Orlando Bloom
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
"... I did some pretty wicked stuff on horseback, like in the old cowboy-and-Indian movies, where I would let go of the reins and shoot my bow and arrow. I mean, it was really insane what I had to do, but it was so much fun and I had real faith in my horse, though I did fall off him once and broke my rib. That was one of my war wounds for the movie.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 I've cracked my skull three times." --Orlando Bloom on his role in "The Lord of the Rings", quoted in Interview, November 2001.
Orlando was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2004
Biography
English actor Orlando Bloom enjoyed the rare achievement of starring in not one, but two hugely successful film franchises. A virtual unknown, Bloom first broke out as the dashing elf warrior Legolas in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001). By the time "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003) had dominated the box-office, Bloom was one of the brightest young stars in Hollywood. From one blockbuster franchise to another, he jumped ship to star with Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003), further capturing the hearts of young moviegoers everywhere. Bloom had less luck away from these two properties, however, with efforts like the historical epic "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) and the derided dramedy "Elizabethtown" (2005) doing little to increase his marquee stature. The ever dependable Disney franchise continued with "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007), but an appearance in "The Three Musketeers" (2011) met with little enthusiasm. And while he was seen in a much reduced capacity, the actor's return to Middle-earth in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012) and its sequels "The Desolation of Smaug" (2013) and "The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014) at least placed him in front of a large, welcoming audience once more, while his supporting role in indie director Joe Swanberg's "Digging For Fire" (2015) and a Broadway run as Romeo in the Shakespeare classic found him looking for new challenges. Still early in his career, Bloom continued to seek out new roles even as he returned to proven fan favorites like the reappearance of Will Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017).
Born Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom in Canterbury, Kent, England on Jan. 13, 1977, he was the son of Sonia Constance Josephine Copeland and Harry Saul Bloom, a noted Jewish South African-born lawyer and anti-Apartheid novelist. Nine years after Harry Bloom's death in 1981, however, the 13-year-old Bloom was told that his biological father was, in fact, a longtime family friend named Colin Stone. Stone, the principal at Canterbury's Concorde International language school, had been asked by Harry Bloom to raise Orlando shortly before his death. It was a charge he gladly accepted and years later whenever Bloom was asked about his unconventional upbringing, he casually replied, "Show me a family and I'll show you an unusual story." In interviews, the actor would warmly refer to both men as his father. Despite his struggles with dyslexia, Bloom progressed through his studies at The King's School and St. Edmunds in Canterbury, pursuing such extracurricular activities as sculpting and drama. In 1993, Bloom relocated to London to study at Fine Arts College prior to joining the National Isa Youth Theatre for two seasons. This opened the door for a scholarship to train with the prestigious British American Drama Academy, where Bloom prepared for his professional debut.
Auditioning for small roles on television, Bloom initially landed bit parts on programs like the medical drama "Casualty" (BBC, 1986- ) and the opening season of the detective series "Midsomer Murders" (BBC, 1997- ). That same year, he made his feature film debut in a small part as a homosexual prostitute in the historical biopic "Wilde" (1997), starring Stephen Fry as Victorian England's revered man of words and wit. Bloom continued his dramatic training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and while there in 1998, he suffered a traumatic back injury after falling three stories from a rooftop. The damage was so severe that it was thought Bloom would be paralyzed, but after extensive surgery, he made a complete recovery. Immediately after graduating from Guildhall, Bloom auditioned for New Zealand director Peter Jackson's ambitious film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novel trilogy. With a film planned for each of the books, Bloom was cast as the dashing elvish prince Legolas, whose physical abilities and prowess with a bow made him an invaluable addition to the rag tag group of humans, dwarves and hobbits on a mission to destroy a powerful, magic ring. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), which placed the young actor alongside such powerhouse performers as Sir Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen and Cate Blanchett, made Bloom a movie star and a bona fide heartthrob, seemingly overnight.
