The Guardian (UK)

[Sunstar]

Here's the article from today's Guardian. I have the newspaper and will scan the pictures shortly. One of the pictures is from a scene in the play!

'No, I'm not getting my clothes off'

Orlando Bloom is putting pirates and hobbits behind him and making his stage debut. He talks to Mark Lawson about cracking a northern accent - and those rumours of nudity

Orlando Bloom has a confession to make. When he was first sent the script of the David Storey play In Celebration, he "didn't know who David Storey was". And the ignorance, it seems, was mutual. "No, I'm afraid I hadn't heard of Orlando," the playwright happily confesses.

As Bloom prepares to star in a West End revival of Storey's work, this parallel blankness is perhaps unsurprising, these two theatrical collaborators coming from contrasting branches of culture. The 30-year-old actor has never appeared professionally on stage, having spent his whole decade as an actor in epic films, including Troy and Kingdom of Heaven, with a special line in high-octane trilogies: as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings, and as Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean.

For his part, Storey, 74 on Friday, is a playwright and novelist belonging to institutions and movements (Royal Court/northern realist) that had their peak years before Bloom was even born. In Celebration - in which three Wakefield sons have escaped, in different ways, from the mining life represented by their father, who has spent 49 years down the pit - premiered at the Court in 1969, beginning a run of Storey hits there that included The Changing Room, The Contractor and Home. Storey's only serious involvement with the cinema was Lindsay Anderson's 1963 movie of his novel This Sporting Life, based on the writer's experience as a rugby league player.

The hero of Lord of the Rings and Pirates almost wasn't in this revival at all. He celebrated his birthday towards the end of the marathon shoot for the Pirates trilogy: "I reached 30 and thought time was a bit more precious. What did I actually want to do? Since I was 25, I've basically been making Pirates movies. And, because of the success of those films, that has become the focus. 'Oh, he's the guy from the Pirates movies.' And I had to think, 'Is that what I want?'"

Deciding that he "really needed to do some theatre because I was feeling a bit thin", he was offered the part of Steven, the quietest of the three brothers in In Celebration, but initially said no. "I was, like, 'You want me to play Steven? Why? He doesn't say much, does he?' I just didn't get it." He asked for the showier role, Andrew, but realised the character was too old, and was persuaded that Steven was a good entry into theatre. He believes now that the modesty of the role is an advantage. "I saw the potential for a great ensemble play. I was very conscious of not wanting a star vehicle. I wanted to crack this perception of, 'Oh, it's Orl .'" His own name trips him up, as if he's wary of becoming one of those performers who refer to themselves with ease in the third person. "You know, that it's 'Orlando Bloom.'" He completes the name, but with exaggerated distance, as if it were a fictional character "doing some theatre".

Some theatregoers may be disappointed at what they see: one of the Bloom fan sites claimed he would be appearing naked on stage, following Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe's stage debut in Equus. In fact, the only undressing stage direction to be found in Storey's text is a hospitable invitation to Steven to take off his coat if he's staying. Is it possible that the new staging reinterprets this scene so radically that Bloom keeps on going once he's got his coat off? The actor has bad news for anyone hoping for Last Tango in Wakefield: "I heard what they're saying. But you've read the play. Where would I possibly get my clothes off in it? It's bizarre."

The rumour seems most likely to have been wishful thinking by the teeny-screamy element of Bloom's fan club. Does he ever resent such attention? "No," he says. "It was those fans that gave me the chance to star in Kingdom of Heaven."

Still, Bloom will at least be sounding, if not looking, unfamiliar - as he grapples with a northern accent, having been trained by a dialect coach. (He's from Kent.) So how does a dialect coach work? Was he given tapes of rugby league commentaries? "We work on sounds: the dark ell sound, the round oh-sound." Dark ell? It sounds like a minor character in The Lord of the Rings. What exactly is it? "Are you asking me to get technical? I hate it when actors go on about that stuff. The dark ell is a heavier sound. The oh-sound is about how you open the mouth."

Reassuringly for the cast, Storey says he isn't especially worried about precisely where the voices land on the map: "On This Sporting Life, Anderson was worried that Richard Harris had an Irish accent, but it turned out that it was fine. I'm much more interested in characters than accents."

The new version of In Celebration rehearsed at the National Youth Theatre's rooms in north London, a nostalgic location for Bloom: it was at the NYT that he did his first serious acting, as a spear-carrier in Chiwetel Ejiofor's Othello. The story of Bloom's childhood, in Canterbury, is a familiar one among performers: pretending to be others gave him release from the tensions of who he was. "Drama class was one of the only areas at school I responded to. Until I was 11, I'd struggled at school, and they thought I was just being stupid. But then I had a dyslexia test and it turned out I had a healthy IQ, but had a problem with reading. We found a school that could help me."

