Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
car free

L.A. and Hollywood: Turning the Carfree Into Drivers

Carey Mulligan, we hardly knew you.

Mulligan and LeBouf discussing how cool a Metro Bus/Transformer would be.  Photo: INF Daily via Daily News
Mulligan and LeBouf discussing how cool a Metro Bus/Transformer would be. Photo: INF Daily via Daily News

Just in time for the release of Wall Street II: Money Never Sleeps, comes news that formerly car-free movie star Carey Mulligan has been converted to a car driver because of a scene where she's driving a car and how easy it is to get a license here in Los Angeles.  From Entertainment Weekly (page 125 of the Fall TV issue "Carey Mulligan Learns to Drive":

"[In London] I took an intensive course - two weeks, five hours a day, in a manual car.  Then I took the test, and within three minutes of leaving the test center, the instructor had to use the emergency brake, which means you've failed.  Then we had to do 40 more minutes of driving around, when I knew there was no way I could pass."

"I still can't drive in London, but I finally got my license in L.A.  I've got an automatic there, and they're not quite so rigorous in the test.  I've got it down in L.A.!"

Back in the days of yore (otherwise known as December, 2009), it was common to see Mulligan and her on-screen and real life boyfriend Shia LeBouf sharing a bus bench or riding the bus here in L.A.  LeBouf's presence is surprising.  I thought he preferred cars that turned into giant talking robots.

No word on whether she switched to driving because her bus route was cut.

(H/T to Clarence Eckerson)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

L.A. City Fiscal Year 24-25 Bikeway Mileage Buoyed by Completed Paths

This year L.A. City added 35.6 lane-miles of new or improved bike facilities - about half of that was new bike/walk paths

November 18, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines

ICE, ESFV rail, TAP-to-Exit, ULA, L.A. River, Glendale, rain, OC Streetcar, car-nage, and more

November 18, 2025

This Week In Livable Streets

The War on Cars, Burbank-Chandler bike path, Long Beach backbone bikeway, Metro meetings, CicLAvia Things get Stranger, and more.

November 17, 2025

Monday’s Headlines

ICE, Orange Avenue Long Beach, Burbank, Measure HLA, Melrose CicLAvia, LAPD, Jesse Marquez, La Cañada, car-nage, and more

November 17, 2025

Friday Round-Up: Pico Blvd., Koreatown Circle, and SGV E-Bikes

LADOT installs pedestrian safety upgrades at deadly Ktown intersection. Apply for SGV e-bike vouchers by Monday. LADOT plans major safety upgrades on Pico Boulevard.

November 14, 2025

Friday’s Headlines

ICE, rain, Measure HLA, L.A. River path, 5 Freeway widening, Koreatown, LAX, South Gate, Glendale, car-nage and more

November 14, 2025
See all posts