About Me
My name is Orlando Bloom. I was born in Canterbury, Kent, England. My mother, Sonia Constance Josephine Copeland, was born in Calcutta, India, the daughter of Betty Constance Josephine Walker and Francis John Copeland, a physician and surgeon; My maternal grandmother's family has lived in Tasmania, Australia, and India, and are of English descent, some of them having originally come from Kent. I had thought that my father was South African-born Jewish lawyer Harry Saul Bloom, but during my teenage years and after Harry's death, my mother revealed to me that my biological father was actually Colin Stone, a family friend. My parents and Stone agreed that Stone would father their children, as Harry Bloom was physically incapacitated during the time. I, Orlando, who is named after the 17th century composer Orlando Gibbons, have one sister, Samantha Bloom, who was born in 1975. Bloom attended St Edmund's School in Canterbury, but struggled due to his dyslexia.[2] In 1993, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre, spending two seasons there and earning a scholarship to train at the British American Drama Academy.I began acting professionally with a television role in an episode of Casualty, and subsequently made his film debut in Wilde (1997), opposite Stephen Fry, before entering the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where I studied acting, sculpture and photography. In 1998, I broke my back in a three story fall, and it was briefly feared that I would not regain the ability to walk. However, I made a complete recovery and was able to walk out of the hospital on crutches within twelve days. I had steel plates inserted into my backbone to support it, which have since been removed, except for a single screw. I regularly perform yoga and Pilates to strengthen my back. I support Manchester United FC.CareerShortly after graduating in 1999, I was cast in his first major role, playing Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003). While shooting a scene, I broke a couple of ribs, but fully recovered and continued shooting. The success of the trilogy transformed me from an unknown actor into one of world's best-known celebrities. In 2002, I was chosen as one of the Teen People "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" and was named People's hottest Hollywood bachelor in the magazine's 2004 list.