Bloom's adolescence was further complicated by the revelation that the man he knew as his stepfather was in fact his father. Given that In Celebration turns on parent-child tensions, was Bloom able to draw on his own upbringing? "Well," he says, "what's interesting about this play is that there's no such thing as a conventional upbringing. The father keeps saying, 'Family, lad, it's about family.' But I think the play is saying, 'What is a family? What do we mean by that?' And I love it for that."

Encouraged by his mother, first towards the NYT and then the British American Drama Academy, Bloom assumed he would be a stage actor, but others quickly saw him as camera-ready: he was cast as a skinhead self-mutilator in Casualty and then signed for a one-liner as a rent boy in Wilde. Next, he was offered an understudy contract on an RSC world tour but then the role of Legolas for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings came along.

In retrospect, he cringes at his initial cockiness: "I remember my first screen test. I did it as Orlando. In costume, with a bow and arrow. But as Orlando. And I was totally at ease, cracking jokes. And I went to see that screen test - the first time I'd ever seen myself on screen - and I freaked out. It was, like, what are you doing? I was devastated. It was so big and I wasn't doing anything. I realised I had to learn how to be an actor for film."

With the exception of the quick turn in Wilde, he is unusual in having played lead roles throughout his career and was constantly conscious of the pressure: "Being afraid to fuck it up, basically." He finished Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven on one day and started filming for Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown the next. It began to feel like a marathon relay. In Celebration is a deliberate change of pace.

Bloom is a Buddhist. Does its philosophy of serenity help him with the pressures of acting? He becomes suddenly tense. "The philosophy of Buddhism is connected to everything," he says. "So it probably does have some connection with acting, yes." What drew him to Buddhism? "It's not something I talk about. I was brought up with sins and harms, I mean hymns and psalms, getting some of it but it not being enough. I found the philosophy of Buddhism attractive."

Bloom belongs to a new generation of actors whose entire careers are available on DVD. If they wished, they could carry all their work around with them on a video iPod. Is he tempted? "No," he says. "I've never even watched one of the DVDs. I sometimes think it would be nice to show your kids one day. Sometimes I catch a glimpse in hotel rooms or on planes, and think, 'Eurggh, is that what I was doing?' ".

· In Celebration opens tomorrow at the Duke of York's Theatre, London. Box office: 0870 060 6623.

I wonder which website started that silly rumour.

[Aniethen]

Thanks for that, Sunstar, it was a very interesting read.

I took the liberty of snaffling the picture from the Guardian website:

Reassuringly for the cast, Storey says he isn't especially worried about precisely where the voices land on the map: "On This Sporting Life, Anderson was worried that Richard Harris had an Irish accent, but it turned out that it was fine. I'm much more interested in characters than accents."

Critics, please take note!

ETA: Just to clarify my own feeling about the accents. I certainly think the actors should (and do) make every effort to get it 'right'. But, as long as they're consistent, they don't have to be 100% accurate, and I hope critics don't get hung up on that rather than the interesting characters and family dynamics.

Edited July 11, 2007 by Aniethen

[Rosasharn]

Very well-written article! Thanks Sunstar for posting it!

Sharon

[Elvira]

Oh, wow! Great job finding this, Sunstar.

Excellent article, and I heartily agree with the bit that you pointed out about the accent, Claire.

I like the pic, too. Yanks the impatience factor up several notches.

I wonder which website started that silly rumour.

100% sure it was not ka-Bloom.

[cazrider]

You just beat me to it, Sunstar as I've just arrived home with today's "Guardian" having, by chance, spotted Orlando on the front in Winchester this morning!

It's great to see a still from the play and the article certainly gives us some new insights.

The "getting his kit off" rumour is just hysterical. As Orlando says, it's not exactly in keeping with the play and Steven's role. He even keeps his clothes on underneath his dressing gown! (Not that I was particularly checking that out, mind.... ).

[Sam]

Many thanks for the article Sunstar and the picture Claire. I wonder how many more photos we'll get over the coming weeks? David Storey's comment on the accent is interesting. Let's hope the critic's do take note.

I'm sure that the rumour about his clothes coming off probably started after his interview with Tim Healy on T4. (We don't have the interview, my friend told me about it.) He was asked if he took his clothes off, and his reply was, "It's the most naked I've ever been." I took that to mean how vulnerable he would be feeling on stage, but I can see how chinese whispers could have distorted that!

Sam

[Sunstar]

Here are my scans.

I missed the picture on the website, Claire. Thanks for posting it.

