Interview: Orlando Bloom Finds His "Haven"

For a couple of years now, mega-hottie Orlando Bloom has been pushing for the release of his indie movie Haven, a gritty tale of star-crossed lovers (Orlando and leading lady Zoe Saldana) , bankers, drug lords, money launderers and tourists in the Cayman islands. Well, the film is finally coming out this week and Orlando couldn't be happier. He co-produced the movie and was happy to carry equipment and pitch in with the crew to get it made.

In Beverly Hills, we met with the popular actor recently at the posh 4 Seasons hotel. We had been chatting with Zoe and were expecting Orlando but he hadn't shown yet. Suddenly, a shy knock on the door. We'd locked Orlando out! We let him in and got a friendly "How are you?" Picture the actor in gray graphic tee and gray pants. He's still got his "Pirates" goatee, long, tied back hair and that tiny gold earring. He was also wearing a Haven wristband with the national colors of the Cayman Islands.

We learned all about Haven, what it's like to have movie make-up scars on that beautiful face [for part of the film], Bloom's love scene with Zoe, his shy side, the fact that he's not engaged despite rumors and that he doesn't own a boat... although he'd love to. We also found out that he's got a plan to take control of his own supersized life. Stay tuned for all things Orlando...

TeenHollywood: You can't seem to get out of the Caribbean can you?

Orlando: [laughs] I love it. I didn't have a sword in this one though. Did you like that?[We grin. We actually love him with a sword]. It was fantastic to be a part of this and shooting in the Caribbean is awesome.

TeenHollywood: What are the differences between English and Cayman cultures?

Orlando: Well first of all, the food, the sun, the warmth, the pace of life. I certainly felt that, spending from age 16 onwards in London, the pace of life is so quick. Big city life, everyone's racing to pay the bills and get ahead. And the pace of life there in the Caymans is completely different.

TeenHollywood: What was it like in your off time down there shooting Haven?

Orlando: We had a lot of fun. We were a bunch of kids playing in the sand really with cameras. We didn't have a lot of off time. I certainly didn't have a lot of off time. I remember the first night of shooting, I was on the phone to my manager going, 'I've got eight scenes to shoot tomorrow.' I mean, I've never had eight scenes to shoot in a day before. This [shoot] was like (snaps fingers) 'We're shooting it now'. You gotta be there and ready to go, and I loved that.

TeenHollywood: Where are you based these days when you're not shooting movies in paradise?

Orlando: London. It's still home. I wouldn't up and move to Hollywood. I love to come here. Maybe someday it would be cool to stop traipsing luggage around the world but I would always consider London my home and go be with my friends.

TeenHollywood: What's it like when you go back to London? Can you just go to the local market?

Orlando: Yeah. I do it often.

TeenHollywood: And you're not followed everywhere?

Orlando: It's not like that but it can be if you suddenly see a whole bunch of school kids come down the street. It's like any big city. People aren't that phased really.

TeenHollywood: Are you still shocked at how your life has changed since the first Lord of the Rings?

Orlando: Who wouldn't be? It's terrifying. It's outrageous.

TeenHollywood: Do you feel like you are hanging on by your fingernails?

Orlando: Absolutely. But, I've been hanging onto this ride for so long, I've been a passenger on a roller coaster, and I want to get in control. I feel like, for the majority of my career up to now, it's been hold on for dear life because it's moving so fast. Now, I actually want to take a breath and make choices that I feel really good about and come back to what it was that excited me in the first place. Making movies like Haven with this great cast and getting to be a family on it was wonderful.

TeenHollywood: So, you're ready to take a more active role in your career?

Orlando: I really want to get into the driver's seat. Whether [my films] fly or flail or float or whatever they do, I want to enjoy them. In a way, I feel like I've been so fortunate at such a young age to be a part of so many fantastically huge movies. But anyone, being a part of those movies, can only really be a passenger. Being part of this production, I really felt for the first time that I was in control. I was in the driver's seat. I enjoyed that. I'd like to continue to do that whilst hopefully making other movies as well.

TeenHollywood: When fans talk to you now, what do they mention?

Orlando: Right now 'Pirates' but Lord of the Rings is always there too and Elizabethtown. The people who react to Elizabethtown say 'that movie really tore my heart out'. [All these movies] have different audiences. The people who went to see "E-Town" are [emotional]. I had a fan give me a letter on the red carpet and was like 'this movie came out when my father died. The soundtrack and this movie got me through the whole process'. You go, 'that's why I'm making moves, to have that kind of effect on people'.

TeenHollywood: How did you get involved in Haven?

Orlando: I got involved really early with Frankie [Flowers, the Caymanian director/writer]. I saw his short which was called Swallow and he brought Haven to me. I loved the story. I loved the writing but the character of Shy was originally written as a 16-year-old Caymanian kid. I said to him 'the character I'm most responding to is Shy but, obviously, it's not written for a guy like me so I'll see you later' and he said 'look, just give me twenty-four hours and I'll tweak it and see what happens'. And, to be honest, he came back with the character of Shy that I play in the movie and it was done with such integrity. It didn't feel like a star vehicle movie. It felt like it forwarded the story.

TeenHollywood: Did it change the focal point of the story?

