Biography:

Born Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom in Canterbury, Kent, England on Jan. 13, 1977,to mother Joan and father Harry Saul, a lawyer and author who spent time in prison in South Africa for resisting the apartheid government. 

Bloom had a hard time in school due to dyslexia, leaning instead towards artistic subjects. Acting also interested him, and by the age of sixteen he relocated to London to work with the National Youth Theatre, were he was granted a scholarship to study with the British American Dramatic Academy. While there, he began trying out for film and television roles, getting jobs on television shows like “Casualty” and “Midsomer Murders”. He made his film introduction in 1997 with a part as a gay prostitute in the film “Wilde” with Jude Law and starring Stephen Fry as playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde.

He stuck with his acting lessons at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and won a supporting role in Ridley Scott’s war themed production “Black Hawk Down” (2001), about an encounter between American and British military and Somalian fighters.

In 1999, he auditioned for the epic film revision of the fantasy books, “The Lord of the Rings”, being attracted to the part of Faramir, but the director cast him in the bigger role of Legolas, the elf prince who becomes part of the nine adventurers who set out to destroy the Ring. Knowing that viewers would love Orlando, director Jackson gave him a lead in the resulting sequels. In “The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), he fights a troll, and in “The Two Towers” (2002), he stops a brutal battle scene by planting his feet on his shield and “surfing” down a stairway while shooting arrows. 

In the last sequel, “The Return of the King,” he calls out a war elephant and its rider. Male audiences loved his cool action and combat skill, while female viewers went crazy over his young good looking body. Thanks to the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, Bloom became a celebrity, and famous overnight.

In 2003, he picked up a sword once again to star opposite Johnny Depp and Keira Knightely in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.” Based on the  Disney theme park ride, the film was a huge success. Even though he won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble for “Return of the King,” some critics complained that his destiny and skill seemed to be dependent on his knack for holding a sword.

His next role was as the hopeless Paris in Wolfgang Petersen’s “Troy” (2004) with Brad Pitt, but was seen as dull by audiences and did not do well at the box office. Next was “Ned Kelly” (2003) with Heath Ledger, based on the famous Australian outlaw. Bloom then worked again with Ridley Scott’s in “Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and then played an American trying to reunite with his family and past in Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown” (2005) with Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Biel and Susan Sarandon, where during a memorial for a Southern patriarch, an unexpected romance blossoms between a young man and woman. 

Then came the expected blockbuster smash hit “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel, “Dead Man’s Chest,” and Bloom’s Hollywood status started to jump again. Some viewers found the plot confusing, but “Dead Man’s Chest” surpassed the first film in terms of ticket sales. The movie was produced back to back with the third sequel in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. “At World’s End” (2007) was released the following summer to more box office success..

Orlando next produced and starred in a small independent adventure movie called “Haven” (2006), about two shady businessmen who take flight to the Cayman Islands to avoid federal prosecution. But their scheme starts a chain reaction that leads a British native to commit a crime that changes everything. 

Next was the strange romantic comedy "New York, I Love You" (2008), an anthology film joining several love stories set in one of the most loved cities of the world, New York. "New York, I Love You" included an all-star cast that included Shia Labeouf, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Hayden Christensen. He followed with the action thriller "The Red Circle" (2009) with Liam Neeson, a remake of the 1970 Alain Delon crime thriller "Le Rouge Cercle." 

Education

• British American Drama Academy, London, England, 1995
• St Edmund's School, Canterbury, England