107.9 The END: Celebrity Profile
January 14 - January 28, 2004
Full Bloom
Twenty-seven-year-old Orlando Bloom spent most of his life knowing that
he wanted to perform. "I've wanted to be an actor since primary school,
when I realized all those characters I saw on TV were actors -- and
that they could be anything," he explains. At a very young age, Orlando
took to the stage; he recited poetry and prose in the Kent Festival near
his hometown of Canterbury, England. When he was 16, Orlando headed to
London, where he performed for two seasons with National Youth Theatre,
which led to a scholarship to attend the British American Drama Academy.
His training helped him land roles on British TV shows, as well as one
in the 1997 British film Wilde.
In 1998, while still a student, Orlando suffered a personal setback. On
a rooftop, he misjudged a jump, fell three stories and broke his back. "It
was very much touch and go; it didn't look hopeful," Orlando says. "That
was definitely the biggest turning point in my life. I'm very grateful
to have managed to walk out of that situation. Everything is a bonus
after something like that." Following his recovery, Orlando and his
friends auditioned for The Lord of the Rings, and once again, the young
actor beat the odds; he auditioned for a small part but won the major
role of Legolas Greenleaf over a slew of hopefuls from the world over.
Orlando traveled to New Zealand, where during the course of 18 months,
all three films in the Rings trilogy were shot -- The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. After the first film hit
theaters, Orlando became an overnight sensation.

Just weeks after the second Rings flick was released, Black Hawk Down (2001)
hit theaters. The war drama featured Orlando as a wounded American
soldier and earned him kudos from the press. In 2003, Orlando notched
another blockbuster on his belt, with the release of Pirates of the
Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. As the final installment of the
Rings trilogy is still in theaters, Orlando will soon be seen in Troy,
another epic tale, based on the ancient Greek story. He also is signed
on to appear in a sequel to Pirates as well as another larger-than-life
flick, Kingdom of Heaven. "I feel like I get paid to do something that I
love and that's a privileged position in life and the rest is great,"
says Orlando. "Lord of the Rings put me into an arena basically that was
a cut above the rest because of the class of the movie [and] because of
the class of the talent that I was working with. [Director] Peter
Jackson and what the movies have done . . . sort of put me in this
really great arena which was an incredible platform as a young actor to
spring from, and as a first springboard it was amazing." (Marian Carsman)

On why he thinks Pirates was such a huge success: "I think Johnny [Depp]
created this amazing character that just, like, blew everyone away, and
[the] idea of pirates [becoming skeletons] through the moonlight . . .
I think a blockbuster movie audience expects . . . more bang for their
buck than just any other movie. So, with Pirates, like with Rings, you've
got special effects, you've got visual effects, you've got great cast,
great direction, attention to detail, good characters and well-rounded
acts for each character."
On being blond for his Rings roles: "I was very grateful for that. It
was great because I had [years] of just witnessing the rest of the guys
getting [constantly] recognized. Since working on Troy with Brad [Pitt],
[I've seen] how he deals with it, and how Johnny [Depp] deals with it,
and Liv [Tyler] and Ian [McKellen] and [how] different people [handle
the attention]."

On things going wrong on the Rings set: "There are some great blooper
reels where we are trying to actually knock the bow. To knock an arrow
onto a bowstring is really difficult; it's a very time-consuming process,
so there are lots of bloopers where we are doing that. There are lots
of occasions where that lovely beautiful long flowing blond wig that
weighed a ton on my head would just get caught up in arrows and suddenly
you'd yank part of your head off!"

*~* MimseyGreenleaf *~*
aka ~ Maranw Telrnya (elvish)
aka ~ Melilot Gamgee-Took of Bywater (Hobbit-ish)

Orlando Fans, Join:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Blooming_Elf/

Harry Potter Fans, Join:
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