Orlando Bloom Biography
Biography
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Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent, England. His mother,
Sonia Constance Josephine Copeland, was born in Calcutta, India,
the daughter of Betty Constance Josephine Walker and Francis
John Copeland, a physician and surgeon; Bloom's maternal
grandmother's family has lived in Tasmania, Australia and India,
and are of English descent, some of them having originally come
from Kent. Orlando had thought that his father was South
African-born lawyer Harry Saul Bloom, but during his teenage
years and after Harry's death, Bloom's mother revealed to him
that his biological father was actually Colin Stone, a family
friend. Orlando, who is named after the 17th century composer
Orlando Gibbons, has one sister, Samantha Bloom, who was born in
1975.
Orlando attended St Edmund's School in Canterbury, but struggled
due to his dyslexia, but he still got through. In 1993, Bloom
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.
Orlando began acting professionally with a television role in an
episode of Casualty, and subsequently made his film debut in
Wilde (1997), opposite Stephen Fry, before entering the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied
acting, sculpture and photography. In 1998, he broke his back in
a three story fall, and it was briefly feared that he would not
regain the ability to walk. However, he made a complete recovery
and was able to walk out of the hospital on crutches within
twelve days. Bloom had steel plates inserted into his backbone
to support it, which have since been removed, except for a
single screw. Orlando Bloom regularly performs yoga and Pilates
to strengthen his back.
Shortly after graduating in 1999, Orlando Bloom was cast in his
first major role, playing Legolas in The Lord of the Rings
trilogy (2001–2003). While shooting a scene, he broke a couple
of ribs, but fully recovered and continued shooting. The success
of the trilogy transformed Bloom from an unknown actor into one
of world's best-known celebrities. In 2002, Orlando Bloom was
chosen as one of the Teen People "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" and
was named People's hottest Hollywood bachelor in the magazine's
2004 list.
All members of the cast of the Rings movies were nominated for
Best Ensemble Acting at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for three
years in a row, finally winning in 2003 for the third film, The
Return of the King. Orlando has also won other awards, including
Hollywood Festival Award, Empire Awards and Teen Choice Awards,
and has been nominated for many others.
Orlando Bloom next starred opposite
Keira Knightley
and Johnny Depp
in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which
was a blockbuster hit during the summer of 2003. Orlando Bloom
subsequently played the lead roles in Kingdom of Heaven (gaining
15 to 20 lb of muscle by eating six times a day and lifting
weights during filming) and Elizabethtown (both 2005). Both
films were box office failures in the United States, although
Kingdom of Heaven performed better internationally.
Orlando's latest film is the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest, which was released on July 7, 2006. Orlando
Bloom is currently filming the third of the series, Pirates of
the Caribbean 3, which is to be released on May 25, 2007. His
independent thriller, from Yari Film Group, (the Producers of
"Crash"), Haven, will make its theatrical debut in the U.S. on
September 15, 2006. Bloom will subsequently appear in the Great
Depression-themed independent film drama, Seasons of Dust, which
will also star Kate Bosworth. The film will be directed by Tim
Blake Nelson, and will begin filming in mid-July 2006 in New
Mexico and Oklahoma. Bloom is reportedly filming a movie called
"Knocked Up" in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles as of
July 2006.
On television, Orlando Bloom appeared in September 2006 as a
special guest in Season 2 of Extras on BBC2 playing a vain,
self-absorbed parody of himself.
Orlando Bloom is a Manchester United fan and lives in London.
During filming in Morocco for Kingdom of Heaven, Bloom rescued
and adopted a dog, Sidi (a black Saluki mix with a white mark on
his chest).
Orlando Bloom has on his right wrist a tattoo of the Elvish word
for "nine", a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the
Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine
members of the Fellowship of the Ring. He covers the tattoo up
with armbands or sleeves in other films, however it is possible
to catch a glimpse of it during Pirates of the Caribbean: The
Curse of the Black Pearl. The other members of the Fellowship
(except for John Rhys-Davies) got similar tattoos during the
film's production. It was reportedly Orlando Bloom's idea. Bloom
also has a tattoo of a sun-like image to the bottom-left of his
navel.
After meeting actress
Kate Bosworth outside a coffee shop, being later
re-introduced to her by a friend and then meeting again at the
premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the two
actor's dated until splitting up temporarily in 2005. However,
on September 05, 2006, Entertainment Tonight reported that the
on-again, off-again relationship of nearly four years split up.
This Orlando Bloom Biography Page is Copyright The Planets © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub