with dyslexia.

He also attended the German-language medium school, St Kilian's Deutsche Schule (Dublin).

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 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.

Critical responses were mixed, with one noting 'Boorman comes across as a copper-bottomed, ocean-going, 24-carat prick.'

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.

In 2007, Boorman appeared on stage in Newcastle upon Tyne at the Tyne Theatre.

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 a live web chat for the charity where he answered questions about his dyslexia and his various adventures.

In 2009, Boorman went to Helmand Province, Afghanistan and visited troops.

Kandahar and Bastion were the two key camps he visited, just before Christmas.

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.

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 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.

In February 2014 and November 2016 Boorman presented Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Awards at St James's Palace, on behalf of The Duke of Edinburgh.

Boorman was involved in a serious accident test riding a motorbike with journalists in Portugal in 2016.

Boorman 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.