In and around his duties with Jackson and the crew in New Zealand, Bloom also managed to make time for a supporting role in acclaimed director Ridley Scott's fact-based war drama "Black Hawk Down" (2001). In a bit of art-imitating-life irony, Bloom's character of PFC Todd Blackburn breaks his back after a fall from a moving helicopter. The now very much in-demand actor soon returned as Legolas for Jackson's harrowing second installment of the trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002) in which one breathtaking battle scene concluded with Bloom planting his feet on his shield and "surfing" down a flight of stairs while firing arrows into a horde of ghoulish enemies. Bloom officially went from up-and-comer to superstar the following year with major roles in three films. After a costarring turn alongside Heath Ledger, who portrayed the Australian outlaw folk hero "Ned Kelly" (2003), Bloom appeared opposite Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley in the swashbuckling pirate adventure "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003). Loosely based on the venerable ride at the Disneyland theme park and shepherded by mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the film surprised industry watchers, critics and fans alike when it became one of the biggest box-office smashes of the previous decade. And while Bloom's relatively thankless role as the earnest Will Turner was overshadowed by Depp's unhinged embodiment of Captain Jack Sparrow, there was no denying that he was on a career roll of monumental proportions.
As if to end the year with an exclamation point, Bloom and company closed out the astonishingly successful trilogy with the Academy Award-wining "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). The following year, the actor starred in "The Calcium Kid" (2004), a lightweight English mockumentary in which Bloom played a milkman-turned-boxer. Made prior to the "Rings" trilogy, it saw no stateside theatrical screenings before being released on DVD. The ensemble drama "Haven" (2004), starring Bloom, Zoë Saldana and Bill Paxton, gave the young star his first producer's credit, but little box-office attention. More heavily promoted was Wolfgang Petersen's big-budget Homerian epic "Troy" (2004), where his vain and cowardly character of Paris cast him in a decidedly un-heroic light for a change. Unfortunately, neither that film nor his reteaming with director Ridley Scott for the lead role in the massively budgeted historical adventure "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) attracted a fraction of the audience his "Rings" and "Pirates" movies had delivered. Truth be told, it was Bloom's personal life that had brought him the most press over the preceding two years. As one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, the actor and his equally attractive American actress girlfriend Kate Bosworth were the focus of every tabloid magazine throughout their on again/off again relationship until it ended in 2005.
Later that year Bloom appeared opposite Kirsten Dunst as a downcast American attempting to reconnect with his family and roots in Cameron Crowe's critically maligned "Elizabethtown" (2005). Try as he might, Bloom seemed unable to recapture the success he had enjoyed just a few years earlier. Then came the inevitable "Pirates" sequel, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) and Bloom's fortunes were on the rise again. Though pilloried by critics for its overblown production and unnecessarily baffling storyline, "Dead Man's Chest" surpassed its predecessor in terms of ticket sales and allowed Bloom to once more show off his knack for action scenes, particularly in one gravity-defying fight sequence atop a rolling water wheel. The actor enjoyed a momentary break from big-budget flights of fancy with his self-deprecating cameo as an impossibly vain version of himself on Ricky Gervais' comedy series "Extras" (HBO, 2005-07) that same year. Soon enough, he was back to swordplay and high seas adventure for another blockbuster, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007), which found Bloom, Knightley and their motley crew rescuing Captain Jack from Davy Jones's Locker and gathering a band of cutthroats to battle the villainous East India Trading Company at the very edge of the globe.
