\nDan Hennah<\/a>
\nIan McKellen<\/a>
\nGraham McTavish<\/a>
\nLee Pace<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Apologies for munching an apple.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>That’s all right.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>So, yeah, how’s everyone doing?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Great.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>How long have you been here?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Yesterday. We got in yesterday. MEDIA: <\/strong>Saturday morning.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>All from the States?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>No. I’m from Sydney.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Sydney?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Yeah.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>States. LA.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Austin.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Austin?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>The One Ring. States.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Oh, yeah.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>He exists entirely online.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>The district of One Ring.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>How is The One Ring?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Honestly, now we’re good. We’re still broke from our last party, actually. But otherwise we’re good.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>So, now we’re seeing you out of the full hair and makeup and whatever. How does the process compare this time around, just in terms of duration and ease and whatever, to the first three movies?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>To get made up?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Yeah. Have they refined the process so that it’s a breeze now?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>It’s about the same for me. I think they simplified it for the hobbit, for Martin, because they came up with those boot ideas which– Actually, I think that was– A great idea by Viggo’s old makeup artist, somebody was telling me actually, funny enough. He came up with the idea for having the feet be boots.<\/p>\n Can you imagine how much time that would have saved? Because on Rings, they had the joint there and it was so visible that they had to– So, yeah, I think it’s– But for me, I just have my ears, and they just pop on and they seal them down in about an hour and fifteen minutes.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>It takes that long just to do the ears?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Ears, wig, makeup, yeah.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>How’s the mood different on this shoot?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>How is the mood? Obviously, everyone is ten years older. All right, twelve years older. So makeup people, hair people, wardrobe, all the girls, all the people that came back are all ten years older.<\/p>\n So that’s kind of interesting because we’re all a bit like– Rings, it was a different time. We were all young and impressionable and having wild times whilst making this thing that we didn’t really know what it was about. In a way, it was like a giant student movie, which still has that wonderfully chaotic feel to it.<\/p>\n Otherwise, there’s a lot more dwarves on set. And I think you know how I feel about Dwarves. So, yeah, it is different for sure, but it could never be what it was. Obviously you can’t really go back and re-do it. But I guess the structure is still the same. Yeah, it feels very familiar and a family sort of terrain, which is always nice.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Were you able to quickly get where you needed to be as an actor, or did that coming back to high school feeling have to be shaken off a little bit before you really got comfortable?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Yeah, it’s a little bit of a– That’s a good way of putting it, “coming back to high school.” It was a little bit of that, for sure. Yeah, it was good to work with Terry Notary on movement, get back into some Elvish movement and to do some archery and stunt stuff and all that sort of things.<\/p>\n Legolas is a very physical character, which is true of Rings and certainly true in The Hobbit sequence. So it was good to find my way back in. And yeah, it took a little while to get back into that, shake off the cobwebs.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Yeah. Surprisingly, I can. I think I’m probably in better shape now than I was ten years ago, actually, funny enough. Because I probably take better care of myself as I’m getting older. You start thinking, “I want to do this a bit longer. I got to take care of myself.” So actually, yeah, I’ve done it, pretty much all of it, which has been great.<\/p>\n It was funny, I was on set the other day, Saturday. We worked a Saturday because Pete wanted to shoot– He loves shooting the action stuff. I think he loves shooting all the action stuff, but I think he’s quite fond of shooting Legolas’ action stuff. I think he lives vicariously through all of his characters, and one of the ones he enjoys is Legolas because it’s so different from him.<\/p>\n So we were shooting that, and he didn’t call my stunt double, which was weird. It was a full day of action and shooting stunts. And I was like– So my makeup artist called in and said, called production and said, “We haven’t called the stunt double, and we should– We need to call somebody else in.” “No, Pete doesn’t feel we need him. Orlando will be able to handle it.” So that was quite a nice pat on the back.