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Orlando Bloom: Hollywood's New Heartthrob
Wednesday December 24, 2003
In the fall of 2001, no one on this side of the Atlantic Ocean had heard of Orlando Bloom. Sure, he had small respectable roles in Black Hawk Down and a small, art-house flick, Wilde, to his credit but it wasn't until he landed a starring role in 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that the British-born, classically-trained actor's obscurity came to an end. And after last summer's surprise hit, Pirates of the Caribbean, in which he smooched fellow Brit wunderkind Keira Knightley ("I can report that he's a very good kisser," she giggled to Newsweek) his name was instantly scribbled on millions of schoolgirls' notebooks.
THE NEW 'IT' BOY
But ask Bloom, 26, currently dating Blue Crush actress Kate Bosworth, how he managed to launch his career playing an immortal elf named Legolas Greenleaf -- a role he reprises in the trilogy's final installment The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, out Dec. 17 -- and he says: "There isn't any rhyme or reason for why one person gets picked up on and another person doesn't." Could it be the elf ears? Bloom, for one, is open to suggestions. "Maybe it's the blond wig, the blue eyes and the fact that he's pretty cool," he says. "For guys he's this Zen-like superhero; for girls, he's got a good look." Whatever the reason, Orlando Bloom is well on his way to the top.
Q: Did you always want to be a star?
A: I never really wanted to be famous. I trained for three years at drama school to be an actor -- not a celebrity or a superstar. My goal was just to get a job, but somehow I got a great job out of school with The Lord of the Rings. I feel really lucky to have done that. Now I'm just enjoying the work.
Q: So all the attention and the money hasn't gone to your head?
A: I'm still pretty much the same. I haven't really ever gone for the money or a Hollywood-formula movie, where you get paid millions of dollars. I know I haven't -- because I haven't been paid silly money! That's not to say I'm not well taken care of, because I am. But I'm actually very grateful for that because I think a lot of money, very fast, can alter your reality to a point where it's hard to come back to what's real.
Q: How have you kept your feet on the ground?
A: I've got really great friends and family, so I get a lot of help, love and support. They keep me real, because I'd get knocked out if I tried to get above myself -- especially by my sister! She definitely keeps my feet on the ground.
Q: Has being voted the UK's 'Most Eligible Bachelor' meant you're going out, partying all the time now?
A: I got a lot of the partying out of my system when I was younger and living in London. I moved there when I was 16. Now I don't really crave that. I just enjoy hanging out with my friends, having dinner and chilling.
Q: Is it frustrating that people focus on your looks and not your talent?
A: Not really, because they're going to pick on something. There will always be a new, young actor that girls will pin their dreams on. So, in that sense, it's not such a bad -- or big -- thing.
Q: How was working with acting icons like Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt?
A: I picked up a lot of tips from Johnny. He said to me: 'It's not open-heart surgery. No one's going to die if you get this wrong, so just go for it!' " And Brad Pitt was amazing, though I didn't get to do too much with him.
Q: What part do you play in your next film Troy?
A: I play Paris, an anti-hero. I'm more a lover than a fighter, which is cool because I haven't had many kissing scenes in the past!
Q: In 1998 you broke your back after falling three stories, and thought you would be paralyzed. How did that affect you?
A: It's really made me appreciate life more because everything now is a bit of a bonus. I still get the odd twang every now and again, but having a little pain in my back reminds me how lucky I am. It also focused me -- and refocused me -- to make everything more real.
Q: It hasn't stopped you from bungee jumping or parachuting though, has it?
A: Well, I love all that stuff so I'm not going to let things get in the way. When I was filming The Lord of the Rings, in New Zealand, I threw myself out of airplanes, bungee-jumped out of cable cars, went snowboarding and surfing.
Q: Are you an adrenaline junkie?
A: No. I wanted to challenge myself. It's still terrifying standing on the edge of a bungee jump, with just a piece of rubber band tied to your legs. That's why I got into acting, actually. I went to drama school because I used to get really freaked out standing on stage.