After a two-year absence from screens, Bloom briefly resurfaced in a segment of the Big Apple anthology "New York, I Love You" (2009) alongside co-star Christina Ricci. Once more, his life received more press than his work when Bloom became just one of several celebrities robbed by Hollywood's infamous "Bling Ring," a group of teenage thieves who specifically targeted young stars, breaking into their homes and stealing an estimated $3 million worth of clothes and jewelry over a year-long period. Thankfully, a majority of the items stolen from Bloom and his girlfriend, model Miranda Kerr, were returned after the ringleaders of the group were caught and later sentenced to four years in prison. Not long after playing a small-town police officer in the indie dramedy "Main Street" (2010), Bloom married Kerr in an unpublicized, private ceremony and by the following year, they welcomed a son, Flynn. Bloom next executive produced and starred in the thriller "The Good Doctor" (2011) as the eponymous physician whose crippling self-esteem issues lead him to deadly extremes in an effort to keep a young patient under his care. Later that year, he was seen as the duplicitous courtier The Duke of Buckingham in Paul W.S. Anderson's steampunk reimagining of Dumas' 17th-century swashbuckler "The Three Musketeers" (2011). Fans across the world rejoiced at the announcement that Bloom would reprise the role of Legolas for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012), Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth adapted from Tolkien's first published novel. He went on to reprise the role twice more in the sequels "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" (2013) and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014), while appearing on Broadway in a staging of "Romeo and Juliet." He next took on a supporting role in indie director Joe Swanberg's "Digging For Fire" (2015) before starring in Michael Apted's thriller "Unlocked" (2017) opposite Michael Douglas and Noomi Rapace. Once again returning to a fan favorite role, Bloom reappeared as Will Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1993
Joined National Youth Theatre at age 16
1997
Made feature acting debut as a rent boy in Oscar Wilde biopic "Wilde"
2001
Cast in minor role in Ridley Scott's ensemble war drama "Black Hawk Down"
2001
Cast in major supporting role as the elf Legolas Greenleaf in Peter Jackson's feature adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien classic "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
2002
Reprised role of Legolas in "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
2003
Again played Legolas in "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
2003
Cast as the dashing Will Turner opposite Johnny Depp's Capt. Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
2004
Cast as Greek warrior Paris, abductor of Helen of Troy in director Wolfgang Petersen's epic "Troy"
2004
Played Joe Byrne, a member of the Kelly gang opposite Heath Ledger in "Ned Kelly"
2004
Made feature producing debut with crime drama "Haven"
2005
Co-starred with Kirsten Dunst in Cameron Crowe's drama "Elizabethtown"
2005
Cast as a young blacksmith in Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven"
2006
Reprised role of Will Turner in Gore Verbinski's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
2007
Made West End debut in veteran Brit playwright David Storey's 1969 drama "In Celebration"
2007
Guest starred on an episode of Ricky Gervais' HBO comedy series "Extras" titled "Orlando Bloom"
2007
Reprised role of Will Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
2009
Joined ensemble cast of anthology feature "New York, I Love You"
2011
Co-starred with Colin Firth and Patricia Clarkson in small town drama "Main Street"
2011
Cast as the Duke of Buckingham in Paul W.S. Anderson's "The Three Musketeers"
2013
Returned to Middle Earth as Legolas in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel <i>The Hobbit</i>, directed by Peter Jackson
2014
Starred as Romeo in a film version of the Broadway play "Romeo and Juliet"
2014
Reprised his role as Legolas in the Oscar-nominated "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
2015
Co-starred opposite Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt in "Digging for Fire"
2016
Appeared as Tom on "Easy"
2017
Appeared in TV movie "Tour De Pharmacy"
2017
Appeared in "Romans"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Bibliography
Notes
"... I did some pretty wicked stuff on horseback, like in the old cowboy-and-Indian movies, where I would let go of the reins and shoot my bow and arrow. I mean, it was really insane what I had to do, but it was so much fun and I had real faith in my horse, though I did fall off him once and broke my rib. That was one of my war wounds for the movie.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 I've cracked my skull three times." --Orlando Bloom on his role in "The Lord of the Rings", quoted in Interview, November 2001.
Orlando was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2004
"The heartthrob thing is just recently becoming apparent to me. I hope it won't stop me from making more interesting choices"---Orlando Bloom quoted in People June 28, 2004
"He has a good heart, he's compassionate and has a great sense of humor."---actress Kate Bosworth quoted in People, November 29, 2004.
