Born in 1977 in Canterbury, Orlando Bloom's plans of becoming an actor developed quite early, when he realized that 'Superman' Christopher Reeve was an actor. In 1993, he moved to London to improve his career, doing bit parts in TV series like 'Casualty'. His first memorable appearance, a cameo in the critically acclaimed movie Wilde, earned him - only 20 years old by that time - various film offers, which he all turned down in favour to play theatre for about three years. Personal injury nearly ended his career before it truely began. '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.'
On stage, he appeared in plays like 'The Seagull', 'Twelfth Night', and 'Trojan Women'. Peter Jackson then 'discovered' the classically handsome Bloom for his much hyped Lord Of The Rings trilogy in 1999. After doing three movies with Jackson, he's worked with Ridley Scott on Black Hawk Down. Personal experience helped him obtain the role.
'My character breaks his back, and I had mentioned I had done that when I was up for the part. Who knows why one actor gets a job and another doesn't? I think it was just good timing that I happened to be there and I had had the experience - I mean, I was lucky.'
