Birthday: Jan 13, 1977

Birthplace: Canterbury, Kent

Biography: Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through role in the early 2000s as the elf-prince Legolas Greenleaf in The Lord of the Rings films, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood films, including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Troy, Elizabethtown, and Kingdom of Heaven. Bloom's most recent releases are the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Haven. His mother, Sonia Constance Josephine Copeland, was bo... ... (read more...) rn in Calcutta, India, the daughter of Betty Constance Josephine Walker and Francis John Copeland, a physician and surgeon. Bloom's maternal grandmother's family has lived in Tasmania, Australia and India, and are of English descent, some of them having originally come from Kent. Bloom had thought that his father was South African-born Jewish lawyer Harry Saul Bloom, but during his younger years and after Harry's death, Bloom's mother revealed to him that his biological father was actually Colin Stone, a family friend. Bloom, who is named after the 17th century composer Orlando Gibbons, has one sister, Samantha Bloom, who was born in 1975. Bloom managed to struggle through St Edmund's School in Canterbury despite his dyslexia, 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. Bloom 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 he studied acting, sculpture and photography. In 1998, he broke his back in a three storey fall, and it was briefly feared that he would not regain the ability to walk. However, he made a complete recovery and was able to walk out of the hospital on crutches within twelve days. Bloom had steel plates inserted into his backbone to support it, which have since been removed, except for a single screw. He regularly practises yoga and Pilates to strengthen his back. His first appearance on the screen was in the film Wilde. Shortly after, he starred as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003). While shooting a scene, he broke a couple of ribs, but fully recovered and continued shooting. The success of the trilogy transformed Bloom from an unknown actor into one of world's best-known celebrities. In 2002, he 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. All members of the cast of the Rings movies were nominated for Best Ensemble Acting at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for three years in a row, finally winning in 2003 for the third film, The Return of the King. Bloom has also won other awards, including European Film Awards, Hollywood Festival Award, Empire Awards and Teen Choice Awards, and has been nominated for many others. Bloom next starred opposite Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was a blockbuster hit during the summer of 2003. He subsequently played the lead roles in Kingdom of Heaven (gaining 15 to 20 lb of muscle by eating six times a day and lifting weights during filming) and Elizabethtown (both 2005). Both films were box office failures in the United States, although Kingdom of Heaven performed better internationally. Bloom's most recent films are the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was released on July 7, 2006, and the independently made Haven, which received a limited release in the U.S. on September 15, 2006. He is currently filming the third of the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which is to be released on May 25, 2007. Bloom was set to subsequently appear in the Great Depression-themed independent film drama, Seasons of Dust, which would have starred Kate Bosworth, due to their break-up however, the film was put on hold.[citation needed] After Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest earned over 1 billion dollars at the box office, Bloom became only the second actor after Bernard Hill to have 2 movies to gross over 1 billion dollars worldwide (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). Orlando is a Manchester United fan and lives in London. During filming in Morocco for Kingdom of Heaven, Bloom rescued and adopted a dog, Sidi (a black Saluki mix with a white mark on his chest). In 2004, he became a full member of Soka Gakkai International, a lay Buddhist association affiliated with the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. He has on his right wrist a tattoo of the Elvish word for "nine", a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. The other eight actors of "The Fellowship (Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, and Elijah Wood)" got the same tattoo. He covers the tattoo up with armbands or sleeves in other films, however it is possible to catch a glimpse of it during Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He also has a tattoo of a sun-like image to the bottom-left of his navel. After meeting actress Kate Bosworth outside a coffee shop, where he was introduced to her by a mutual friend, he soon after met her again at the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in late 2002. The two actors dated until splitting up temporarily in 2005. However, on September 6, 2006, sources reported that the couple had separated again.