Biographic - Sunday August 28, 2011 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

A superstar actor whose movies have grossed billions of dollars, he was the most 'Googled' man on the internet in 2006... but the Orlando Bloom story could easily have been very different. In the late 1990s, a terrible accident threatened to end his career before it even began! Named for the 17th-century composer, Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent, England, on January 13, 1977. He joined London's National Youth Theatre at the age of 16 and later studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. A role on the BBC tv series "Casualty" was followed by his movie debut in 1997s "Wilde" Orlando spurned the subsequent flood of TV and movie offers to continue his education. In 1998, he broke his back in a terrible fall, leading to fears that he might be paralyzed for life! He amazed doctors by making a miraculous recovery, and two days before he graduated with a B.A. (honors) he learned that he had been cast as Legolas in the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy. With the first movie's release, Orlando became an instant heartthrob! "Black Hawk Down" the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movies, "Troy" "Kingdom of Heaven" Blockbuster after Blockbuster saw his fame soar! In recent years, Bloom- who was named a Unicef goodwill ambassador in 2009- has worked on the London stage and married Australian model Miranda Kerr. The couple's first child was born in the early 2011. He returns to the big screen later this year in "The Three Musketeers," before reprising his Legolas role in "The Hobbit"

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