Orlando Bloom

Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom was born on January 13, 1977 in Canterbury, England) is an English actor who became famous playing Legolas in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. He has also had major roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Troy, The Calcium Kid, and his first lead role in Kingdom of Heaven. Bloom is currently filming the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.

Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent to Sonia J. Copeland, who was born in India to an English physician father, doctor Francis Copeland. Although he had originally thought that his father was South African Jewish lawyer Harry Bloom (who died in 1981), his mother revealed to Orlando in his teens that his biological father was not Bloom, but family friend Colin Stone. Orlando attended St Edmund's School in Canterbury, but struggled due to his dyslexia. In 1993, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre, spending two seasons there and earning a scholarship to train at the British American Drama Academy. He had a few television roles and made his film debut in Wilde (1997), opposite Stephen Fry, before entering the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 1998, he broke his back in a three story fall, and it was briefly feared that he would never walk again. However, he made a complete recovery and walked out of the hospital twelve days later. He had metal plates inserted into his backbone to support it, which have since been removed, except for a single screw. He regularly performs yoga and Pilates to strengthen his back.

Bloom with actor Liam Neeson in the film "Kingdom of Heaven".While also still in drama school he landed his first major role as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003). Whilst shooting a scene, he broke a couple of his ribs. He fully recovered and continued shooting. This turned Bloom from an unknown actor into one of world's hottest celebrities. IMDBPro's StarMeter reported that Bloom was the most searched-for actor in January 2002, one month after The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released. In the same year he was also chosen as one of Teen People Magazine's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25". He was named People Magazine's hottest Hollywood bachelor in the magazine's 2004 list.

The cast of the Rings movies was nominated for Best Ensemble Acting at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for three years in a row. They finally won in 2003, for the third film The Return of the King. Bloom has also won other various Empire and Teen Choice Awards, and has been nominated for many others.

Bloom has said that he uses the philosophies of Nichiren Buddhism in 2004, a religion that he has long associated himself with.

Filmography

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (2007) – Will Turner
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest (2006) – Will Turner
Love and Other Disasters (2006) – Hollywood Paolo
Elizabethtown (2005) – Drew Baylor
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) – Balian
Haven (2004) – Shy (also co-producer)
Troy (2004) – Paris
The Calcium Kid (2004) – Jimmy Connelly
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – Legolas Greenleaf
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – Will Turner
Ned Kelly (2003) – Joe Byrne
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) – Legolas Greenleaf
Black Hawk Down (2001) – PFC. Todd Blackburn
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – Legolas Greenleaf
Midsomer Murders: Judgement Day (2000) – Peter Drinkwater
Wilde (1997) – Rentboy