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April 2003, (Australia) theres two articles here.
Orlando Bloom as Joe Byrne, The Lord Of The Rings star swaps the Land of the Long White Cloud for rural Victoria.
England's Orlando Bloom has spent so much time in the Antipodes, it's a wonder he hasn't taken out citizenship. "I love it in Australia and New Zealand," laughs the lad who is Legolas. "And, despite being a Pom (slang for Englishman), I never get too rough a time from the crews!"
Bloom, who was cast before he was awarded his breakthrough role in the Rings trilogy, became so interested in Byrne that he toyed with buying one of the few surviving pictures of the bush-ranger. "It was a shot of him being strung up." he recalls. "I had all but bought it when I had the most dreadful night's sleep I've ever had. The next day, I decided that I didn't need a picture of a dead man in my life."
One dead man who has done Bloom a few favors is J.R.R. Tolkien. Speaking of whom, is there a chance that The Return of the King is going to be any good? "What do you think?" Bloom laughs. That would be a rhetorical question, then.
Orlando's Pirate Movie,
Lord of the Rings star thinks new swashbuckler will be Bloom-ing marvellous.
Pirates of the Caribbean
"I only made the film because Geoffrey Rush said I'd be an idiot if I didn't." So laughs Orlando Bloom about his decision to co-star in Pirates of the Caribbean, a big-screen take on the popular Disneyland ride. "I'd seen the script and I knew about the ride," continues the actor, "but it just didn't feel like my cup of tea. Then I was hanging around with Geoffrey on the Ned Kelly set and he said that he thought it would be a really fantastic experience. And that's exactly what it's turned out to be."
Besides Rush, Bloom - who is midway though shooting the film on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent - will also be sharing screen time with Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightley. Gore Verbinski [The Ring] will be calling the shots.
"It's been such a pleasure working with Gore," bubbles Bloom, who compounds the misery of being such good-looking chap with the fact that he's also a really nice guy. "Thanks to him, Pirates of the Caribbean is a film in the very best tradition of swashbucklers."
The actor - who came to St. Vincent on the back of completing British comedy The Calcium Kid - also isn't short of good things to say about co-star Johnny Depp. "Working with Johnny's been on the greatest thrills of my career." he enthuses. "He was an actor I was very keen to work with, and I've been thrilled to discover he's as great a bloke as he is a performer."
February 2003
Ned Kelly's Beardy Weirdies,
New Orlando Bloom pic surfaces. Empire sales increase.
Orlando Bloom must love it down under. Fresh from spending a year in New Zealand with a bunch of Hobbits, he'd barely touched down in Blighty before flying back to Oz to star alongside Heath Ledger in Gregor Jordan's Ned Kelly, where he plays Joe, Irish right-hand man to Australia's most notorious outlaw.
Our exclusive pic shows the duo in full-on bearded (though not at all ugly) mode. So why the haste, Mr. Bloom? "It was a smaller ensemble which I was looking to do, and i could shoulder a bit more responsibility without having it be the lead," he told Empire, "I met Gregor Jordan in LA beforehand, and he just said, 'you know mate, it's going to be a bit of fun - we're going to be out there on horses, shooting guns, riding around and having fun.' Which it was. It feels like it will stand the test of time because it is a piece of Australian history. He (ned Kelly) is their kind of hero."
January 2003
Orlando Bloom Sharpshooter, Legolas just keeps on hitting that spot.
In a disused power station in Chelsea, Orlando Bloom is wearing boxing gloves and silly, white shorts, his hair is dark and curly, his eyes brown. You have to look closely to find Legolas, but he's in there somewhere.
The reason is that the young actor from Kent is making The Calcium Kid, a British comedy-thriller about a milkman who becomes a pugilist. It's his first lead role and testament to the effect the slender Elf had has on his career. Since completing the trilogy, he has gone on to feature in Black Hawk Down, the upcoming The Kelly Gang, and now this. In a few days he'll be off to shoot Pirate of the Caribbean in LA with Johnny Depp. And most places he goes these days, he's followed by hordes of tearful girls, clutching, "Marry me Orly!" banners with the self control of wailing banshees.
"They're cool, that's sweet, but they don't know me - they see characters I play in movies and I'm very flattered that they respond to them in such an excited way," he says with a shake of the head. "Apparently there's a lot of mad stuff on the internet - my mum keeps trying to tell me about it but I ask her not to. I just try to keep it as realistic as possible: I'm still riding my bike around London, still living in the same sort of area." He looks at his feet, just to make sure that theyre still attached to the ground. "I do feel incredibly lucky, but that doesn't do it justice," he says of the Lord of the Rings extravaganza. "It's like, fuck, I was so happy with the way the film turned out, I was so honoured to be a part of that. If I do nothing else, I've been in these films."
Accordingly, Bloom is as ravenous to see the completed version of The Two Towers as the next fan. "When I saw Pete he was just so excited. It is just going to go off! I saw some funky stuff doing my ADR (additional dialogue recording). I'm sliding down this stair on an Uruk-hai shield, firing arrows, taking out these guys. It is like the gift that keeps giving. Here's another one..."
