Orlando Bloom walks us through his most memorable on-screen outfits | Lookbook

Orlando Bloom, this is Esquire Lookbook. I would say there's no better place to start than, obviously, Legolas. Indeed. That was your first role. It was really important to me that the look of Legolas felt like an action elf, you know, not like some of the other elves that like a very ethereal looking and stuff, which is also... But like the way that I feel and recall Tolkien talking about Legolas in the movie, in the books, rather, was he was this like little militant kind of guy from Mirkwood, and they're like their own little division of elves, quite like little militant group. So it was important to me that he was a red-blooded feeling, action-y kind of a kid, you know, elf. My first time really on camera that I'd done, before I went to drama school, I'd done like an episode of Casualty, and I'd been a bit in Wild, and then I'd done A Midsummer's Murders. But the first time that I actually saw myself really on a big screen was for a screen test for Lord of the Rings, for Legolas. And I had not the outfit that I wear in the movie, but it was like a mustard-y colour, and it was very tight-fitting and kind of like athletic looking and sort of like cool, but like... They didn't go with it, but I thought it was cool. But like I walked onto the set, and Liv Tyler was on set, and we were friends. And I remember just like... I was just like... I didn't... I'd been in New Zealand training to be in the movie, and I'd spent weeks working, months, I was there three months in advance, working on movement, voice, dialects, the elven language, horse riding, and I was like fully loaded. But when I walked... I'd never done a screen test before, so when I walked onto this set stage, I was just like me. I was just like, hey, all right Liv, how are you doing? When I was being very like animated and not in character, nobody said anything. They offered all of us to go and watch the screen test to see what we thought of these costumes. And I remember looking at myself on screen in Peter's theatre, and I nearly lost my mind. I was like, wait, what? Because it was like... I was this big, and I was just not in character. And that was like maybe one of the greatest lessons I ever had in terms of like... Because I was like, okay, the costume is important, but they need to see it, and they need to see the character perform in the costume. It was a great, great takeaway, but slightly terrifying, because everything we were doing back then was being filmed as well. I think Pete was just tracking everyone's like, you know, what they were doing and how they were growing into the part and the performance. And it was a real family affair, you know, and it was very important, I think, that we're all collaborators and collaborative. But that was like a very big aha moment for me. And what did it feel like to put on the final version of the costume? It was like my first day on set, I'm wearing a costume that actually never made it. They put me into this costume, and Fran said to me, I remember she was like, we're putting you in this costume, Orlando. It's not necessarily the costume, but it's going to be great. And I was kind of in shadow and stuff, and she was so sweet, because she was like, she knew, I'd come from drama school, she was like, what about your boots? Because it was very important, feet, boots sort of thing, it's a very important thing for you to feel comfortable and stuff. And I was like, the boots actually did last, did stay the course. Well, they kind of grew and developed as we went along, but in terms of comfort and the ability to run and do the action stuff that was required. But that costume, the first one, also went the way of the ghost. So I ended third time's a charm, and I ended up with what I'm looking at here, which was, I think, really super cool, because the way that the structure of the costume, the costume designer, who was amazing, really understood the shoulders were sort of important for me and for the character, and kind of gave it this kind of tailored sort of look, which was cool, with the silver kind of popping through and the gauntlets, which I actually still have, which is great, and the belt all kind of cinching it. And then the length, I love a three-quarter length, actually, like I love a crombie or something, you know, I can't really wear it in California, where I spend most of my time. But it was all very important, the length of that suede coat with the legging, which was not like a tight, it was like a good, a sort of soft fabric. And then... What was it like maintaining the hair throughout? Oh, the hair, the wig. That was a lot of work. I mean, we did have the plaits on the side, which really helped, and it was tied back, but there was... I remember Noor, who was my first makeup artist through most of it, she was like, because you'd get these little wispy ones that would like fall on your face, and you just wanted to pluck them, but like, they were real hair. And each hair was knotted into this beautiful wig by these amazing, Owen and King were these amazing wig makers, I'm not sure they're still doing it, but they were like the best in the business. Actually, Peter King did go on to do The Hobbit, I'm not sure he's still, if he might be retired now, but they were like famously the best. They sort of do a sculpture, they're not, they actually it's like cellophane, they wrap it around your head, and then they get your hairline. And they actually, I had a mohawk under the wig, because they raised my hairline here and they wouldn't need to do it now, I've got the widow's peaks, but back then my hairline was much lower. So I was sitting next to Liv in the makeup chair, I remember, and I saw a super crushing on Liv at that time, she was, she's like a great friend now, but like, she was like, she was like, how are you, why don't