Born on January 13th 1977 in Canterbury, England, Orlando Bloom's plans of becoming an actor developed quite early when he realized that the characters on TV and in the movies weren't real, that they were actors. "Once I realized that I could be Superman or I could be The Hustler or I could be Daniel Day Lewis's character in The Last Of The Mohicans - I was like, "Man, I can become an actor and be all of those things." In 1993, he moved to London to improve his career, doing bit parts in TV series like "Casualty". Orlando spent two years at the National Youth Theatre before getting a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. His first memorable appearance, a cameo in the critically acclaimed movie Wilde in 1997, earned him various film offers, which he all turned down in favor to play theatre. After Wilde, Orlando attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for 3 years. On stage, he appeared in plays like "The Seagull", "Twelfth Night", and "Trojan Women". Peter Jackson then "discovered" the classically handsome Bloom for his much hyped Lord Of The Rings trilogy in 1999. After doing the three Rings movies with Jackson, he worked with Ridley Scott on Black Hawk Down. Since then, he has been working on new projects non-stop. In 2003, four of his movies will be released: The Kelly Gang, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Calcium Kid, and The Return of the King. When he's not working, Orlando divides his time between London and Los Angeles.
Facts
His birth date is January 13, 1977, making him 27 years old.
His nicknames are Orli and OB.
He has brown hair and brown eyes.
He's around 5'11" (180 cm)
He's not married.
He used to smoke, but quit in 2002, which caused him to start biting his nails instead.
While filming Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, he got into sky diving, bungee jumping, paragliding, surfing and snowboarding. Now he enjoys "just taking time to walk whether it be on location somewhere or on a beach." "most of the time I just chill with my friends and have a mellow time" He also enjoys photography, shopping and buying old antiques, and he "can't stand computers".
He says he's accident prone, and has the injury list to prove it. He's broken his back, his ribs, his nose, both his legs, his arm, his wrist, a finger and a toe, and cracked his skull three times!
A year before doing the Lord of the Rings, he fell 3 stories off a friend's porch while trying to open a jammed door and broke his back. He was almost confined to a wheelchair, but luckily the doctors were able to patch him up. Read more about his fall here.
His sister Samantha is 2 years older than him.
He had a dog named Maude but had to give her up because of work. He may have a new dog!
His father, Harry Bloom, died when Orlando was 4 and was a legendary figure in antiapartheid circles in South Africa. Harry also wrote a famous tome called Episode In The Transvaal, was jailed for his beliefs, and worked alongside Nelson Mandela. Orlando and his sister were raised by their mother, Sonia, and a guardian, Colin Stone. When Orlando was 13, his mother told him that Harry was not his biological father, that Colin was.
Has a tattoo of 'nine' in Elvish on his right forearm, and a sun on his torso that he got when he was 15.
He can speak French.
He has 3 A levels, two at grade A (one was art and sculpture - he is particularly good at sculpture and pottery and art), one at A level for Photography, and one at Grade C which was Religious Studies. He also has 8 'O' levels and has a BA (Hons) Drama degree from Guildhall School of Music and Drama - so he is Orlando Bloom BA (Hons).
As a kid, he was dyslexic, and now he says he is "mildly dyslexic".
He says he's currently into "all sorts of music, mostly the Ben Harper, the David Gray, and the Bob Dylan type of folk music."
For LOTR, he had to learn archery, how to ride a horse bareback (while shooting an arrow), and how to fight and wield two swords. "I started off with archery, I rode about 20 different horses, I had physical training in the gym, and I had to learn the Elvish ways of speaking and fighting. Their fighting is based on ancient European and Asian martial arts, so I had a trainer who taught me how to use the blades. I also did a lot of movement training, because movement is my way into the character." - SFX Magazine
He originally auditioned for Lord of the Rings in the part of Faramir, Boromir's brother, who wouldn't be introduced until The Two Towers. But Peter thought he would be perfect for Legolas instead. Orlando learned that he got the part the day before he graduated from Guildhall.
He wears a replica of the One ring that says "To wherever it may lead." It was given to him by one of the make-up artists on LOTR.
Favorites and Firsts
Favorite Color: Yellow.
Favorite Foods: Pasta, pizza, oatmeal, rice and vegetables and baked potatoes.
Favorite Vegetable: Spinach.
Favorite Football Team: Real Madrid. It was Manchester United until David Beckham moved to Real Madrid.
Favorite Sports: Snowboarding and Surfing.
Favorite Actors: Johnny Depp, Edward Norton, Paul Newman, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Favorite Movie: Stand By Me. He also likes The Hustler and Amelie.
Favorite Type of Girls: "Nice, sweet girls."
First Job: A clay trapper at a pigeon shooting range when he was 13.
First Movie Role: Rentboy in Wilde.
First CD: Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. Michael Jackson's Thriller was his first 45.
First Car: A darkgreen VW Golf that cost 160 Pounds ($230).
First Hollywood Crush: Linda Evans on Dynasty.
First Concert: Jamiroquai in Canterbury.
Quotes
"When you start falling for somebody and you can't stop thinking about when you're going to see them again, I love that," "Women are beautiful. They deserve to be cherished and respected." And, he adds with a laugh, "They're a handful."
"People come into your life and people leave it... you just have to trust that life has a road mapped out for you."
"As soon as I got to New Zealand, I went bungee jumping. I was standing on the platform for one hour contemplating whether to jump or not".
"I'm probably a good boyfriend, but I'm pretty intense. When you're with me it's exciting, fun and very intense. At the same time I'm easy going. But all that depends on what girl I'm with."
"The girls have got a bit excited. I spoke to my agent and she says she's wading through the fan mail. We've got bags of it."
"I got to dress up in funny clothes and run around New Zealand with a bow and arrow for 18 months, how bad could that be?"
"Viggo will go on about Elves and how they're always doing their nails and brushing their long, blonde hair, and being all prissy. And i just say: Well, at least I'm going to live forever! Got that? LIVE FOREVER!"
"I can be a little bit outrageous. I can be a lot of things. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I love to go out there and do kind of crazy stuff which is slightly outrageous, like bungee jumping, skydiving, surfing and that sort of stuff. But I also like to just chill with my friends and go and see movies and do normal things."
"I mean, I have a great job. I get to dress up and become somebody else, especially when it's someone like Legolas, who's this super-cool kind of otherworldly elf. It's, like, I'm lucky, man, so why would I not appreciate that?"
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