Obsessed, YM (US), May 2004
scans
by Kristine and Laura, typed by Emily
Yes, you love Orlando Bloom (so do we), but do you know what he loves and
hates? Thanks to us, now you will.
Yes, we're obsessed with how hot Orlando Bloom is. Can you blame us? First
the 27-year-old from Canterbury, England, played the surprisingly attractive
bow-and-arrow-toting elf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Then we got more
sucked in by his high-seas tan in Pirates of the Caribbean. Now we're dying
to see him in a toga when Troy comes out on May 14.
But it's not just Orlando's hotness that fuels our crush. We also love that
he's not some opinionless pretty boy who only says intelligent things when
he's reciting his lines. Oh, no- Orlando is as passionate as the characters
he plays. Here are a few things he's enamored of and annoyed of.
HE HATES SHARKS
"They make me nervous," says the avid surfer. Ever since he saw the movie A
game of Death as a kid, where the only way to escape a crazy man's island is
to swim through shark-infested waters, he's been worried he'd be eaten by a great white. "When I surfed in New Zealand at night I saw a fin in the water
and totally flipped out," he's said. "Later I saw that it was just a seal."
HE HATES BEING RECKLESS
Orlando used to be an adrenaline junkie, but that changed six years ago when
he broke his back after falling three stories out of a window.
"I couldn't move, and I didn't think I'd walk again," Orlando says. "I bruised my spinal cord, crushed one of my vertebrae, and fractured three
more. The doctors thought I'd be on my back for at least six months, but I
had a miraculous recovery and walked out of the hospital on crutches 12 days
later."
It hasn't completely stopped Orlando from riding horses or snowboarding, but
it was a wake-up call. "Now I approach everything in a much less fighty
manner," he says. "If I'm gonna get on a snowboard, I'm aware that I could
do serious damage to myself."
HE LOVES HIS BLOND ELF WIG
"One of the best parts of becoming an actor is getting to transform into all
different characters," Orlando says. After the first LOTR movie came out, he
liked the wig because it kept him from getting mauled - no one recgonized
him without the blond hair. But finally he digs its costume factor. "Wearing
something like a suit of armor or a robe or cape helps the transformation."
HE LOVES JOHNNY DEPP'S ADVICE
"Johnny's a role model," says Orlando. As soon as Orlando found out Johnny
was starring in Pirates he said "Where do I sign?" "I've always looked up
tot he guy, so I wasn't goin to the let opportunity to work with him pass me
by," Orlando says. The best advice Johnny gave him: "Don't go for the money.
Keep it real and follow your heart." Our best advice: Never get a girl's
name tattooed on your arm like Johnny did.
HE HATES BEING SEEN AS A HEARTTHROB
Orlando's not comfortable with that label, so he want to handle thing the way
Johnny and Brad Pitt have. "They create a heartthrob thing and then went against it," Orlando says. "You kinda of have to do that - its' like a rite
of passage."
Orlando should know. He's been added to just about every "hottest guys" list
(including ours) and is one of the most-searched male celebs on Lycos. "It's
sweet, but the girls don't know me," he's said. "They've just seen the
characters I play. I'm flattered that they respond to them, but that's not
me."
Actually, the whole idea of being a star freaks Orlando out. "I never really
wanted to be famous," he's said. "I trained for three years at drama school
to be an actor - not a celebrity."
HE LOVES PLAYING THE ANTIHERO
In Troy, Orlando stars as Paris, the prince who sets off the Trojan Wars by
stealing another man's wife (Helen of Troy). "He's very different from the
obvious heroes I played as Will in Pirates of the Caribbean or Legolas in
Lord of the Rings," Orlando says. "It's a nice change to play the bad boy."
Plus, it was a challenge for Orlando to take on another LOTR - size epic. "I
felt really lucky to get involoved," says Orlando, who was excited to share
screen time with one of his inspirations: Brad Pitt.
"I don't get to do that much with Brad, who plays Achilles, except shoot him
in the heel at the end, but he's such a lovely man and a great actor."
HE LOVES MELLOW MUSIC
"The CD I've traveled with forever is Jeff Buckley's Grace, but I also love
cold play, Ben Harper, and Jack Jackson," Orlando says.
HE HATES INTERNET RUMORS
Orlando says he's a technophone, so he's not surfing the Web to look at
every site dedicated to him. He has seen a few though, "I read that I'd do a
movie for no money if I just got to kiss a girl," Orlando says. " I was like, Who the hell write this? Don't get me wrong - I love women. But it
would never be about sex scenes."
He may not be Googling himself, but his mom, Sonia, is. She's tried to get
Orlando to start his own official site to correct all of the mistakes
circulating about him. Orlando's not interested, though. He's too busy- and
he has no idea what HTML even stands for. Actually, neither do we.
HE HATES TALKING ABOUT HIS PRIVATE LIFE
"The only thin I don't talk about in public is my personal relationships,"
Orlando's said. That's why you don't hear him gushing about Kate Bosworth
even though they've been dating since last June.
It's pretty clear how he feels about her anyway. After all, we've seen the
photos of them holding hands in London as they window shopped for vintage
Rolexes, and heard about the $58,000 that he reportedly spent last summer to
fly Kate to Mexico each weekend to visit him on the set of Troy.
Orlando will get all mushy talking about love in general, though. "It's
heavenly, especially in the initial stages when you're falling for someone
and can't stop thinking about her," he's said. His perfect girl: someone
who's "totally normal and game for anything."
How well do you know Orlando? Go to ym.com to find out.