The 51-year-old actor - who became a father for the first time last September when actress Tinglan Hong gave birth to his daughter Jessica - is "embarrassed" by his new obsession with cars and thinks it stems from questioning his life as he gets older.

He said: "I have a new obsession with cars. It`s almost too embarrassing to talk about.

"Motor racing. I go on motor racing trips. I get taught how to drive and now go to bed and read my iPad all about how crankshafts work or disc brakes. It`s weird. I don`t know where it`s come from.

"It`s a midlife crisis. That`s exactly what`s happening to me."

Hugh - who has previously dated Elizabeth Hurley and Jemima Khan - admitted he is only just beginning to understand women.

He told Total Film magazine: "I think [women being inexplicable] is the fascination, isn`t it? I`ve got a bit better at it I think, but I`m a late developer.

"I`m 51 and just beginning to see some of the stuff that`s going on that we, as men, are generally moronic about."

The actor also claimed he enjoys appearing on `sexiest film star` lists, but insists they are not his only targets.

He said: "All of those [lists] are pluses. I can`t pretend I don`t have an ego, and any man would like a bit of that. But it`s not my raison d`etre."
sections: Celebrities