 ORLANDO BLOOM was born on January 13, 1977 in Canterbury, Kent, England, where he was raised by his mother along with his sister Samantha who is 2 years older. His father, Harry, who died when Orlando was just 4, was an anti-apartheid activist and novelist. When Orlando was 13, his mother told him that Harry was not his biological father, that Colin was.
Orlando and his sister were exposed to art from an early age, when their mother encouraged them to participate in the local Kent Festival. Although he started by reciting poetry, he soon became interested in acting when he realized that "Superman" Christopher Reeve was an actor.
Orlando moved to London in 1993 when he was 16 to pursue a career in acting at the National Youth Theatre, where he remained for 2 years. He then received a scholarship to the British American Drama Academy. It was during this time that Orlando played the lead role in A Walk in the Vienna Woods, which secured his first agent, leading to his role in Wilde, a film about Oscar Wilde.
Orlando then decided to continue his studies at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he performed in various productions, including Twelfth Night, The Seagull, Mephisto, and Mystery Plays. He also obtained small guest roles in British television shows such as "Casualty," "The Ben Elton show" and later, "Midsomer Murders."
While still in school, in 1998, Orlando fell 2 stories and broke his back while trying to climb onto a friend's rooftop terrace. He was almost paralyzed, but thankfully after undergoing surgery and a 12 day stay in the hospital, Orlando was able to walk out on crutches. He has repeatedly stated in interviews how lucky he was, as well as the fact that he is rather 'accident prone.' Orlando has broken a rib, his nose, both legs, an arm, a wrist, a finger, a toe, and has cracked his scull 3 times.
In 1999, at the age of 22, just 3 days before graduating from Guildhall, Orlando was cast as the elf prince Legolas in the highly anticipated Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He had originally auditioned for the role of Faramir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, but was chosen instead to play Legolas.
After graduation, Orlando left for New Zealand to spend the next year and a half filming Lord of the Rings. He was required to learn swordplay, archery and horse back riding to prepare for the role of Legolas. To realistically portray the Elvin prince's super-human qualities, Orlando worked hard to manage his posture and composure, as well as developing a style of combat based on the characters in Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai.
During filming, Orlando became close friends with many of his fellow actors, hence the idea for all 9 of the actors of the fellowship to get tattoos of the elvish symbol for 'nine'. Orlando got his on his forearm, bringing the total to 2 (he has one other tattoo, a small sun below his belly button). Getting a tattoo wasn't the only thing Orlando and the rest of the cast did with their spare time. He soon became known as the daredevil, frequently going bungee jumping, snow boarding, and even learning to surf.
The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring was released in December 2001 and was an immediate success. Although Legolas has few lines in many scenes, Orlando managed to captivate audiences (especially teenage girls) and critics with his simple grace and piercing eyes. Orlando won the MTV Movie Award for 'Breakthrough Male' and was nominated along with the rest of the cast for Best Ensemble Acting at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After finishing the Lord of the Rings project, Orlando packed his bags for LA to continue building his career. He quickly obtained a part in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, for which he received excellent reviews for his small part as Private First Class Todd Blackburn.
In May of 2002 Orlando headed for rural Australia to film his next movie, Ned Kelly, the story of the infamous Australian outlaw, starring Heath Ledger. Orlando plays Joe Byrne, Ned's lieutenant in the Kelly Gang. The film is expected to be released in 2003, followed by the Calcium Kid (about a milkman who becomes a boxer) in which Orlando plays the starring role.He also played in Troy the anti-hero Paris alongside with Brad Pitt,Eric Bana,Sean Bean
Orli will be seen in Kingdom,Kingdom Of Heaven,Elizabeth and in POTC2 and POTC3
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