With a successful career as an actor, we’ve seen Orlando Bloom play many different characters, from different parts of the world. Both real and imaginary. We know he’s not an elf. What ethnicity is Orlando Bloom?
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom is English, more specifically he’s from Kent. While his mother was born in India and lived in Japan and Australia while growing up, her heritage is English as well.
When Orlando was growing up, he believed he was half Jewish and South African. It wouldn’t be until he was a teenager that he would learn that he was not.
Learning the Truth
When Bloom was younger he believed that his mother’s husband Harry Saul Bloom, a Jewish South African, who was well known for his anti-apartheid beliefs, was his biological father.
When Orlando was four years old Saul Bloom passed away and family friend Colin Stone gained legal guardianship of the younger Bloom and his older sister Samantha.
When Bloom was 13 years old he was told that Colin Stone was actually his biological father, from an affair his mother had with her husband’s student.
Having had Colin as his dad for the majority of his life at that point, Orlando had no problem accepting Colin to be his biological father. These days he refers to his mother’s late husband by his first name, Saul. Bloom’s older sister, Samantha turned out to be Stone’s biological child as well.
The late Saul Bloom was aware of the ongoing affair and knew that Orlando and Samantha were not his biologically, though he raised them as though they were until the day he died.
This revelation not only changed who his father was, but also changed his perception of his nationality and ethnicity. Though he had been confirmed in the Church of England the year before finding out about his true parentage, he still believed he was half Jewish.
Saul Bloom was a friend of Nelson Mandela’s and fought openly against apartheid. He became well-known and there was even a book on Mandela that spoke of the elder Bloom. Orlando had a copy of this book and he was proud of the man he thought to be his father. And of what he believed to be his South African heritage.
Growing Up and Moving Out
Orlando Bloom spent his younger years growing up in Kent, where he attended school until he was 16 and he dropped. He was dyslexic and his mother encouraged him to join drama classes as a way of coping with it.
When he was 16 Bloom made the move to the big city of London and joined the National Youth Theatre. By the time he was 21 he was studying at the Guildhall School of Music and received his first bit part in a movie.
A year later his life would change forever after moving to New Zealand temporarily and becoming a part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, playing his most famous role of Legolas. He had filmed other roles as well, before the LOTR came out, but it wasn’t until after the release of the first movie that his career skyrocketed.
Passing It On
Bloom already has a son with Australian model Miranda Kerr and is expecting a daughter with American singer Katy Perry. Both of his children will be part English and he is sure to pass along some traditions to them.
Some of his favorite foods, for example, are English staples like bangers and mash. Something that people without English heritage might not be familiar with but his kids will probably know the taste.
These days he spends a lot of time in America, on the West Coast in California. At this point in his life, he’s spent most of his time living outside of Kent then he has in it.