“The Lord of the Rings star: I thought that I never would be able to walk again”
Orlando Bloom had many adventures as he was playing Legolas, through the time shooting “the Lord of the rings”.
But he has been in worse action in his real life. He fell three floors and hurt his back.
- At the hospital they said that I could end up in a wheelchair. For four days I thought that would never be able to walk again, says Orlando Bloom.
The accident happened in 1999. Later he got the role as a soldier in “Black Hawk Down”. A soldier who falls out a helicopter – and breaks his back.
Falling down from a terrace outside his friends apartment has evidently not scared Orlando Bloom. His big interest is extreme sports. In New Zealand he threw himself off high bungyjumps a couple of hours after arriving in Queenstown, and he learned to surf.

Broke his rib
And during the production he had to fight a lot.
- I wanted to do all the stunts myself. There was so many cool stuff. I learned to ride, fight, do archery, says Orlando Bloom. I fell off a horse and broke a rib but… hey, it’s alright.
Why do you want to put yourself in risky positions?
- I spent a lot of time to learn this stuff. Of course I wanted that to appear.

I met Orlando Bloom when the first film was going to be premiered. Since then, he has been working hard. The role as action-elf is only the beginning. We will soon see him in more “boy-dream-roles”:
Cowboy: In “The Kelly gang”, western in Australia, premiere in september.
Pirate: He has the starring role with Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean”, coming in august.
Boxer: In the comedy “The Calcium Kid” he plays a milkman and amateur boxer who gets to meet the world champion.
Prince: In the coming “Troy”, about the old greeks, he plays Paris who steals the beautiful Helena and starts the Trojan war. Brad Pitt is Achilles.

Orlando Bloom's first film job was as a prostitute with one line in “Wilde”. After that he went onto theater school.

Distracted by girls
And he went on an audition for Peter Jackson.
- I got the job two days before I graduated from theater school, says Orlando Bloom. Before that I felt nervous to graduate. And to then be offered to play Legolas in “the Lord of the rings” was the most overwhelming thing I’ve ever experience. Like winning in the lottery.
He realised soon what the job meant.
- It was a perfect gift. I got experience. A big role. Learning to work with the camera, says Orlando Bloom. It was like getting a whole career as a gift.
Did you know Tolkiens world?
- I started to read it when I was fourteen. I got halfway through the second part, but I was distracted by girls and such things. I read all the books when I got the part. It was really good to have “the Lord of the rings” as a bible though the time shooting. There was all the background, much information on the characters.
Orlando Bloom was in New Zealand for 18 months.
- It was dazed years, to end up on the other side of the globe, totally away from all friends. We worked six days a week, often 14 hours a day.
He describes his character Legolas and the elfs. How they don’t take from the earth, only give. To play Legolas was to be constantly tense.
- Elves are so constantly focused. How many yoga classes do you have to go to be like that?
I don’t know Orlando. But sitting still one moment could also be good.

It’s his 26th birthday today.
Name: Orlando Bloom. He got his name after Virginia Woolfs novel "Orlando" (1937). 
Is called: Orli. 
Born: 13 January 1977 in Canterbury. 
Family: Single. One big sister. Dad Harry Bloom was anti-apartheid activist from South Africa and wrote the book "Transvaal episode". 
Debut: In "Wilde" 1997. 
Coming up: As Legolas in ”The Two towers” and “Kelly Gang” in April.