The British Bomb Explodes in ‘The Return of the King’, Star Club (France), January 2004
translation and scans by Veronique
Orlando Bloom:” I could have been disabled for life”
Three years ago, Orlando Bloom was still
unknown, but now he sees his popularity grow rapidly in Hollywood. This month,
we find him back on a poster of the last episode of Lord of the Rings, The
Return of the King as Legolas, an elf. This ladies’ favorite talks to us about
the wonderful experience in New Zealand during the filming, about his likes and
his work.
First big role
"LOTR has been my first long film, not
mentioning Wilde then, which was shot in one weekend. On the contrary,
LOTR has been a real project for several months: my first genuine job. (laughs)
It was fantastic that Peter Jackson, the director, explained to us from the
beginning on what he wanted. All the preparation he made us do was incredible.
In this way, we all had the feeling of really mastering the characters we
played."
The start
"I will carry Legolas, my part in the film, and
the experience of filming in New Zealand with me wherever I go. While
you’re an actor, the most beautiful thing is that every character you play
becomes a part of your personality forever. Right now, I really have the
feeling to be blessed by having taken part in this project. The entire
experience was amazing: living in New Zealand, working with excellent actors, a
large team and being surrounded by very good friends. It was a dream job!"
Family feeling
"The filming was done in a happy atmosphere and
everybody was in a good mood. The technical team was friendly; we all had the
feeling of being one big family: all prepared to unite our forces. There wasn’t
any resentment; there was only the will to get started and to make this
trilogy. It was great."
The original books
"I started reading the books of JRR Tolkien (the
author of LOTR) when I was young, but I put them aside ‘cause I was more
interested in girls! (laughs) Back then, I had read halfway through the second book, TTT. I took reading up again when the casting started and I
reread all three of the books just before the filming started. It was like a Bible
for all because the original books describe each character with lots of
details."
His wig
"The wigs we wore were incredible! They had cost
a fortune because they were made of real hair. One day, during a fight, I tore
Viggo’s wig to pieces and the girl who did his make-up wasn’t too pleased! (laughs)
With my natural hair colour it is now more difficult for Legolas’ fans to
recognize me."
Time off
"When I have some time off, which is rare, I
dedicate it to my family and friends. I go to the movies, listen to some
music,… But most importantly, I try to be with the ones I love."
Miracle
The roles I have played so far have all been
quite different, so I don’t have the feeling of being trapped in a routine.
Even the duels and the battles are all different. For example: The fights in
POTC have nothing in common with those in LOTR. In Troy (release in May) I
don’t incarnate a warrior, but a man madly in love who gets dragged into an
armed fight by circumstances. It’s a miracle that I can get all those roles
because a few years ago, I fell from the third floor and that fall could have
left me disabled forever. My back was in a terrible state, I was in a
wheelchair for a while. The doctors thought I would have to stay in it for the
rest of my life… An X-ray revealed that there was a twist in my spine. Luckily
enough, I was able to leave that place behind two weeks later walking on both
legs.
Hard worker
The schools of Performing Arts that I’ve been
to, have given me the taste of working and of devotion. The success of LOTR
made no changes to those values. Playing a comedy is difficult when you want to
deliver quality.
Crush on Krystle
When I was younger, I had a weak spot for Linda
Evans (Krystle Carrington in the cult series Dynasty). My aunt, who works in
the communications business in New York, had asked her for an autograph for me
one day, when she was filming an ad. I was so happy, I still cherish that
photo.
Project
On January 12th, filming will start
for Kingdom of Heaven in Morocco. It was written by William Monahan, directed
by Ridley Scott and produced by 20th Century Fox. This is the
scenario: a young smith (Orlando) becomes a knight and will help to defend
Jerusalem against the 12th century crusaders. He falls in love with
a princess… The budget is $100 million, it will be big!
What’s new?
-For ‘Haven’, one of his future films, he got
involved quite early on because he is one of the co-producers. He will play
alongside Bill Paxton (Titanic) and Gabriel Byrne (The Man with the Iron Mask).
This film will take place in a weekend and will follow two businessmen who have
been given bad financial advice. They have fled to the Cayman Islands in order
to escape from lawsuits filed against them by the government. This escape
causes a chain reaction and will drive an Englishman to murder with
unimaginable consequences. This film should be followed up because it’s the
first time that Orlando plays the main character.
-Sir Ian McKellen, aka Gandalf, will play the
magician Dumbledor in the third Harry Potter film.
-And Viggo Mortensen
will be on the big screen again in Alamo, a film that tells the story how in
1836 a group of 300 men defended the fortress of Alamo against the attacks of
the Mexican army.
