Ewan McGregor Motorcycles Around The World

McGregor to travel world — by motorcycle

LONDON, England (Reuters) — Scottish actor Ewan McGregor said Tuesday he undertook survival skills training and medical emergency lessons for his next big project — a round-the-world trip by motorcycle.

The 33-year-old film star will embark on a three-month journey later this week to New York by way of Eastern Europe and the hostile terrain of Mongolia, Siberia and Alaska.

Accompanying him on the 20,000-mile trip to be filmed for a documentary will be his friend Charley Boorman, an actor who is the son of film director John Boorman.

Since January, the pair have trained with ex-soldiers and learned how to perform emergency medical procedures to ensure they can survive any encounters with unfriendly weather, wildlife or serious accidents.

McGregor, who called the adventure a “once-in-a lifetime trip” said Tuesday the pair’s original plan had been to go to China, but then the idea “grew and grew and grew.”

He said he and Boorman would carry everything they needed on their off-road bikes, including camping equipment and tools.

The actor, who last appeared in Tim Burton’s film “Big Fish,” said his wife and two children “understand and are fully behind us.”

But he said: “I think if the whole thing was called off tomorrow they would probably be delighted.”