Orlando Bloom On A Crusade

Star On Becoming A Knight And Defending Jerusalem

(CBS) 
"I'm six, seven years out of drama school," Bloom says, "Still very much at the beginning of my career. I've been really fortunate and blessed to be in the hands of some of the best directors out there. I'm really a director's actor. I like to be sort of pushed into positions and, you know, working with directors like Ridley."

Perhaps having been named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2004 and 2005 does not hurt either, even if he had to be 20 pounds heavier for his Balian role. Ask how he managed to achieve that, Bloom says with a smile, "A lot of eating."

And if you are wondering who his main squeeze is, the answer is in Rolling Stone magazine. Of course, Bloom graced the cover.

Looking at a photograph from the magazine that shows him with his dog on his shoulders, Bloom says proudly, "That's my boy. He was a dog that was eating camel dung out of a box. There were a lot of camels on the set. He was just, like, tiny, and there were so many dogs astray. And I just was like, 'I'm going to get him cleaned up.' He's out in the Caribbean where we're filming 'Pirates.'"

Yes, Bloom is shooting the sequels - two and three.

Fast Facts About Orlando Bloom:

• Born in Canterbury, England on Jan. 13, 1977
  
  
• Joined the National Youth Theatre at age 16 and spent two years honing his craft before winning a scholarship to London's British American Drama Academy
  
  
• In 1997, made his film debut as an attractive rent boy in "Wilde," the biopic of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde before furthering his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
  
  
• In 1999, shortly after his graduation, he was cast in the star-making part of Legolas in the Tolkein trilogy that was filmed over a two-year period (1999-2000). Rolled out over three consecutive years, the films, "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002) and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003)
  
  
• In 2001, he worked in the ensemble cast of the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Ridley Scott-directed war drama "Black Hawk Down."
  
  
• In 2003, he starred opposite Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Caribbean," loosely based on Disney's beloved theme park ride, playing the romantic, swashbuckling secondary lead Will Turner.
  
  
• In 2004, Bloom took on the role of the legendary warrior Paris in Wolfgang Petersen's "Troy," the film adaptation of Homer's epic poem. He also co-starred with Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts in "Ned Kelly" - playing Joe Byrne a member of the Kelly gang.