Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom was born on 13th January, 1977 in Canterbury, Kent (UK). Now 43 years of age, it’s a toss-up whether he is best known for his role as Legolas in the “Lord of The Rings” movie trilogy, or as Will Turner in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
As a young man, Orlando suffered from a learning disability, dyslexia and his mother recommended that he take art and drama classes to help. He entered the Guildhall School of Acting in 1977.
Career Highlights
The first part he landed upon graduating was that of Legolas in the Peter Jackson epic based on the “Lord of the Rings” novels by J.R.R. Tolkein. Not a bad place to start a move career, and his devil-may-care portray of an elf, laced with moments of brooding sobriety, could be what landed him the part of Will Turner in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.
All three “Lord of the Rings” films earned a nomination from SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. They, oddly, didn’t win. Bloom did win an Empire Award for Best Debut for the 2001 film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”. He has won a few other regional awards and received nominations for more, as well.
Bloom has garnered critical acclaim for his acting, and has a fan base of astronomical proportions. His guildhall training means he has been taught how to act and yet, it might be his looks and charm that have earned him the most fans. Of course, he has been phenomenon ally fortunate in his roles.
Some purists descried Bloom’s portray of Legolas the elf in the LOTR movies as too brash and fun loving. These critics seem to be of the opinion that Bloom wrote his own lines and directed his own work. Otherwise, he has garnered little negative press.
Top Ten Movies of Orlando Bloom:
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
- The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Troy
- Black Hawk Down
- Ned Kelly