And even if Bloom was disappointed not to figure in the reshoots - he was too busy filming The Kelly Gang in Australia (with a beard, girls!) - he did manage to fly over for one last dinner party. "I went over anyway, like for a weekend, just to say 'Hi,'" he laughs. "Because I was like, 'This is bollocks, I feel out of it.' I met up with Viggo ," he smiles. "And let me tell you, we had one mad night in New Zealand!"
September 2002
Orlando blooms
Or, the meteoric rise of an Elf called Legolas. Winning Empire and MTV awards. Appearing in Gap ads for Cameron Crowe. Having studios retain "beard growth" approval for his role in the upcoming Ned Kelly. It's been a crazy six months for the 25 year old Canterbury Lad, but it could have been very different.
If Guildhall's scholarship student had got the role he auditioned for in Peter Jackson's trilogy, no-one would have heard of him - yet. Bloom was originally up for the part of Faramir, who doesn't appear until The Two Towers, and recorded his audition piece for that.
"Then a call came back saying that Faramir wasn't going to be made available to me, could I go on tape as Legolas? I was like 'Yeah, absof******lutely!'. Then I got another call, two days before I finished at Guildhall and I was screaming the place down. Eighteen months in New Zealand! It couldn't be better!"
That's not strictly true. What the role did involve is tough training for Bloom to fill the frame of the athletic Elf warrior.
"I had to be really good on a horse, because at one point in the second movie I am cantering along and I let go of the reigns and fire the bow and arrow."
Injuries were inevitable.
"I broke a rib," Bloom states matter-of-factly." I came off a horse. We'd done this shot five times and you have to imagine that the Orcs and Uruk-hai are around you and you are battering them down with your arrows. I had my hand on the reign and Brett Beattie (Gimli's stunt double) was behind me and had a horse that decided not to stop. I bailed and landed on a rock and Brett landed on top of me."
Ouch! Mind you, Bloom is used to injuries. He once fell three floors off a friend's balcony and was hospitalized for several days while doctors worked out whether he'd ever walk again. It wouldn't be a surprise to find him knocked off them again, in the barrage of publicity he's faced since Fellowship, but Bloom is trying to keep his cool and enjoy the ride.
"To work on a project like Lord of The Rings was amazing. It's so jiggy, I feel spoiled!"
Appearing in Empire isn't so bad, either.
"I'm so pleased, man. I've always wanted to be in films and I've been reading Empire for ever. When I was in New Zealand I got it sent over. I had all the creature comforts sent over!"
August 2002, (Australia
Orlando Still Single
Despite the tabloids' best efforts, the elven archer from LOTR is a bachelor.....There were gasps of amazement and horror amongst the members of the Empire office this month, when photographs surfaced in the weekly trash mags of far from ugly thesps Orlando Bloom and Kate Beckinsale canoodling in public. Oh, the horror! Two less single spunks in the world! But fear not, ladies and gentlemen. The photos were on-set pics from the new commercial for US clothing giants GAP, which featured the two stars playing young lovers and was directed by none other than Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky helmsman Cameron Crowe. In a break from tradition, Crowe decided not to have the pair walking in a deserted city, but running through crowds of people. Oh well, it just goes to show, you cant believe everything you read in those trashy mags, but you can always count on Empire to set the record straight! om LOTR is a bachelor...
Three's a jolly good fellowship
Orlando Bloom read half of it when he was 14 then discovered girls. Sean Bean was between jobs 15 years ago and found it a struggle (all that referring to family trees to find out shows related to who). John Rhys-Davies thought the whole thing was daft and gave it a wide berth. All are now Tolkien converts in a big way. Theyve had to be theyre about to become the living embodiment of the three most idiosyncratic members of the Fellowship: Legolas, the woodland Elf; Gimli, the mighty Dwarf; and Boromir, the troubled warrior. Tolkien is part of them for the rest of their lives. But how on Earth do you play something that never actually existed, like an Elf or a Dwarf?
Literally, I got off the plane and the first thing they did was stick a bow in my hands, says Bloom, the 24 year-old debutant, who was cast before hed finished his scholarship at Guildhall. I started to find the physical elements of the character. The bow is like an extension of his left arm. The Elves are like an angelic spirit, the eldest and highest in Middle-earth. You have to maintain this focus and centered characteristic they have.
For the 57 year-old Rhys-Davies, up-til-now best known as Sallah, Indys cautious Egyptian handyman from Raiders, there was a more immediate practical implication.
I spent a lot of time on my knees, and that was after getting the job! he bellows in his deafening baritone. The Dwarvish race that Tolkien envisages is not a genetic aberration, it is a separate tribe of people, like the Elves. These are not Dozy or Bumpy or Grumpy or Mopsy. Yet, there is by definition something heroically comical about Gimli. I think the key to the character is that he basically doesnt realize he is small, because in every other sense he is huge.
