Mr Bloom Article

in like flynn

Swashbuckler Orlando
Bloom lives out his
childhood dreams

You have to look closely, but beneath the
artfully tousled brown hair and
chocolate eyes lies the face of Legolas.
Having disposed of the long blonde wig and
fighting accoutrements associated with The
Lord Of The Rings'famous elf, Orlando Bloom
is continuing to live his childhood dream.
He played a soldier in Black Hawke Down,
an outlaw in Ned Kelly, a boxer in the
upcoming Calcium Kid, a prince in the next
year's Troy opposite Brad Pitt and a pirate in
this month's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:
THECURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, co-
starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush.
"On this film I just said, 'Where do I sign?',
I mean, to start with, isn't it just every little
boy's dream to be a pirate? I certainly
played pirates when I was a kid," says the
27-year-old.
After a swag of such epics, you'd think the
Brit would want to taper down with a
smaller movie but the script, character,
producer (Top Gun and Pearl Harbour's Jerry
Bruckheimer) and big budget lured him.
"And then there was Johnny Depp," Bloom
admits. "He was a big draw for me. I've
always really admired him as an actor and the
truth he brings to the characters he plays. I
feel really lucky. I feel like a sponge when
he's around, you know, just soaking it up."
Bloom has been soaking fast and he
threatens to overtake his similarly
smouldering co-star due to his knack for
picking commercial winners. Incredibly that
knack, and his prodigious ascent, began in
what will potentially become the biggest
film series ever.
"Rings was my first experience out of
school, and I was sort of dropped in the deep
end," he admits. "I definitely learned a lot,
especially about acting and keeping your
character going whatever is happening all
around you, and yes that's useful for a film
like Pirates too.
Even after a mere four years in the
business, Bloom has directors and studios
salivating. Pirates of the Caribbean director
Gore Verbinski, fresh off his success with
The Ring, goes so far as to compare Bloom
with Errol Flynn.
"That's pretty flattering, because in case
anyone doesn't know, he was the classic
screen pirate," Bloom says.
In Pirates, Bloom plays a blacksmith, Will
Turner, in thwe adaptation of the Disneyland
theme park ride, of all things.
Turner teams up with Depp's Jack
Sparrow - "a real deal pirate who's
completely cool and roguish" - to counter a
ship of villians led by the ruthless Captain
Barbossa (Rush).
Unfortunely for Bloom, "It's Johnny and
Geoffrey who have the full-on paraphernalia,
which I'm a bit envious of to be honest."
"Then again, since I play the earnest
young man, my bet is that I end up getting
the girl," he teases, "the girl" being played
by Bend It Like Beckham's Keira Knightly.
While Bloom's previous LOTR experience
handling a blade put him in good stead for
his current swashbuckling adventure, he
was relieved to leave the wig behind.
"Well, my hair really is brown," he says.
"You know, I really enjoyed the anonymity
that's come with the long, blonde look in
Lord of the Rings. It's like you get all the fun
and excitement of being in a really big movie
without any of the undue attention or
harassment, or whatever else goes with
being recognised in public. But the truth is,
so far even I hardly recognise myself when I
see myself up there on the screen."

The Daily Telegraph Magazine - Thursday 3rd July, 2003
By Micheal Bodey

To see the full size picture that goes with the article click below.