The man, the myth, the elf with the accent...
Biography
Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent England on January 13, 1977. He and his family (his mother and older sister Samantha) lost his father only four years after.
Orlando realized early on what acting meant to him when he discovered that Superman was really an actor named Christopher Reeve. At 16, he moved to London where he joined the National Youth Theatre for two seasons and then gained a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy.
After the completion of this training, Orlando starred in "A Walk in the Vienna Woods" before making his screen debut in the movie "Wilde". (for more info on Orlando's film and TV work, see the filmography on this page)
Orlando eventually auditioned for the part of Farimir in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but when he was approached to play Legolas, he was ecstatic. "For a young actor like me to have the oportunity to work with the genre of actors and directors on 'Lord Of The Rings' is unbelievable. There was no, 'should I, should I not?'. It was like, where do I sign up! It was just bonkers. It was like 'Here, have a life.'"
Though he has been lucky in the industry because of his great talent and his good looks (which I'm sure haven't hurt), Orlando admits that in life is quite different from the silver screen.
In a comparison between the character Legolas's grace and his own, Orlando stated, "I'm rather accident-prone, I have to admit. I've broken my back, my ribs, my nose, both my legs, my arm, my wrist, a finger and a toe and cracked my skull three times." It was a trial to get the movement of Legolas down ("Legolas doesn't speak a lot - he prefers to let his actions speak for him. Legolas' moves are smooth and elegant, like a cat. You know how cats can jump and land steadily on their paws? That's what I'm trying to do. There's a strength in that, but it's very balletic. It's also bloody hard to do without falling over!" ) but Orlando pulls it off beautifully.
Love is another story. Orlando has stated that it's strange being a heart-throb, but he hasn't denied that it has helped him pick up girls. He even went so far as to say, "I don't care much about the money at all. Frankly, if I get the chance to kiss someone in a movie, they wouldn't need to pay me at all."
"Vig used to call me 'elf boy', and I'd call him 'filthy human'. As an Elf, I never got a scratch on me, never got dirty. And Vig would come out with blood and sweat all over him. And he'd say to me, 'Oh, go manicure your nails."
On his 2002 Empire Award: "I think my mum will have [my award] in pride of place somewhere beside my grandmother on the mantelpiece."
"We have these digs at each other. 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!"
"You have to be quite serious about tattoos [because] they're there forever."
Troy (2004) .... Paris
Calcium Kid, The (2003) .... Jimmy
Pirates of the Caribbean, The (2003) .... Will Turner
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) .... Legolas Greenleaf
Kelly Gang, The (2003) .... Joe Byrne
Making of 'The Lord of the Rings', The (2002) (V) .... Himself/Legolas Greenleaf
Making the Movie: The Lord of the Rings (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) .... Legolas Greenleaf 'Prince Of Mirkwood'
National Geographic: Beyond the Movie - The Lord of the Rings (2001) (TV) .... Himself/Legolas Greenleaf
Black Hawk Down (2001) .... Todd Blackburn
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001) .... Legolas Greenleaf
Passage to Middle-earth: Making of Lord of the Rings, A (2001) (TV) .... Himself
Quest for the Ring (2001) (TV) .... Himself/Legolas Greenleaf
Wilde (1997) .... Rentboy
"So Graham Norton" (1998) playing "Himself" 3/8/2002
"So Graham Norton" (1998) playing "Himself"(episode # 5.15) 3/1/2002
"Johnny Vaughan Film Show, The" (1999) playing "Himself" 1/16/2002
"Saturday Show, The" (2001) playing "Himself"(episode # 1.12) 12/8/2001
"Office, The" (2001) playing "Tony (uncredited)"(episode # 1.5) 8/13/2001
"Big Breakfast, The" (1992) playing "Himself" 2001
"Smack the Pony" (1999) (uncredited) (episode # 2.6) 5/26/2000
"Midsomer Murders" (1997) playing "Peter Drinkwater" in episode: "Judgement Day" (episode # 3.3) 1/29/2000
"Ben Elton Show, The" (1998) playing "Himself" 1998
"Casualty" (1986) playing "Bit Part" 1994
Screen Captures: Lord of the Rings
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
