Orlando Bloom

The unprecedented success of Jackson's Tolkein adaptation has thrust its entire cast into the limelight, none more so than the delicately handsome Orlando Bloom. Born on January 13 1977 in Canterbury, Bloom knew from an early age that he wanted to act. He switched from his original ambition, to be Superman, to acting as soon as he found out that the Superman he saw on screen was actually played by someone else. He left home for London at just 16, keen to pursue his vocation. Two years at the National Youth Theatre ignited a passion for acting on stage and his early career was dominated by roles in London productions of plays including The Seagull and Twelfth Night. His one significant early movie role was a small part in the critically acclaimed Oscar Wilde biopic, Wilde, but it wasn't until 1999, when Orlando was approached by Peter Jackson with the offer of the part of Legolas in his Lord Of The Rings trilogy, that his film career really took off. World domination now beckons.