Bloom decided that he wanted to act when he was still a schoolboy: "There was a girl in my class whom all the guys had a crush on. We used to run races in the playground at lunchtime to see who would be her boyfriend for the day! I had always loved watching Superman on television, and I used to fantasize that I could just fly in, pick up the girl and zoom off again!" He laughs and adds, "At the same time, of course, I realized that a character like Superman was just an actor playing the part, and it was about that time that I thought: that is the job for me."
At the age of sixteen Bloon spent two seasons with the National Youth Theatre, and by the time he began his traning at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama - where he performed in productions such as Peer Gynt, Twelfth Night, The Seafull and Antigone - he had already made his film debut in Wilde, as one of the working-class lads who caught the eyes of the famous playwright Oscar Wilde. Following this, Bloom performed in the television series Midsomer's Murders.
Still at drama school when he attended an audition for The Lord Of The Rings, Bloon originally read for the part of Boromir's brother, Faramir, who is introduced in The Two Towers. Since there were a lot of young actors auditioning and he was busy with his studies, Bloom didn't give a lot of thought to how he had fared: "I suppose it was lucky that I didn't, because I might have been overwhelmed by the idea!"
After waiting six months Bloom heard that although he had not been cast as Faramir, he was being asked to audition again for Legolas: "I thought: Definitely! Game on!' So I learned the scene and acted it on videotape and shortly after got this incredible phone call saying that they were offering me the role. It was like winning the lottery! Like having all your dreams fullfilled! It was amazing!"
Having secured the role of Legolas, Bloom rapidly became expert on the ways of Elves: "They are the firstborn, the oldest and the wisest of the races in Middle-earth. Theyt are ageless and immortal. They have never known sickness or pestilence. They can be slain in battle or die of a broken-heart - but otherwise, that's about it! Tolkien's Elves are nothing like the traditional image of pixies or fairies: they have great physical and mental strength and are powerful, full-blooded people."
"As for Legolas," adds Orlando Bloom, "he has seen the world. He is incredibly experienced in many ways. Mind you, so he should be - after all, he is 2,391 years old!"
+Aragorn+Arwen+Bilbo+Boromir+Celeborn+Elrond+Frodo+Gandalf+Galadriel+Gimli+Legolas+
+Merry+Pippin+Sam+Saruman+