you, why don't you get like a little mohawk, it would look so cute. I was like, shave it. So I had like a skinhead on each side, and I lived with this mohawk for the whole duration of the movie, and like, like Travis Bickle style, and I was like, felt like a bit of a boss, a punk under, kind of added to my swag for the character a bit, and I even went to LA for my first round of meetings to meet agents and managers with this crazy mohawk and a white suit. And I was like, yep, that's what I'm doing. The brooch is beautiful. I mean, all of the detail of all of those things is really phenomenal. I do have a thing for like soft fabrics and particularly like this was a really beautiful sort of two tone suede situation, there was some piping and stuff that worked really well for defining the characters, like, you know, physique as well. I mean, we don't, now we see it so, you know, it's so, it's done in, in the Marvel movies, like, you know, literally, like, you know, it's incredible, right? When we were doing it, it was, it was obviously for the elves, it was sort of subtle, but the same kind of concept. And then, you know, when we were in the two towers, you know, they added, they added the, they added these great shoulder pieces that were leather that the idea was he'd just gone, well, I'm going to battle and he's not really a, Legolas doesn't get a scratch, so he's not really, but it was like, it looked a bit more butch, and I had these kind of like cool shoulder pads, and I love that addition, you know. This is from a screening of the film in 2001. Yeah, this is, yeah, oh my God, this is crazy. This is Paul Smith, I believe it's Paul Smith's shirt for sure. I can't remember, I was working with this really sweet girl, didn't have a stylist or anything particularly, I don't even know if she was a stylist, she might have been, probably some sort, because she called in this Paul Smith shirt, don't, I think the jacket might be a Fendi kind of, looks like it might have been a Fendi DJ. And then I had this neckerchief thing. The shirt was kind of frou-frou, right, had these ruffles, and then I was wearing, because of my grandfather, I was wearing this like really weird scarf, this weird neckerchief thing, you know, that was like my grandfather's, and I was wearing my jeans because I felt good in my jeans, but I just, it's like, it was sort of by hook or by crook, this is before anyone had touched us in terms of like makeup, hair, I don't think I've got any makeup on there by the looks of it. This was a different era almost, and there wasn't like, the studio went like, well, you need to look a certain way in terms of what we were going to go to the premieres in. So it was really a mishmash of eccentricities that I think is sort of probably part of how I kind of still have like a uniqueness to the way I do things at different times. Sometimes I do kind of conform, and other times what I really do is just break any kind of mould and do weird stuff, because I like unique things, you know. Is that what it was like post Lord of the Rings, that you're in the island storm of the, you know, the success of it, that people were trying to take you over here, take you over here, here's a stylist, here's what you should do. Did you feel like you kind of had to keep a hold of who you were in terms of your style? I think to some extent, I think also I was doing so much publicity, and I suddenly got exposed very quickly to fashion and different styles and things that were, because when you go to do a photo shoot, you know, sometimes the magazine has an idea of what they want the shoot to look like. So they'll just present clothes and you sort of wear them, or other times you have a say in what it looks like. But I definitely was introduced to like, you could call it high fashion or designer brands or, you know, and unique things as well that I think people got a sense of what I liked. I mean, we see it so famously today with like, Timothy, you know, Chameleon? Yeah, Chameleon, I always say Chameleon, Chameleon, you know, and he's obviously really enjoying that whole thing. You know what I mean? He's like taking it to the, you know, taking that to another level. But when I was doing it, it was just like, mishmash. I was going to say, how has the red carpet changed over the last, what, 20? I think, you know, I think it's a, it's a great tool for promoting a movie. It's a great opportunity to get dressed up and people kind of like to, obviously, you know, brands and designers and brands are like, you know, using actors to promote their brands and sell their labels and their clothing and, you know, certain people wear things better than others or not or whatever. It's just, but you know, I think it's become a business. It's a really big business. I don't think I felt that it was a business back then in the same way. But I think that like, you know, we were the first trilogy of movies and probably even if you went through the trilogy, you'd see my style kind of evolve and the, you know, the kind of cut of my suit and things like that. I had a lot of London in me back then. I worked at Paul Smith when I was a kid. I was folding clothes at Our New Bold when I was about 16, kind of paying my way through drama school as well. And so, you know, I really, I really enjoy, like, the dress up aspect of wearing night like a good suit or, you know, I enjoy, you know, I even like, like shopping in some way because I spent a lot of time in shops. I've sort of pulled back on that now because what am I going to do with all this stuff, you know? But like, I remember I had this, this pea coat that I bought at a military store. And whenever I went to auditions, I'd wear this blue double-breasted like sailor's pea coat kind of thing. And I'd change the buttons. They were gold, which was two, and I'd put black ones. And I felt like I was like, kind of like, I