Biography

Information for Orlando Bloom's Biography is taken from The Orlando Bloom Files.

Background Info

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 Fall 2003 to Spring 2004, four of his movies will be released: The Kelly Gang also known as Ned Kelly
in the US, The Calcium Kid, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and The Trojan War.
When he's not working, Orlando divides his time between London and Los Angeles.

Facts

• His birthdate is January 13, 1977, making him 26 years old.
  
• His nicknames are Orli and OB.
  
• He has brown hair and brown eyes.
  
• He's 5'10" (180 cm)
  
• He's a vegetarian, though it's not confirmed that he is one all the time.
  He was when filming The Lord of the Rings to give him more energy.
  
• 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.
  
• 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.
  
• He's not married.
  
• 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 A-levels in theatre, photography and sculpture.
  
• 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 The Lord of the Rings, 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. He was turned down for that part,
  but was then asked to audition for Legolas. He 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 Lord of the Rings.
  

Favorites and Firsts

• Favorite Color: Yellow.
  
• Favorite Foods: Pasta, pizza, oatmeal, rice and vegetables and baked potatoes.
  
• Favorite Football Team: Manchester United.
  
• 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: Blondes. Nice, sweet girls. Although when he was
  recently asked whether he preferred blondes or brunettes, he said “But actually
  I can't say either, because I'd take both.”
  
• 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.