Orlando Bloom on life & love.
The British actor, who first caught our eye as a blond elf, talks about life, love and Pirates By LINDSAY DE FREITAS
IT’S COMPLICATED The Pirates Of The Caribbean star has an interesting connection to South Africa. Until he was 13, Orlando thought his father was the late South African lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Harry Bloom, who died of a stroke when Orlando was four. His mother, Sonia, who’d married Harry 10 years before Orlando was born, confessed the truth to him during a family holiday – that family friend Colin Stone, who became Orlando’s guardian when Harry died and then helped to raise him, was his biological father.
His mother revealed both he and older sister Samantha were Colin’s biological children and were conceived after an agreement by his parents because Harry, then in his mid-sixties, was unable to have children. Orlando takes his complicated family tree in his stride. “It’s an unusual story, but then you show me a family and I’ll show you an unusual story.”
SAVED BY THE ARTS Orlando (40) says when he grew up acting was as an escape from academic struggles caused by dyslexia. “I was an angry, angry child at times,” says the actor, who grew up in Canterbury in the UK. “Somewhere in me I knew I was smart, but I was really struggling. My creative outlet – performing – was what got me through.”
He moved to London to join the National Youth Theatre when he was 16 and landed a scholarship to attend drama school. Soon after graduating he got the role of blond elf Legolas in the critically acclaimed Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
FRIENDLY EXES The hunky actor split from singer Katy Perry in March after a year of dating but insists there are no hard feelings between them. He’s even been spotted out and about with Katy’s dog.
“It’s good. We’re all grown-up. It’s better to set an example for kids and show that break-ups don’t have to be about hate.”
He’s also on good terms with his ex-wife, Australian model Miranda Kerr, with whom he has a son, Flynn (6). Orlando says he and Miranda, who’s now engaged to Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, “co-parent really well”.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN After sitting out the fourth film in the franchise Orlando’s character, Will Turner, is making a swashbuckling return.
In the fifth instalment he once again comes to the aid of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as Jack searches for Poseidon’s trident and faces off against Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem).
“It’s less big special effects and more like a story you can get on board with. If there’s still an appetite for pirate movies then this probably is a throwback to that first one, which I always thought was the best one.”
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is now in cinemas.