The human Boromir is a different fish entirely.
Hes got quite a complex story, explains the 42 year-old Bean, who has fashioned an action-man persona around Patriot Games, GoldenEye and as tellys dashing Sharpe. His view is that this Ring is useful as a powerful weapon against the enemy.
None of the actors can enthuse enough about the journey of making the film: the friendships, the stunning surroundings, the unflagging genius of their commander. Was there a single moment that defines the whole experience?
Bean (serious): Playing Boromir, the most interesting moments are when he is discussing with Aragorn feelings that he has probably never talked about with anyone before, about his father and his people. Theres almost a desperation about him and his insecurities. He is very vulnerable at that point.
Bloom (excited): The first day on set, which was pretty insane. I couldnt believe I was there; it was overwhelming. There were so many other incredible experiences: just standing on top of a mountain dressed as Legolas with the rest of the cast. I get sad now. I miss it so much.
Rhys-Davies (laughing): Ive never had to climb into my hotel room before because of flooding. We had a wonderful moment when the call sheet said, Well be unable to shoot tomorrow as the lake is underwater.
Just how well do they think theyve fared in making the epic live? Over to Mr. Rhys-Davies.
Ill bet my shirt that this is not only going to be one of the biggest films of all time, he gushes to every available gallery in the postal district, but its going to be the cinematic event of the decade. Its unlike any film Ive ever seen. Revise your expectations upwards, this is a masterpiece being created by a fan for fans, with the intention of turning those who arent yet fans into fans.
By Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
January 2002
April 2002
Empire Awards.
The Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane. Host to the rich, the famous and, on Febuary 5, 2002 a gaggle of giggly young girls waiting for The Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom. That these bloomettes were waiting on a coldish, wettish winter night was the first indication that something special was brewing. And so it proved to be, Seventh Annual Empire Awards were by general consensus the best yet.
As the whirr of pap motordives filled the air and breakfast TV crews lined up to pose their whacky questions, the stars filled into the refined opulence of The Dorchester.
Those little voting forms you filled out at the tail end of last year came flooding in by the sackload. And, as still the only U.K. movie awards decided primarily by the audience, The Empire Awards are revered by the industry precisely because they are not voted for by faceless committees or a backslapping network of industry peers, but by the most important jury of them allyou, the dicerning film fan. So, take yoru seat, fill your glass and read on for your best of the best of 2001.
Legless Legoals, huffy Hobbits and Hest II Backstage at the Empire Awards.
Best debut winner Orlando Bloom greeted Tim Roth with repeated cries of, Youre my hero! Youre my hero! Meanwhile, Fellowship compadre Billy Boyd was in a strop: Fuck Empire! he joked. You had to give Best Debut to Mr. Cheekbones, didnt ya?Liberal Democrats leader Charles Kennedy finally discovered what it was like to join a popular partyRumours that Johnny Vegas and Phill Jupitu approached Micheal Mann about a sequel to Heat proved completely unfoundedSir Ian McKellen frinned wickedly as Christoper Lee announced that Empire was taking him off to do something on the sofaOlicia Williams and Kate Winslet swapped moble phone numbersBackstage in the press room, Ewan McGrego took another playful sideswipe at the Ep II subtitle: It sounds like FLAH FORDON IN ATTACK OF THE CLONES, he said inmock-serious tonesApparently SAS supermo Andy McNab was a guest at Micheal Manns table but no-one say him enter or exitStill going strong at midnight, David Hemmings and hi wife waltzed around the ballroom to Sophie Ellis Bextors Murder On The DancefloorOther fine movers included Phill Jupitus cutting a 50s-style rug, Ralf Little doing early 80s breakdancing and director of The Others, Alejandro Amenabar, who booged in his seat to Dee-Lites classic, Groove Is In The HeartAnd finally the evening at 6:45 am knocking back G&Ts with Johnny Vegas: Ill stalk her, track her down and give her the award. But I wont kill her. Ive changed.
Best Debut
Orlando Bloom for the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Presented by Rosamun Pike
Snatched from the speech
Oh my wordthank you so much to the hundreds and thousands of people who felt that they wanted to make The Lord of the Rings for seeing some pointy-eared quality in me, and to my agent Fiona and my family and friends who I just love, and the readers of Empire----because I think I love you too now.
Also Shortlisted
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint. Emma Watson
Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone
Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan
The Lord of the Rings
Sharon Maguire (Director)
Bridget Jones Diary
Keira Knightley
The Hole
Best Debut
Orlando Bloom
Best British Actress
Kate Winslet
Best British Actor
Ewan McGregor
Best British Film
Bridget Jones Diary
Best Actress
Nicole Kidman
Best Actor
Elijah Wood
Independent Spirit Award
Alejandro Amenabar
Best Director
Baz Luhrmann
Best Film
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
The Empire Inspiration Award
Micheal Mann
The Empire Lifetime Achievement Award
Christopher Lee
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