[kathryn]

Actually, I think that rumour first started when he was talking about Equus and said

'there's nothing wrong with a bit of nudity!' - I seem to remember a few articles running with that as a headline, and then people taking it to mean he would be naked. Of course they were quickly corrected by anyone who had actually read the article, but by that stage the damage was done.

[Noggz]

Thanks for the article Sunstar . I read somewhere that he had been considered to take over Daniel role in Equus. It's just so funny that they would even try that rumor out, my sister saw Equus and Orlando is far too old for the part! Oh, well. We just have to brush it off like Orlando does. Also thanks for the scans. We've not seen that picture on the left before, I don't think. I like the right one too, am I the only one who likes Andrew's trousers and Orlando's snazzy cardigan?

Thanks for the picture Aniethen . I remember that bit so well! Oh, here come those goosebumps again. Computer says 'no'.

[Ces]

Thanks for the article Sunstar! Wonderful reading and glad to know that the author is not nitpicking about accents!

Noggz, the trousers and cardigan are okay, but he's definitely got that 70's hairstyle down!

Lovely pictures and nice to be able to see them!

Ces

[Welshwoman]

Thanks, Sunstar and Claire. Interesting article, and the pictures help flesh it out for me.

Barbara

[Lori]

Thank you Sunstar and Claire for the article and the great pictures!

Lori

[serendipity]

Thanks for the article, Sunstar. It was indeed very well done, and covered new information for a change. The pictures were a nice bonus. It's good to finally get to "meet" Steven. He really takes on his character, doesn't he? I mean it's Orlando but it's not Orlando. Does that make any sense?

[Kit-Kat]

Thanks for the article and pictures Sunstar and Claire. It's nice to finally see Steven and I love the look.

~Kit-Kat~

[Patty]

Great finds! Thanks so much, Sunstar and Claire. :flowers:

I loved the article and the pictures. Very sneaky of "The Guardian" to use different photos in the online and print editions, but more loveliness for us. I am so happy to see Steven.

[Tigershire]

Thanks Sunstar and Claire. It is just so fantastic to be able to have access to this information that many of us would never see.

serendipity - I know what you mean. Orlando's look in this role just further confirms my belief that he has the same ability as Johnny Depp - that camelonic ability to look and sound different for every character. True talent!

[eti]

Thank you Sunstar and Aniethen for the article and the pics.

I won't comment on the nudity, I'll just say Orlando truly being an actor whose career could be followed on DVD doesn't mean he's not talented and charismatic enough to make a remarkable appearance live on stage. I think anyone who saw the play can confirm that and am confident enough to say that without having seen it. Period.

[Annabelle]

From Noggz's post:

Am I the only one who likes Andrew's trousers and Orlando snazzy cardigan?

Oh, I just love that cardigan too !

And I also love that clean shaven face with the moustache ! Reminds me of the young Joe Byrne !

[Sherwood]

The pictures were a nice bonus. It's good to finally get to "meet" Steven. He really takes on his character, doesn't he? I mean it's Orlando but it's not Orlando. Does that make any sense?

It certainly makes sense because I thought the exact same thing. To me, it just seems like Steven looks a bit like Orlando rather than Orlando playing a character. I have the same feeling when watching the LoTR and POTC films. The actors are so good that they have me convinced the characters exist in their own world.

This was a very good article. Many thanks for bringing it over.

[Elvira]

Am i the only one who likes Andrew's trousers and Orlando snazzy cardigan?

They certainly bring back memories. I bet the costumer of the play had a field day at Oxfam.

Great new pics. The excitement is building up slowly but steadily.

[CaliMom]

Thanks for bringing the article and pictures over, Sunstar and Claire. It's great to see the play getting promoted. The pictures are a very nice bonus!

[Kim]

Thank you so much Sunstar and Claire! That was very good article and I also like the pictures, it does make it a lot easier to picture things in my mind as I remember the reviews by our fellow Ka-bloomies that were able to go see him so far. So now when I read any new reviews I will know what they are talking about.

Kim

[Debbi84]

Thanks Sunstar and Claire for the article and pictures.

I like the cardigan too.

Debbi

[Noggz]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes Orlando's costume.

[JessiBear]

Many thanks Claire and Sunstar! This is as good as it gets without airfare, hotel costs etc. Although I do wish I could make the trip, maybe next time.

I dont know if I am a fan of the 70's clothing and look.but I know it works for the play. The more you can look like the character you are portraying the easier it is to slip into character.

I wonder, though, if all the interviews are going to be of Orlando? What about the other cast? He may be the most internationally famous of the cast, but it would be nice to see some interviews from the rest of the cast for different perspectives, ya know what I mean?

You may throw tomato's now.

JessiBear