Ewan McGregor on his vintage Italian motorcycle

February 12th, 2015

Fans of Ewan McGregor should not be surprised that the actor uses two wheels to get around Hollywood. After all, the Moulin Rouge star has created and starred in two television series about lengthy motorbike rides.

On Tuesday the Scottish actor was spotted on his classic Italian motorcycle in Los Angeles.

The 43-year-old looked a bit glum, probably because he's gotten a bad start to the new year; his film Mortdecai - which also starred Johnny Depp and Gwyneth Paltrow - bombed badly at the box office in mid January.

The actor's helmet was a white, eggshell-shaped piece of protection, complete with black-framed goggles to keep out any dust.

While the Star Wars alum wore sunglasses instead of the goggles to deal with the not-so-dusty roads of Southern California, visible beard stubble still made him look like a bit of a tough guy.

To protect against the mild winds, the Trainspotting star wore the motorcyclist's standard: the black leather jacket.

Zipped up and paired with matching black leather gloves, it was evident that Ewan meant business on the bike.

Blue jeans and a grey messenger bag finished off the Mortdecai actor's outfit.

As for that motorcycle, it was a classic, black Moto Guzzi, an Italian design from the oldest manufacturer in Europe.

An avowed lover of motorbikes since his youth, Ewan made that interest into a matter of international celebrity in 2004.

That was when he partnered with a good friend, Charley Boorman, and a cameraman, Claudio von Planta, to bike around the world for the television series, Long Way Round.

Travelling through Europe, Mongolia, Siberia, Canada, the United States, and more, Ewan and his team covered a total distance of 22,345 miles.

They followed up that trip in 2007 with a second journey, from the northern tip of Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa.

This nearly three-month odyssey became the basis for a second TV series, Long Way Down.