Hip, hot Brit acting talent Orlando Bloom landed a mega-role straight out of college. Watch him go….

The tanned 24-year-old with cheekbones like wing mirrors has spent so little time in London lately he's sold his flat.

Straight out of drama school, the Canterbury lad landed a role in Lord of the Rings with Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett. Donning Spock-like eras and a flowing blonde wig, he spent 18 months in New Zealand filming as Legolas Greenleaf a 2,931-year-old Elf. "I wanted him to be substantial, a red-blooded fighting machine," he says. So he spent hours practicing archery, bareback riding and fighting with knives.

His route to stardom included taking bit parts in Casualty and Wilde, but he credits his career to Superman: "Aged nine, I had this girl friend, and we used to have running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend for the day. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her. Once I realised Superman was an actor, I though, 'That's for me, mate.'" He Grins. "I got into acting for the women."

After Lord of the Rings, he's in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, with Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor, which he spent months filming in the scorching Moroccan desert.

So does the jet-set Orlando date? "If I'm dating anything it's my work at the moment," he says. "But out of the blue I did send a plane ticket to a girl asking her to visit. I guess that's quite romantic." So if you do bump into Orlando, remember to keep your passport handy.