<\/p>\n And I was exhausted by the end of the day and managed to get through most of it, which was good. But we actually didn’t complete the day. Maybe if the stunt double was there we’d have got it done in double time. Unfortunately, we’re going to go back and do it again. So I have to stay an extra day and shoot another Saturday. So I suppose I can still do it, it just takes a little longer.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>That started off as a happy story and then became a little more bittersweet as it went along.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Well, no, I think it’s good, it’s good. No, I think, actually, probably shots were added too. That’s what I like to tell myself.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>So every film features the big Legolas moment, the big action sequence. Do you have a good grasp of what that’s going to be like before you see it on film?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we shoot it all– The Mumakil moment in the Rings trilogy actually came out of a re-shoot that we did, that I came back to New Zealand for. Then it was a blue screen. They didn’t have green screens, they were doing blue screens then. So it was a big, blue tower of sandbags, and I did all the climbing moves, jumped up and did the fight sequence on top of it. So I’ve done the same here. So there’s a couple of cool beats.<\/p>\n That’s what I was referring to about the shooting on Saturday. We did some cool stuff with Pete for that. So that was great. I hope Leggy fans will be suitably impressed with a few of the moves that we’ve got down for this next couple of movies. It’s cool. Certainly the third movie, there’s a cool piece, and there’s a few flurries throughout the second movie. But I don’t really have a sense of how much I’m in the movies. Can’t tell at all. Can’t get my head around that.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>What got you, other than, obviously, working again with Peter and the whole team? What got you creatively excited about coming back to this role, the way that he’s going to be involved in these two pictures?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>There was an interesting discussion which played out quite nicely, I think, about the father-son dynamic between Legolas and Thranduil. I was initially concerned that obviously Legolas doesn’t feature in the books and that that would be a problem, particularly for fans of the books, who you always want to be conscious of and respect their take on things.<\/p>\n But at the same time, I think it was more than feasible. It was perfectly possible that Legolas would be somewhere around, even if he wasn’t mentioned in the books. And the way that Pete and Fran and Philippa are all positioned the story for Leggy, it seemed like it would be fun to go back and do that.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Yeah, yeah.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Was Legolas’ involvement smaller when you first joined on, and has it grown since?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Yeah, I think there was a template of an idea that developed as we went along. Obviously, it’s the story of a hobbit and thirteen dwarves.<\/p>\n And there’s an Elven realm which is called– We get to see Mirkwood. Less wise, more dangerous, right? So that’s kind of cool. That’s the way Tolkien described the Elves of Mirkwood, and it’s always the way I saw Legolas.<\/p>\n It was one of the ideas that was– I wanted him to be, throughout the Rings movies, a red-blooded action elf, not like a Rivendell elf or a more– But to have the grace and lethal capability. And I think it’s–<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>(interrupts) He’s a warrior elf.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>He’s a what?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>A warrior elf.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Yeah, exactly. He’s a warrior elf. So I think it’s cool to see that world of Mirkwood on screen. I think it’s cool to see the elves in that environment which is different to anything you’ve seen before, like in Rings and stuff. It’s not Rivendell. It’s different to Rivendell.<\/p>\n And Thranduil’s an interesting character. He’s got a complex past and history of his own. It’s fun, yeah. Yeah, things developed and the world’s getting more interesting, I think, for these movies, going into Lake-town, and it’s great.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>Anything new in Peter’s bag of directorial tricks that has been fun for you to watch or participate in since the original trilogy?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Well, obviously, the technology has moved on, and Pete’s always on the cutting edge of that stuff. So there’s a lot of that that will play out in the movie that is hard for me to necessarily– I mean, it’s different. You know what I mean? It’s like the shots– I think you’ll see that, you’ll experience that. I’ll experience that more watching the movie, as opposed to what it was like on set.<\/p>\n We still have great sets to use, which is awesome. It’s just something that Pete does, use his sets. And then green screen. And the stuff that you’ll see in green screen, I think that’s where you’ll see the magic as it were.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>What stage is the script in at this point? Because, obviously, Philippa Boyens has been– It’s been a work in progress for her in terms of the script’s evolution. So is this like you guys working off a “final” final script now, or is it constantly evolving?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>No, we’re working off the “final” final. It’s an ever-evolving feast, and that’s just the way they work. Different creative people work in different ways.<\/p>\n They have a structure and then the flesh it out as they go, and I think things– It’s an ever-moveable feast and you have to be able to adapt to that. That’s part of their process. So, yeah.