Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent, England on January 13, 1977. The man he briefly knew as his father, Harry Bloom, was a legendary political activist who fought for civil rights in South Africa. But Harry died of a stroke when Orlando was only four years old. After that, Orlando and his older sister, Samantha Bloom, were raised by their mother, Sonia, and family friend, Colin Stone. When Orlando was 13, Sonia revealed to him that Colin was actually his biological father.

Orlando attended St. Edmunds School in Canterbury but struggled in many courses because of dyslexia. He did embrace the arts, however, and enjoyed pottery, photography and sculpturing. He also participated in school plays and was active at his local theater. As a teen, Orlando landed his first job: he was a clay trapper at a pigeon shooting range. Encouraged by his mother, he and his sister began studying poetry and prose, eventually giving readings at Kent Festival. Orlando and Samantha won many poetry and Bible reciting competitions. Then Orlando, who always idolized larger-than-life characters, gravitated towards serious acting. At the age of 16, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre, spending two seasons there and gaining a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. Like many young actors, he also auditioned for a number of television roles to further his career, landing bit parts in British television shows Casualty, Midsomer Murders and Smack the Pony. He also appeared in the critically acclaimed movie Wilde.

He then attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. It was there, in 1998, that Orlando fell three stories from a rooftop terrace and broke his back. Despite fears that he would be permanently paralyzed, he quickly recovered and returned to the stage. As fate would have it, seated in the audience one night in 1999 was a director named Peter Jackson. After the show, he met with Orlando and asked him to audition for his new set of movies. After graduating from Guildhall, Orlando began work on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, spending 18 months in New Zealand bringing to life "Legolas", a part which made him a household name. Today, he is one of the busiest and most sought-after actors in the industry.


Elizabethtown (2005): $3,000,000
Kingdom of Heaven (2005): $2,000,000

During the filming for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), he fell off his horse and broke one of his ribs. Originally auditioned to play the role of "Faramir" in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy but lost out on that role and was instead asked to play the role of Legolas. He won the 2002 MTV Movie Award for "Breakthrough Male." Won the award at the 2002 Empire Awards for "Best Debut." According to Screensavers.com, Orlando Bloom replaced Britney Spears at the top of the website's celebrity download index in January, 2004. Web-site Ananova.com chose him as the sexiest actor in Britain. [2004] His cousin, the photographer/director Sebastian Copeland, is Brigitte Nielsen's ex-husband. Chosen as Teen People's #1 Hottie for the October 2004 issue. He used to be a vegetarian, but he had to go back to eating meat when he was filming The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Was visited by Baroness, Maria Von Ritchie Lopez during filming of Lord of The Rings, Return of the King. He has received an invitation to join the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford Upon Avon, which he plans to do in the near future when he has some time off from working on film. His goal is to perform Hamlet on the Swan stage (RSC main), one of Shakespeare's most challenging works. Has an older sister, Samantha Bloom. Amusingly enough, his 2000 guest appearance in the television show, "Midsomer Murders" (1997) references and discusses J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" (Particularly "Lothlorien"), for which he was eventually cast (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)). Wears a replica of the One Ring that says "To wherever it may lead." It was given to him by one of the makeup artists on LOTR. Has three A-Levels. One A in Art, one A in Photography and one C in Religious Studies. His first car was a dark green VW Golf that costed £160. His favourite vegetable is spinach. Supports English football team Manchester United. Was listed as a potential nominee on both the 2005 and 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballots. He was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actor category on the 2005 ballot for his performance in the film Troy (2004). And he was suggested again the next year in the Worst Actor category for his performances in the films Elizabethtown (2005) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005). He failed to receive either nomination. Is 18 months younger than Judy Greer but still plays her big brother in Elizabethtown (2005). Voted #4 in Elle (France) Magazine's "15 Sexiest Men" poll (June 2007). Is one of only two actors who appear in two of the three movies that grossed over one billion dollars in the box office: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006). The other is Bernard Hill. Nomination for London Newcomer of the Year, for his theatre role in "In Celebration", Theatregoers' Choice Awards. [2007/08] Gets name-checked in the theme song to the Disney Channel TV series "Hannah Montana" (2006) when Hannah sings, "Is that Orlando Bloom?". Very good friends with actress Jennifer Aniston. Was named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador [October 12, 2009].