'Second man' in Pirates movie is the new sex symbol

Orlando Bloom (26), the man that makes his big rise starring alongside Johnny Depp in the fictional pirates movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean', in cinemas this week. He is on his way to becoming the new sex symbol of 2003. At this moment he is having a career that others could only dream of, it all started with his role in 'The Lord of the Rings'-trilogy. He stole the hearts of millions as the blond-haired, blue-eyed elf prince Legolas. Now Orlando can be seen as the simple blacksmith Will Turner, with the help of the pirate Jack Sparrow (Depp) he does everything to save his love Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) as a true Errol Flynn, from the evil hands of captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). This time he plays an exciting guy with dark hair and brown eyes, but he does it as endearing as the refined Elf. After these heroic roles the young Brit. hopes to get the part of a real jerk. In the meanwhile, he plays the part of Prince Paris, a selfish anti-hero in the epic 'Troy'. The filming of this screen-version of the Trojan War is at the moment in full swing in Malta. And yet again his appearance is totally different. But due to his charisma and natural radiation, he will, despite the nature of Prince Paris, probably gain even more fans.

Last month the London premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean" started half an hour later than planned because Orlando Bloom couldn't cross the red carpet because of the many fans that wanted his signature, or even better, a kiss. It still astonishes Orlando that he made so many hearts beat faster in such a short period of time. In the mean time there are many Bloom-fan sites to be found on the internet, one even more lyrical then the other. "I don't feel like a sex symbol," says Orlando Bloom, who lost five kilo and went to the gym to create a six-pack for his role as prince Paris.  

Six Years ago Orlando - Orli as his fans call him- at that time an unknown actor, auditioned for the part of Frodo, the small brave hobbit in 'The lord of the rings'. [this is wrong, it was Faramir] But the producer thought that he was too tall and too skinny but he immediately noticed an enormous charisma surrounding this young man from Canterbury, England. Despite the fact that Orlando had no experience he got the role of the elf prince, for this part his face was made paler, his hair was made blonde and he had to wear blue contacts. "I was looking for a job and I hit the jackpot. Playing in such an amazing spectacle is the dream of every young actor. We had to work really hard in New Zealand but I had work for over 15 months. If I had to play a horse I would have taken the job too, haha. But that I even got a lead role in the screen-version of the books of Tolkien, the books I read when I was younger, I could not have imagined in a thousand years. For days, weeks, I thought that I was living a dream" he says.

After 15 months shooting 'Lord of the Rings' Orlando played a part in the Australian outlaw movie 'Ned Kelly' and in the comedy 'the Calcium Kid' in which he plays a boxing milkman that takes the challenge of fighting against the world champion. "Plenty of work, the offers are coming right at me" laughs the star. "I am particularly proud of Pirates of the Caribbean because of the fact that I got to work with a great hero of mine Johnny Depp. You will not find any actor of my generation that will not think of Depp as 'the man'. We see him as greatness, an actor with who you can identify yourself with. He can play a lot of different characters. He is my example. Isn't it amazing that you get the opportunity to work with such a man. And Pirates will open the doors for me in America and then I mean Hollywood. At this time Pirates already made over 200 million dollars in America."

'Hottest guy'

The bosses in Hollywood would be complete idiots if they let Bloom slip from their attention. He is the 'hottest guy in the show business' at the moment. Young -female- fans in particular swoon away in their bedrooms, underneath their Bloom-quilt, walls covered with countless Bloom-posters. Countless times the Bloom-sites are opened and fans spend hours chatting about their 'hero'. If he really is dating the blonde 'blue-crush' beauty Kate Bosworth? "I've got my hands full with my dog Maude" says Bloom while he grins. Internet search machine Lycos recently calculated that in the category 'male actors' the Orlando Bloom sites since January 2002 are the most visited websites. More than Orlando's co-star in 'Troy': Brad Pitt. Orlando: "I do not know what to think of it. I have nothing with the internet, I don't have a computer and hardly watch any television. I am an outdoors person. I love some extreme sports: jumping out of planes, surfing, climbing mountains." As a result Orlando broke several ribs, an arm, a finger and a toe. He also cracked his skull three times. Three years ago Orlando even broke his back, doctors feared that he would never walk again. "Look I can fly like a bird, I do take it a lot slower nowadays".  

"I have played good guys. The public knows me as Legolas, the intelligent, charming archer and as Will, the kind-hearted boy. I wonder if people still like me when they see me as Paris in 'Troy'. In that movie I steal the woman (Helen, played by Diana Kruger) from another man and cause the Trojan war because of that. I am an anti-hero, a selfish, self-centered man, haha. Bad guys are the most fun to play and I really enjoy playing this part." And after Troy? "To be honest I have no idea, I've got a few options. Maybe a sequel to 'Pirates of the Caribbean', which is heavily discussed. I also got an offer to play Dan Eldon. Eldon was a photojournalist who got killed during his work in Somalia, or maybe just doing nothing for a while. I don't want to be pushed into things. It is only work. You shouldn't take it all to serious. It is a bit of play, dressing up and most of all having fun. I don't want to make a too big of a deal out of that" says Bloom, who recently bought a house in the heart of London. "It is my first house. I haven't been home a lot the past years. First shooting the Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand for fifteen months and from there to Australia, England and know I am in Malta. I just started and look to what I have achieved already, pretty good for a normal boy isn't it? No you won't hear me complaining...."