called it my power coat because it may gave me a bit of confidence. And I still think today, you know, like sometimes, you know, whatever I'm put on, put into in a photo shoot or whatever, it will, you know, I could be doing a photo shoot. I did a photo shoot with Le Fischial just the other day, actually. And one outfit I was in, it was like the guy was taking the photographs and we were like, hmm. And then we just changed something in the outfit. And suddenly the photographs just sang. Because I think there is a certain thing about what you wear is gives you a certain swag or confidence. I definitely had that in Deep Cover as well, bringing it to this movie. Because with Deep Cover, Marlon, who is this, I guess he's this intrepid, like out-of-work actor desperate for his moment in the sun and to be taken seriously and to be seen in the world. And I sort of imagine that maybe he, I even said to the talker, I feel like he works in Angel, you know, the costume house, and he loves it because he can just sort of dress up and get into character. You know, so the beret and the boots and that first outfit with the pea coat, his hair and his whole look, I mean, was very like, you know, overly, overly earnest, sensitive actor looking to try and kind of like build his self out. And then when we moved into Roach, because obviously, like, he goes Deep Cover and becomes this alter ego of himself. I was like, Roach was written as a northerner. And I was like, who's the great, who's a great northerner that I could like? And I'd looked at, and like, I grew up with like Oasis, Ian Brown, Steinway. And so I looked at all of these northern great bands. And I ended up with like Liam, because he's just the swag bag of that period that I grew up and was very familiar with. And there's so many clips online of him just walking and moving. And so I really wanted to kind of and his and his look, you know, he had that green. So even the costume there, like we had the like the boots and we had this green like the coat that he like one of those parkers that he would wear so famously. And I was like, let's lean in, you know. And that's how that kind of I'm really glad about that, because it was fun, first of all, to do the accent and try to as Marlon as well. And that was, you know, a get out of jail free card, but also to kind of go into that thing of building the character out and having to play in that space of like a swag bag northerner who's going to pretend and be in front of these insane in these insane situations with gang leaders and drug lords of London. You know, it's like, how do you pull that off? So go deeper, make it more real, make it more authentic. So all of that sort of played into deep cover as well and to Roach's look. This was a great costume. This was the evolution. This image is is like punk rock, like pirate wannabe pirate will. And, you know, having had for most of the first movie, those like shoes with the brooches and the top and the tights, the brown sock tights and the and the the looking very kind of twee and earnest and overly earnest. When I got this, you know, this leather coat and look, I was just like I remember feeling so happy about it because I still have that actually that look. But it was like that's rock and roll pirate style, you know, and I had a great time wearing that. Actually, leather was was perfect for. All the all the ways, because it's sort of even in the hot, it wasn't too hot. But and in the rain, we had these crazy rain scenes. But it was it was a great again, like the Pico, a great kind of silhouette that worked well for like the character. I mean, I think that when you when you get a silhouette correct, you know, you see it for superheroes as well. But like when the silhouette of a character, if you imagine a character's like shadow being projected on a wall, if that silhouette is like iconic, then I think it makes for a really great character. I mean, the other costume that actually you're not you haven't got here, but I loved was Philo in Carnival Row. I had a really great look for that that was that we carried. I made sure that I kept as much of it into the second season because I loved the season, the first look so much. It's that like with the bowler hat and stuff. It was great. With the three roles we've discussed, you must have met a lot of big fans of the movies and the show who dress up in the yeah. What's that like to have that kind of, you know, it's always great to have people appreciate what, you know, the aspects of that. And I think people love to get lost in movies. They love to get lost in character. And if you if you get a chance to play, you know, and I feel, you know, I still pinch myself the idea that it's almost another lifetime ago when I look at this image of myself or Legolas, because, you know, it was another lifetime with Deep Cover. It's like, you know, what's going to what's going to what's going to terrify me? Well, I don't do comedy. Typically, I haven't particularly. I mean, there's it's not to say that, like, you know, there isn't a little bit of humor in some of what Will does or that, you know, I did a little bit on extras. But like comedy has not been something that I'm known for. So getting to work on Deep Cover with like these amazing writers in Ben and Alex and Tom being so good as a director, directing comedy like Staff Let's Flats, but also having understanding in it. And it actually it was so well crafted. The script and I felt for my characters was just playing actually in a weird way. The real truth of it, you know, and I kept like wondering, well, am I supposed to be in on the joke? But it was always there were moments I was like, you know, always came back to just playing the truth of it. And because it was written so well, it was. That's what I think works for all of the characters in the piece, you know, in the movie. So, yeah, it's great.