Orlando Bloom

The role of Legolas, in Lord of the Rings shot him out into the hollywood sky, now after The Pirates of the Caribbean his star will shine even brighter and the antic movie Troy, where he acts with Brad Pitt, will make him a megastar.

Q: How does it feel, to have a fast moving carrier at twenty-six?
A: It is incredibly bizarre, almost unreal. Sometimes, I still can't even believe it. I was very lucky to get such opportunities and I am very thankful for them. I wasn't even consciously trying for them, everything actually just happened by chance. I got the role of Legolas while still in school and such an offer cannot be refused. And then things just started to get moving on their own.

Q: Doesn't it sometimes overwhelm you?
A: All the time. That's the hardest part. When you start to live your dream, it's never the way you imagined it, and it brings a lot of inconveniences. I would really just like to act in movies and then live a normal life, but that's not possible. It's the price you have to pay for success.

Q: Thanks to Lord of the Rings you are a favorite of teenage girls. Does it limit you when you choose a role? Are you afraid to take risks?
A: I am trying to not let it get to me and I hope that it won’t keep me from accepting any interesting roles. I think everyone has to go through that. Johnny Depp, after 21 Jump Street, also became an idol for girls, without even trying. But also thanks to that people liked to work with him and he gained freedom and did what he wanted to. And I hope, that I will be able to do the same.

Q: So Johnny Depp is sort of an idol to you.
A: Absolutely! I think, that any young actor would tell you the same thing. Johnny is one of the most charismatic actors of his generation, he chooses interesting movies and he can always transform himself, become different characters and every time make himself completely into someone else. His character in Pirates was completely different in the script and then came Johnny and from a normal pirate he made this incredible rock star, a drunken ruler over the seven seas. It was very brave from him, after all it’s a movie from Disney, but he took a risk and it ended up great. He’s also incredibly modest, he doesn’t care what is written about him in magazines, he doesn’t even like to watch his own movies. Brad Pitt is the same way. Both of them are carefree, nice and don’t behave like some arrogant celebrities. The same goes for Viggo Mortensen, who during Lord of the Rings became like an older brother to me. I can only hope, that one day I will be such an inspiration for someone, as Viggo or Johnny were for me.

Q: Since we’re talking about Lord of the Rings, did you go back to Australia to finish filming Return of the King?
A: This year I went back for the third and the last time. Peter Jackson came up with an additional idea for a scene with Legolas. Trust me, it’s going to be just as an exciting moment, as when Legolas jumped on the back of the cave giant in the first one, or when he rode his shield down the stairs in the second one.

Q: What was harder? Learning sword fighting for The Pirates or riding a horse and shooting from an arrow for Lord of the Rings?
A: Sword fighting is incomparably harder, because you have to learn a lot more moves. On top of that, the duel between Johnny and I is a truly magnificent scene, which initially really scared me. But thanks to Lord of the Rings I knew that each battle is divided into small parts during the filming, so after all I wasn’t really nervous that much.

Q: As a child, did you like pirate movies?
A: When I was little, they used to show movies about pirates Sunday afternoon on television. My favorite pirates were the ones, who would swing on the ropes with knifes in their teeth, over at the captured ship. We would always play pirates with my friends afterwards…

Q: Which of the movie worlds did you like more? Pirates or Lord of the Rings?
A: Even though becoming a pirate for a half a year was great, my favorite world is still Lord of the Rings, you just can’t beat that.