British actor who came to public attention as Legolas in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003), further appearing in epic fantasy, historical epic, and fantasy adventure films. He later reprised his role as Legolas in The Hobbit film series. His other roles include Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and Paris in Troy (2004). Bloom subsequently established himself as a leading man in Hollywood films such as Balian de Ibelin in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Elizabethtown (2005).
In 1993, at age 16, he joined the National Youth Theatre in London and earned a scholarship at the British American Drama Academy. He made his screen debut in Wilde (1997), a movie based on Oscar Wilde’s life. He was then accepted to Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and appeared in several stage productions. After graduation, he appeared in a BBC television series, Midsomer Murders and had a small part in the movie, Black Hawk Down (2001).
He considers himself accident-prone and suffers from dyslexia which made his early education difficult. His father, South African novelist and activist Harry Bloom, died when Orlando was only four years old. Orlando and his older sister, Samantha, also an actress, were raised by their mother. In 1998, he suffered a fall in which he broke his back. Doctors advised him that he could be paralyzed for life but after successful surgery, Bloom regained his mobility.
Bloom is a talented sculptor, vegetarian and animal-lover. He dated fellow actor Kate Bosworth from 2003 to 2006. Bloom married Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr in July 2010. Kerr gave birth to their son in January 2011 in Los Angeles. Bloom and Kerr were divorced by the end of 2013.
Bloom began dating American singer and songwriter Katy Perry in January 2016; however, the couple confirmed in February 2017 that they had split. They resumed their relationship in February 2018, and became engaged on 14 February 2019. On 5 March 2020, it was revealed through the music video for Perry’s song “Never Worn White” that the couple were expecting their first child together. Perry gave birth to their daughter, Daisy Dove, on 26 August 2020.
In 2009, Bloom was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 2015 he received the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award.
Link to Wikipedia biography