<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Of course, there’s a– As an actor, you give yourself over to a director and to a creative process of making a film, and you really don’t have any say in what ultimately makes it on screen. Because so much can end up– So much happens in the editing room that you really don’t have a say on it.<\/p>\n Of course, it’s great to have a script that is locked in and stuff, but equally, it’s great to know that there’s a team of people constantly looking to improve it and make it better and working on getting the best story out of what is there. So I’m kind of easy with it because I think you have to– Unless you want to direct.<\/p>\n I think some actors get to a place where we’re like, “I’m going to direct this,” because I want to see it the way I want to see it as opposed to– But if you’re signed up as an actor to do a piece, then you realize that the only bit that you control is the bit between “action” and “cut.” So that’s what you’re giving and there will be a version of that in the movie.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>But how much is the trust? If someone else had been directing these movies, do you think that you would be approaching this all in the same way?<\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>Obviously, I have a history with Pete and Fran and Phil, and there’s a trust there. And I know that Pete– I know that they all know and understand the world very well. And Pete’s always got– He’s always got a handle on every character. It’s interesting when you see the movies, each and every character has a moment, or a series of moments depending on how important they are to the story, but every character has a moment.<\/p>\n I think he has a real handle on what those characters are and what they need and how to connect those and how they will play through. That’s my take on it. Certainly in Rings, he knew exactly who Aragorn was and what that character– He knew exactly what Gandalf’s role– Frodo. And he knew who Legolas was.<\/p>\n So I had those moments, running on the snow, which is of course in the book, or the Mumakil or whatever. He had those things because he understood who the characters are and what they need. So there’s a lot of trust, I feel. I put a lot of faith in them, and I have a lot of trust that the end result will be one that we’ll all be happy with, but more importantly, an audience will be happy with, hopefully for many, many years to come.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>How, if at all, is Legolas different? Obviously, this is set before The Lord of the Rings. Is he bringing anything different?<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>(overlaps) Ten years older. Yet sixty years younger.<\/p>\n MEDIA: <\/strong>(overlaps) Are you bringing anything different to the character?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>To the table? Yeah, there is a little more to mind with him this time in terms of that relationship with his father. There’s obviously this character of Tauriel, there is an interesting kind of Elven appreciation for her, if you like.<\/p>\n I think Legolas sees her like– It’s a bit like a star-crossed lover because she’s not– It’s sort of like an elf on the wrong side of the tracks, if you like. Do you know what I mean? Because he wouldn’t really be able to entertain that idea, and yet on some level, he probably likes the idea of it. So that’s an interesting thing that you didn’t see in Rings at all.<\/p>\n![\"refugee-camp\"](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/refugee-camp-1024x425.jpg\")
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\n![\"Bloom4\"](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Bloom4.jpg\")
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\nORLANDO BLOOM: <\/strong>How long for?<\/p>\n![\"Legolas_Bard\"](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Legolas_Bard.jpeg\")
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<\/a>MEDIA: <\/strong>But how much rust is there actually? I mean, there are lots of things I can’t do now that I could do ten years ago probably. Can you do everything that you could ten years ago?<\/p>\n![\"THE](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/HTBOTFA-TRLR-0011-1024x429.jpg\")
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<\/a> MEDIA: <\/strong>How was that evolved? Because I know the way Peter, Fran and Phil, especially, work is that they have the main script and then they work on it as shooting’s happening and as the pick-ups happen.<\/p>\n![\"THE](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/HTBOTFA-FP-0028-1024x429.jpg\")
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<\/a>MEDIA: <\/strong>What do you as an actor respond better to? Obviously, you do some movies where you know exactly how many scenes you’re going to be in, you know exactly what your role is going to be every step of the way. Here, you’ve already admitted that you don’t know how much you’re going to be in. Do you like that uncertainty?<\/p>\n![\"THE](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/HTBOTFA-FP-0026-1024x429.jpg\")
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![\"Legolas](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Legolas-in-vlog-8-courtesy-of-DarkJackal.jpg\")
<\/a>Actually, we shot the end of the movie yesterday, the end of the third movie, and it all– Everything that Legolas does in these two movies seems to all be tied up quite neatly into who and why he goes off into the Fellowship of the Ring. Which I clearly really like.<\/p>\n![\"LEGO](\"http:\/\/www-images.theonering.org\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/LEGO-LOTR_Legolas.pdf-1-page-217x300.png\")
<\/a>MEDIA: <\/strong>In the original trilogy, the cast and crew, all of you were able to become quite bonded and become very close friends. On this one, have you had a similar experience that now everybody’s an established star? Even the new people to the franchise are established in different ways, so how has the bonding with everyone gone on this one?<\/p>\n