Orlando Bloom's Biography

Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury,Kent,England, on January 13, 1977. His mother's name was Sonia. She was a writer and business woman, and she ran a school for foreing students. His father, Harry, A South African native, was a professor of law at the University of Kent. Harry was a hero, in the eyes of many. He had spent much of his life battling agianst apartheid, working as a lawyer slongside the likes of Nelson Mandela. Episode, his first novel, was published in 1956. The authorities banned the book because they thought it would cause racial tension and put the state in danger. He wrote his second novel, Whittaker's Wife, behind bars serving a three month sentence.

These were important books. They were a glimpse of the South African apartheid horrors for many people. They marked the beginning of the fight to set things right. The South African state, knowing this, persecuted Harry without cease. In 1963, he exiled himself to Canterbury.

Sonia was left to raise Orlando and his older sister, Samantha, when Harry sadly died. Orlando was only four years old.

Canterbury had a strong hippy history and a ongoing ken for creative bohemianism, so Sonia fitted in well. She constantly supported and encouraged her children in their artistic endeavors. Under the influence of his mother, Orlando became fascinated with art, language, and photography. He also became very involved in horse-back riding.

And he was ofcourse very involved in drama. He was involved i school plays, often earning a lead role due to his abilities and enthusiasim. Sonia took her children to see musicals and plays as often as possible. When Orlando was 12, he spent Christmas visiting family in Boston. His cousin, who was an art director in Los Angeles, rented videos to watch over the holiday. One of them was "The Hustler". Orlando was so impressed by Paul Newman's advanced state of cool, that he decided that he would be an actor himself. From there he moved into Community Theatre. He and his sister were also involved on the Kent Festival in which they would recite poetry and read passages from the bible. They were winners on several occasions.

At age 16, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre. He won scholarships to the British American Drama Academy at age 18. His film debut was in 1997, as a rent boy in "Wilde". He then turned down numerous roles to concentrate on his training in theatre and education. He was a student at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and in 1999, mere days beofre graduation, he landed the part of Legolas Greenleaf in "The Lord of the Rings".

There is not much said about his personal life. He is a bit accident prone, though. He has broken his ribs, his nose, both loegs, a toe, a finger, a wrist, cracked his skull 3 times, and his back. He could have possibly never walked again, but he had a surgery and walked out of the hospital days after. He has learned to appreciate what he was. He has quit smoking, as of 2002. He is very into extreme sprts and especailly likes snowboarding and surfing. He has two tattoos: a sun on his stomach and the elvish symbol for nine on his fore arm. He speaks french, was dyslexic as a child and is now mildly dyslexic. He is currently into many types of music, but espcially Bob Dylan type folk music.

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