Blooms Pool Their Talents

There is a wonderful article from The Scotsman about Samantha's stage debut. It seems Orlando turned from actor to tutor, sharing his expertise and knowledge with his sister...

ORLANDO Bloom, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, strides through the foyer of an Edinburgh church with all the swaggering style of his Pirates of the Caribbean film role.
But a quartet of elderly ladies enjoying tea and scones in the cafe at St George's Church West hardly give him a second glance – it's Edinburgh, it's the Fringe, and they are unaware they are in company of a celebrity.

Bloom, 31, is in town to deliver an acting masterclass to his elder sister Samantha, 32, who is making her Fringe debut.

As Bloom mounts the stage to help Samantha transform herself into the male mindset of Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky in his tale of unrequited love, there is a brief, respectful silence.

Bloom stops Samantha as she acts out a scene where Mayakovsky pricks his finger.

"Don't do it like that, don't suck your finger like that, that's what a woman does. Do it like this" and acts out a quick gnawing mannerism with his finger held at the side of his mouth and in that moment the star quality beams out.

Earlier, Bloom talking about his sister's appearance in A Cloud in Trousers, at the city's Underbelly venue, said: "I've been very fortunate but my sister's had to work very hard to carve out a career.

"It's been quite an undertaking for her and to begin with I marvelled at how it seemed almost like a stream of consciousness.

"Appearing on stage in a theatre rather than a Hollywood film is like using a different sort of muscle for an actor..."

Suddenly the hall is plunged into darkness as lights are tested. Then power is restored.

Bloom, without missing a beat, smiles and continues: "At first I thought Samantha was joking about being on stage alone for 40 minutes I don't know if I could do it, it's a different sort of journey."

Taking a break from the masterclass Samantha said she had no qualms accepting advice from her brother: "He encourages and supports me in everything I do and I like to ask his opinion.

I'd been interested in playing a male role, but rather than playing a tough guy what I discovered was the fragility of men's emotions and the basic instincts we share."

As Orlando Bloom leaves the venue to fly to Sarajevo for filming commitments, a member of the Zawose Family, a group of musicians from Tanzania, appearing at the church venue enquires via co-ordinator and translator Robert Ngoroma, "Who is that guy?"

Told he is a big Hollywood star and quite a heart throb, he responds: "Like Mr Bean?"

It's Edinburgh, it's the Fringe, egos are left at the door.