Hello everyone... Nina here to present another installment of "Across the Pond," Dominique Taylor's semi-regular column focusing on the UK entertainment scene.
More of Bloomin' This
By Dominique Taylor
If I was to say the name Orlando Bloom, some might gush, but most would raise a knowing eyebrow. The actor who wowed us with Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy just hasn’t delivered in big budget epics such as Kingdom of Heaven and Troy, and most would agree Pirates of the Carribean 2 did not live up to its predecessor. It’s unsure who is to blame for this, casting agencies, poor scripts or direction, or Orlando himself, but one thing is for sure, Bloom is becoming synonymous with pseudo-meaningful glares, over-accentuated speech and generally wooden performances.
But, no longer. Bloom’s recent appearance on Ricky Gervais’ Extras shows he can be as foul-mouthed and self-deprecating as the next man as he plays an image obsessed, Johnny Depp-hating, over-hyped actor with absolute genius. And he is funny, his timing and intonation with lines such as, “And I’d tease her [Keira Knightley] and I’d go ‘If you want to kiss somebody, why don’t you kiss Johnny Depp’ and she says ‘don’t make me fucking sick, I’m gonna vomit if you go on like that,’” is absolutely spot on. It shows, given the right script and variation in his character, Bloom has what it takes to hold, shock and generally entertain an audience.
This is not the first time Bloom has been seen on TV as a grottier character, an early role in British crime series Midsomer Murders saw him bed hop his way around a village, playing love rat to a mother and daughter and becoming prime murder suspect in the bargain. And of course, we can’t forget The Calcium Kid, although his character was still somewhat ‘pure’, he dropped his t’s and h’s and was perfectly amenable as the boy next door who comes hero.
The fact is, we all jumped on the Bloom band wagon when he first appeared on screen, and now we are swiftly jumping off as he becomes more and more of a one trick pony, but this does not have to be the case. All you directors, writers and casting agents out there, realise there is more to the Bloom than a pretty face. Dirty him up, make him play more than that whiter than white hero who always gets the girl, let him fulfil his potential and we’ll all start leaping back on again. I just hope the thief he plays in upcoming Seasons of Dust gives him the opportunity to do and show us just that.
