ORLANDO BLOOM
Date of Birth: January 13, 1977
This native to Canterbury, England was inspired joined the acting profession
for the women. "Aged nine, I had this girlfriend, and we used to have
running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend for the day. I
wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her. Once I realised
Superman was an actor, I thought, 'That's for me, mate.'"
Following a bit part on the television series, Casualty, at the age of
nine, Bloom moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre in his
mid-teens. After two years of stage work, he earned a scholarship to train
with the British American Drama Academy. During his time at Guildhall, Bloom performed in a number of productions including Little Me, A Month in the City, Mephisto, Twelfth Night, Trojan Women, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, A
Night Out and Mystery Plays. From here he continued his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but not before landing a small role in his first feature film, Wilde (1997).
After completing his three-year course, he almost immediately landed the role of the Elf warrior Legolas in the fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings (1978). Although he had not auditioned for the part initially, he fell into the role, even shaving his head to properly fit the blond wig and wearing contacts to make his brown eyes appear blue. Following the gruelling year filming the LOTR trilogy, Bloom found himself extremely in demand, filming roles in Black Hawk Down (2002), Chequered Past and Lullaby Of Clubland (all 2002). He returned to horseback to play Joe Byrne in the Australian film Ned Kelly (2004) opposite Heath Ledger, then swung into action with another trilogy -- alongside Johnny Depp in Disney's action adventure Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
Bloom, a vegetarian, enjoys living on the edge, engaging in dangerous sports like sky diving, bungee jumping, paragliding, surfing and snowboarding. He also enjoys spending time with his dog, Maude.
FILMOGRAPHY:
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Love and Other Disasters (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Elizabethtown (2005)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Haven (2004)
Troy (2004)
The Calcium Kid (2004)
Ned Kelly (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Deed Poll (2002)
Lullaby of Clubland (2002)
Black Hawk Down (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
Wilde (1997)