Orlando was named by his father (Harry Bloom) after the hero in Virginia Woolf’s novel, Orlando: a biography. He loves extreme sports, and while in New Zealand… He enjoys surfing, skiing, snowboarding, skydiving and photography, bungee jumping (he bungee jumped five times during The Lord of the Rings).
"Once I realized that I could be Superman or I could be The Hustler or I could be Daniel Day Lewis's character in The Last Of The Mohicans - I was like, "Man, I can become an actor and be all of those things." Lovely Orli got the acting bug at the tender age of nine, when he realised that Superman (Christopher Reeve) was an actor. "Aged nine, I had this girlfriend, and we used to have running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend for the day," he giggles. "I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her. Once I realised Superman was an actor, I thought, "That's for me." I got into acting for the women."
- Orli and the woman in his life...ok, it's his sis Sam!
Orlando got the part of Legolas by auditioning for the part of Faramir (Boromir’s brother) but director Peter Jackson called him back to read the part of Legolas. Two days before graduating from Guildhall, Orlando was informed that Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, had cast Orlando in the role of Legolas. "When I found out I had the role it was a surreal moment. Amazing." Orlando was the first cast member on set: "The first thing they did was put a bow in my hand!" Orlando had to intensively train for the physical role: "I started training with a bow and arrow in order to get archery going. And horse-riding training. And then swordplay. And paddle training." He also studied Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai to find the same way of walking and posture that would give Legolas the aura of focus. He went through a hefty training schedule to prepare for the role and was often injured. "I did some pretty wicked stuff on horseback. I mean, it really was insane what I had to do, but I had real faith in my horse, though I did fall off him once and broke my rib. That was one of my war wounds for the movie!" This leads to a confession of the long list of injuries he's had in his life, "I'm rather accident-prone, I have to admit. I've broken my back, my ribs, my nose, both my legs, my arm, my wrist, a finger and a toe and cracked my skull three times."
- Orli when he was younger!!
Orlando seriously damaged his back after falling from a drainpipe a couple of years ago. Doctors thought he wouldn’t be able to walk again, but he miraculously recovered. "I broke my back. I fell out of a window... some friends had a roof terrace on the landing before their apartment, and I fell off the drain pipe. It gave way, actually, and I fell three floors. I was told I might not walk again. So, for about four days,I was contemplating that as a serious part of reality. Then they operated, and I walked out of the hospital in about twelve days."
He lived in Kent until he was 16, when he dropped out of school, which he didn't particularly enjoy. He says, "As a kid I was dyslexic so I always struggled in school. I'm still mildly dyslexic." He moved to London to attend the National Youth Theatre. He has 3 A-levels – in theatre, photography and sculpture. On stage, he appeared in plays like "The Seagull", "Twelfth Night", and "Trojan Women". After doing the three Rings movies with Jackson, he worked with Ridley Scott on Black Hawk Down. Since then, he has been working on new projects non-stop. In 2003, four of his movies will be released: The Kelly Gang, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Calcium Kid, and The Two Towers. When he's not working, Orlando divides his time between London and Los Angeles.
Orli is a strict vegetarian, and stays clear of dairy products. He used to smoke but gave up, and now bites his nails.
After the success of The Fellowship of the Ring, Orlando became an instant celebrity. He won the "Best Breakthrough Performance" in the 2001 Internet Movie Awards, the "Best Debut" at the 2002 Empire Awards, the "Best Breakthrough Male Performance" at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards, and was featured in Teen People's 25 Hottest Stars Under 25.
