Orlando Bloom, the young English actor snapped up to play Legolas just months after his graduation from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, sits down for a quick chat between takes.

How is he faring with the challenges of Legolas? Just fine, thanks to a back injury obtained during his second year of drama school. The injury, Bloom explains, "meant I was cast in a lot of parts requiring me to be still, which has been great for this role. Legolas doesn't speak a lot--he prefers to let his actions speak for him."

And what actions they are. "Legolas' moves are smooth and elegant, like a cat," Orlando says. "You know how cats can jump and land steadily on their paws? That's what I'm trying to do. There's a strength in that, but it's very balletic. It's also bloody hard to do without falling over!"

So, how does Orlando see his blue-blooded elf as he mixes with the great unwashed? "Initially, he can't stand Gimli the dwarf. Elves see dwarfs as these muddy creatures who steal from the Earth without giving anything back. But their relationship develops, partially through having to rely on each other. They grow to respect each other's differences. By the time they go into battle, they're having a laugh, comparing their battle scores."

And now for the really important question: What's the deal with that mohawk haircut?

It's to lift his hairline, Bloom explains, so he looks more like the broad-faced forest elves when he dons his blond wig. "I get to transform completely in makeup and costume and become Legolas. Then at night, I get to go home with my mohawk. It's great!"

Beware, New Zealand, punk-rock elves are among us.

Random Quotes

About his tattoo: "It was designed by Alan Lee, who illustrated all of the Lord of the Rings books. It's in Elvish script, and it's the word for nine. We all chose to put them in different places. I got mine on my forearm, because I'm an archer." -OB

"It was quite amusing to see the cast on a night off in Wellington. The Hobbits would be picking their feet, and the Elves would be picking their ears." -OB

Will Lord of the Rings take on new relevance in light of the tragedy of September 11?
"What's beautiful about this story is it says the evil of the world is contained within one Ring. And the smallest of beings, the Hobbits, can come together with friends and a Fellowship and go off to destroy the Ring in the fires where it was made. So, it runs very parallel with what's happening today. I think it's a story of hope, because at the end, the evil is overcome." -OB

The effects may be state-of-the-art, but there was still plenty of old-fashioned swordfighting and horseback riding. Were you up to the challenge?
"I had to train pretty extensively to get fluidity and the kind of grace and ease of movement that distinguishes an Elf. Training with the bow and arrow was a great way to find my character. I got pretty good. At the end, my archery instructor would throw a paper plate into the air, and I could nail it with an arrow." -OB

You worked together for a year and half. How did you spend your downtime?
Elijah Wood: "... The Hobbits tended to spend their free time together, so the closest friends that I had on the movie were Billy and Dom and Sean. And Orlando the Elf, who happened to join us as well, much to our dismay. No, he's a good guy. The Hobbits went to Australia...we went to Sydney and checked out the Star Wars set. The Elf joined us. We went on surfing trips a lot. It was a close union of boys."

Liv Tyler: "I love them all, all my costars. We would hang out mostly in the hair-and-makeup trailer, and after work at dinner. We would eat all the time and drink wine and laugh. I was always like, 'Let's go get dinner!' We all lived in houses, some of us in apartments. Orlando and I lived right around the corner from where Peter lives on this beautiful bay, up on these cliffs, and we had just the sea in front of us. You wake up to rainbows and dolphins. So, we had each other and work and some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen.

"Orlando couldn't stop bungee jumping." Peter Jackson