Orlando Bloom

Born: January 13, 1977
Hometown: Canterbury, England

Bloom was raised with his older sister, Samantha. Their mother taught an appreciation for the arts and encouraged them to participate in the local Kent Festival. Bloom began by reciting poetry and prose, displaying a keen grasp of tone and modulation. Yet, it wasn't this precociousness or his frequent trips to the theater that influenced Bloom. He was in awe of larger-than-life characters and knew the only way to become one was to play one on the screen.

At sixteen, Bloom moved to London and performed with the National Youth Theatre for two seasons before earning a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. At the end of his term with the group, he played the lead in A Walk in the Vienna Woods, and hired an agent. This led to small roles on British television and his debut on the big screen in Brian Gilbert's Wilde (1997). Wishing to further his education, Bloom then entered London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama (the alma mater of many talented actors, including Ewan McGregor, Joseph Fiennes, and Ben Chaplin). There, he acted in several plays, including Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Sophocles' Antigone.

While in school, Bloom was trying to climb onto a friend's rooftop terrace when he fell two stories and broke his back. The accident almost paralyzed the actor, but he walked out of the hospital on crutches. Soon afterward, his peers auditioned for roles in the upcoming The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The extensive and selective casting process took place in English-speaking countries around the world. Bloom tried out for the role of Faramir, a character introduced in the second film, The Two Towers (2002). After meeting with the director, Peter Jackson, he asked that Bloom read for the part of Legolas Greenleaf, a much more prominent figure who is featured in all three films. The director offered Bloom the role a few weeks later, two days before the burgeoning star graduated from drama school.