Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
From Middle Class to Superstar
“I don’t know any family that doesn’t have a little story somewhere. Besides, if you didn’t have those things in your life, you’d be so bland.”
—Orlando in an interview for GQ magazine
Each year, more and more actors are introduced onto the Hollywood scene, grabbing the attention of the media and the hearts of millions of fans. But not all celebrities have that certain something that gives them staying power in the entertainment world, and it is rare nowadays to find the old Hollywood story of someone being “discovered,” and plucked out of middle-class life to be turned into a star. But for Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom, this is exactly what happened. Orlando was not raised in a famous home, nor was he a childhood celebrity who made his way from television to the big screen.
It is Orlando’s love of acting and his dedication to his roles that have put him on top today. He worked as hard as he could from when he was very young. Although his success on the big screen might have seemed sudden, it came only after much training and effort.
Fun Fact:
“Orlando” is of Germanic origin, meaning “One who is famous throughout the land.”
In the beginning, Orlando was just an average boy in a small town who had a dream of being famous, but he had faith that if he worked hard at his goals, he could get what he wanted. His story begins on January 13th, 1977 in Canterbury, Kent, England, a small town an hour east of London. His father, Harry, named him after the Shakespeare character and seventeenth-century composer Orlando Gibbons. His mother later said that Orlando gained his name because Harry wanted something that would be easy to remember. Harry, an outspoken leader in the anti-apartheid movement, wrote books on his cause, and worked with the legendary leader Nelson Mandela. Because he had so many people following his cause, Harry often had many students, and he constantly confused their names—so he wanted a unique name for his son, one that everyone would remember easily. We don’t know whether Harry suspected that by the time Orlando was in his early twenties, the whole world would know his name; regardless, the name has been branded onto the hearts of millions as Orlando’s fans have watched him light up the screen over and over again.
Harry’s strong opinions and outgoing personality greatly influenced Orlando. Sadly, he passed away when Orlando was just four years old. But when he was thirteen, Orlando found out that Harry was not his birth father. His real father was a family friend and his guardian, Colin Stone, who became the father figure in his life after Harry died. This news shocked Orlando, especially since he learned it at such a young age. However, he has said that he loves and respects both men as fathers and appreciates all they did for him while he was growing up. He says now that he was extremely lucky to have had two fathers, but that talking about them can be confusing. Orlando never knows whether he should say “my real father,” “my birth father,” or “my guardian” when describing each of the two men he has grown to know as his dad.
Fun Fact:
Orlando’s hometown of Canterbury, Kent, is known for its famous cathedral and is the home of the University of Kent. Canterbury Cathedral, St. Augustine’s Abbey and St. Martin’s Church have been designated World Heritage sites in Canterbury. Millions of visitors travel to see them every year. The main cathedral is 557 feet high and is the center of the Anglican religion. Kent is known as “England’s garden” because of its beautiful scenery and gorgeous flowers. Another site that many people visit when they are in Kent is Leeds Castle. Once a palace to King Henry VIII, it is now open to tourists all year.
When he was a child, Orlando was much more creative than academic. He loved to be outside, and he loved sunny days in England. While he was in school, he must have day-dreamed about all of the fun things he could be doing instead, like playing in the family’s large house or in the garden. Often, his teachers would accuse him of being distracted, of staring out the window and not paying attention to what was being taught.
When he grew older, though, school interested him more. He studied photography and sculpture, and was very talented in both, achieving A-levels in art, sculpture, and photography. He then entered drama school, where he explored his creativity.
Orlando grew up in a loving and supporting home, and with his older sister Samantha around, he always had a companion to play with in the family’s garden. His mother could never get the two children to come inside! They would stay in the garden for hours playing make-believe. They loved to pretend to be different characters, from pirates to soldiers. Even as a kid, he was into playacting!
From his sister, he also gained an interest in fashion from a young age. One of Samantha’s favorite things to do with her little brother was to dress him up, and often she shopped at thrift stores for clothes for their dress-up games. Orlando had everything from loafers and preppy check shirts to cowboy boots and hats. So maybe that’s why Orlando always wears the most interesting and up-to-date styles every time we see him!
Orlando has said that he is accident-prone, and has been since his childhood. An adventurous child, he was in and out of the hospital more times than he can count. As an infant, he cracked his skull. His mother was holding him outside, and when she bent over to pick up a stick of wood, his head smacked against a nearby tree trunk. Shortly after this, he was injured while crawling over a rock in the yard, and in another incident, a horse stepped on his foot! Orlando was just a baby who liked adventure and couldn’t seem to stay out of harm’s way. At eleven years old, Orlando broke his leg skiing. Later he broke his nose while playing rugby and his wrist while snowboarding. But his most dangerous accident would happen when he was older, after he moved to London.
COOL QUOTES:
“I broke my leg when I was skiing and I had to wear a cast for a year. I sat at home really depressed . . . I was eating biscuits and chocolate bars. I was a porker.” —Orlando on being accident-prone, WHO (Australia)
Before that, when he was still living in Canterbury, and when he wasn’t playing in the garden, breaking bones, or being dressed up by Samantha, Orlando was taking part in poetry-and Bible-reading competitions at the language school where his mother, Sonia, taught. His mother loved to teach, and was glad that her children wanted to take part in the activities that went on at her school.
One of the most exciting events of the year was the Kent Festival. Everyone in the town went and participated in many different activities. It was there that Orlando and his sister got their first taste of performing. They often participated in poetry readings, reciting poetry by Robert Frost. If you asked Orlando now, he would still be able to recite some of the poems from memory. He has said that his reading experiences at the Kent Festival inspired him to be an actor. They taught him how to speak in front of a crowd, and after his first few readings, Orlando did not have any stage fright. He loved performing for the people of Canterbury. Orlando’s education began at Saint Edmund’s public school in Canterbury. His mother paid £9,000 (that’s roughly $16,000 at today’s exchange rate) a year to make sure that her son received the best education. It was there that Orlando first studied photography, sculpture, and theater. His theater teacher would often give him interesting roles to try because he saw Orlando’s talent as an actor right away.
Fun Fact:
Orlando and his sister often won first prize at
poetry-reciting competitions when they were children
in Canterbury, Kent.
Fun Fact:
Orlando describes himself as “mildly dyslexic.” Dyslexia
is a learning disability that often results in a difficulty learning to read.
As a child, Orlando was interested in larger-than-life characters, especially Superman. One day, he found out that Superman wasn’t real but was actually a character played by an actor named Christopher Reeve. Orlando decided that the only way to become larger than life like Superman was to become an actor and be a hero on the big screen. When he was just nine years old, Orlando had a girlfriend, and every day he and his friends would race to see who would become her boyfriend for the day. Orlando has said that he wanted to use Superman’s great speed to reach her first. Maybe it was reaching the girls that really inspired him to become an actor!
