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Orlando Bloom biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Orlando Bloom
  • OCCUPATION: Film Actor
  • BIRTH DATE: January 13, 1977 (Age: 36)
  • EDUCATION: British American Drama Academy, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, The King's School, Canterbury, St. Edmund's School
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Canterbury, England, United Kingdom
  • Full Name: Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom
  • AKA: Orlando Bloom
  • ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn

Best Known For

Orlando Bloom is a popular British actor and heartthrob known for his roles in The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean films.


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Synopsis

Born on January 13, 1977, in Canterbury, England,

Quotes

"Success can allow you to try for greatness, can give you an opportunity to take a chance on something. I'm very blessed to have the success that I've had, and that's given me so many opportunities to work on being great."

– Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom studied acting as a child before he was cast as the heroic Legolas in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Bloom also found major success starring in three films of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with Johnny Depp. He's landed other roles in big-screen fare, including Troy, Elizabethtown and The Three Musketeers.

Brought Up in the Arts

Orlando Bloom was born on January 13, 1977, to Sonia and Harry Bloom, in Canterbury, England, where he grew up with his sister Samantha. The elder Bloom, who worked to depose South Africa's apartheid system, died when Orlando was 4 years old, and the future actor wouldn't find out until his teens that his biological father was actually a family colleague, Colin Stone.

Sonia Bloom encouraged her children to incorporate the arts into their lives, and subsequently, Orlando took part in regional theater in his youth. He moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 16, and then attended the British American Drama Academy. His training led to parts on British television and his film debut in the 1997 Oscar Wilde biopic, Wilde. Bloom continued his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, during which time he regularly performed in stage productions.

While attending Guildhall, Bloom had an almost-crippling accident when he fell three stories from a terrace, trying to cross between two buildings with friends, and broke his back. Though doctors feared that he wouldn't walk again at age 21, Bloom was able to gradually recover after intensive surgery and therapy. Today, the actor remains mindful of his back and core.

'The Lord of the Rings'

Days before his graduation, Bloom was cast in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. The first film of the trilogy, 2001's The Fellowship of the Ring, was a huge blockbuster and critical success. Bloom went on to perform in the two Ring follow-ups; he plays Legolas Greenleaf, a long-haired immortal elf who balances refinement and wisdom with sharp archery and camaraderie, throughout the popular film series.

After garnering a noted role in Black Hawk Down (2001), another big part was on the horizon for Bloom. In 2003, he starred as the sensitive Will Turner in the Disney action/adventure The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, alongside Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp. Pirates marked another huge world blockbuster for Bloom, who would go on to star in the next two sequels of the franchise: Dead's Man Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007).

A Mix of Film Genres

Bloom continued doing period work, playing Paris in the 2004 film Troy, which also stars Brad Pitt and Eric Bana.

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