Big Hit Magazine (Australia)

How you know him... You will be hearing a lot more about Orlando in the future. In 1993, he moved to London and scored little parts in TV series like Casualty and London's Burning. As well as a cameo in the 1997 film, Wilde (1997), you'll be able to catch him in the upcoming flicks Black Hawk Down and Chequered Past.

Why you're going to know him... If you're in the market for a pocket-size princely soldier, then Orlando is your man! Orli plays the 2,931 year-old immortal elf warrior Legolas in The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (and you thought Angel was old, eh?). He was actually just 22 years old when filming began and was excited to be joining the cast. "It was like winning the lottery," he smiles. "I mean, imagine being flown to this amazing country and being taught how to shoot a bow and arrow, learn to ride horses and study swordplay - it was sick! I was pinching myself. Not until I'd filmed a few scenes did I finally believe it."

He's gotta act... Orlando's plans of becoming an actor developed quite early, when he realized that "Superman" Christopher Reeve was an actor. "Aged nine, I had this girlfriend, and we used to have running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend for the day," he giggles. "I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her. Once I realized Superman was an actor, I thought, "That's for me." I got into acting for the women."

He didn't make it through The Lord Of The Rings books... Even though he loved making the movie, Orli confesses that he didn't quite make it through all of the very thick trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien on which the movie is based. "When I was 14 years old I got about halfway through the second book and then kind of got more interested in girls and other stuff," he says. "I read them a couple of times before shooting began. They're on top of the bestseller list. It was on the reading list at my school. So it was a very daunting prospect to take on a character from such a famous book!"

He's a klutz... He went through a hefty training schedule to prepare for the role and was often injured. "I did some pretty wicked stuff on horseback. I mean, it really was insane what I had to do, but I had real faith in my horse, though I did fall off him once and broke my rib. That was one of my war wounds for the movie!" This leads to a confession of the long list of injuries he's had in his life, "I'm rather accident-prone, I have to admit. I've broken my back, my ribs, my nose, both my legs, my arm, my wrist, a finger and a toe and cracked my skull three times." One word: ouch!!!

COOL FAX

Name: Orlando Bloom
Born: January 13, 1977, in Canterbury, England, UK
Height: 180cm
Nickname: Orli
Marital Status: Single
Pets: A dog named Maude.
Hobbies: Sky diving, bungee jumping, paragliding, surfing and snowboarding.
On being the Legolas forever: "I look completely different," he says. "I've got a buzz cut now, but in the movie I have long blonde hair and blue eyes. I can't get my head around that. It freaks me out."