Orlando: It gave Shy and Andrea [Zoe's character] , a real kind of heart. It made them the heart of this movie. As heartbreaking as it is, it gives it a real sense of integrity and I just was like 'look, if this kid [Frank is 24] can do that in twenty-four hours, then I am in'.

TeenHollywood: You'd been looking for an indie film project, a smaller movie?

Orlando: I've been desperate to be a part of an independent movie and the experience of making this film was truly remarkable and everything that I hoped it would be. It was a real collaboration. We were carrying lights across the street to make sure we got the shot before the sun went down. We were working through lunches. We were really a family with a like goal which was to make a movie that, I feel, is a really honest depiction of life in the Cayman Islands. It tackles the universal issue of youth culture and teenagers and growing up in today's society. It was a very personal story for Frankie. We all felt that we are a part of a movie that was honest and true and it doesn't pull any punches. It's there in its real form. It was wonderful to be a part of.

TeenHollywood: What, do you feel, is the universal message for teens in the Haven story?

Orlando: We all grow up in school with peer pressure and the idea that you want to prove yourself to your peers and that you're 'gangsta' or whatever it is you're trying to prove or pretend you are. These two kids were so in love and it was a pure thing. Shy was from the wrong side of the tracks relative to Andrea's family. [Her father] was a Caymanian man. He fought for and earned his right to his piece of land on that island and that was a hard struggle. This is his treasured daughter that was going to be married into more money. That's the idea so that the family continues. So, this love was crushed. The fallout of that is a kid gets disfigured, she disfigures herself from the inside really, and rejects it all. Kids have to make mistakes in life and the value of life today is seen so cheap to grownups. We don't have the same sort of value of it.

TeenHollywood: That's true. Everything is more intense when you are a teen. How did you prepare to play a fisherman in Haven?

Orlando: You know, I actually did sit down and scale the fish. It isn't that easy. You have to get the knife underneath and do it very fast, a jerking motion under the scales of the fish to remove the skin. And I actually learned to do that. It's not that easy because it kept getting caught.

TeenHollywood: That'll be a great party trick. You can be a sushi chef.

Orlando: Exactly. Smelly fingers.

TeenHollywood: Have you ever been in a situation where you felt peer pressure or where people said 'you really shouldn't do' this or that?

Orlando: Yeah. Not in the same way as Shy perhaps but in other ways. I grew up like any other kid trying to find my place in the world and wanting to make a mark and have been confronted by other kids, or the jealousies. We all have that. Each kid has an area of excellence and sometimes people take a stab at that because of envy or greed or bitterness, whatever but, of course.

TeenHollywood: Are you really shy at heart?

Orlando: Sometimes yeah. I think I've got a good front but yeah, of course. I'm incredibly shy and nervous about some public environments where I may find myself. I remember doing a play once and drying up on stage and I was so mortified when I was a kid and I was like 'I'll never do that again' but that moment stuck with me. I'm always so prepared now in case I dry at any moment.

TeenHollywood: How do you know how much to give away to the public and how much to keep to yourself?

Orlando: I don't think I do. There's areas you feel comfortable talking about and you're shy about other areas. Certain things feel fine to talk about because they're related to the movie but there are parts of your life that you are shy talking about because it's personal to you.

TeenHollywood: What was it like working with Zoe?

Orlando: Wonderful. We worked together on 'Pirates' but it was nice because there is a really personal scene we share in this movie. It's two kids falling in love and [him] taking the first night of her womanhood as it were and it's a really pure moment. The fact that we have known each other for a while made it easier. It's always an awkward thing for any actor to do an intimate scene like that.

TeenHollywood: You guys look great together. It worked.

Orlando: [joking] Yeah, really hard work. No, it's an honest little movie. It's not perfect. Some people have said it's a bit too hardcore and raw for teenage audiences and I go 'you know what? It deals with the issues of teenage life, of growing up in this culture'. That's something that's important. You go on holiday to the Caribbean islands and you see one side of it. You're there to relax by the pool, get your drink served. You go to the beach or to the bar. You don't really understand what the underbelly of that island is like. In this movie you get to see that. The Cayman Islands is a relatively peaceful environment, a safe environment in fact but it happens everywhere. It's real life.

TeenHollywood: Let's clear up another rumor. Are you running a site on MySpace?

Orlando: I don't have a site on MySpace. I've never even been on MySpace. I don't have a computer yet but I'm getting one. Still don't have e-mail.

TeenHollywood: Are you living in the Dark Ages?

Orlando: [laughs] Um hum. Just me and my dog. He's great.

TeenHollywood: Was it a conscious decision of yours not to have a computer? Why?

Orlando: Yeah it was. I just didn't want to deal with it. Don't have a Blackberry but I'm starting to get into the world of technology. Hey, I have a cell phone.

TeenHollywood: Shy is scarred for some of the film. Any discussions on how intense and ugly to make you?

Orlando: Oh, I wanted to lose an eye. I wasn't allowed and I should have been because I'm the producer, right? Actually, you know why I didn't? Because there wasn't enough time. The makeup girl is amazing. I work with her all the time and she did an incredible job of doing that scar, which I thought was really effective. But to lose an eye and everything else, it would have taken too long.

TeenHollywood: Ever look at yourself in the mirror with the scar and go, "Oh my God, what if this actually happened?"

Orlando: It's horrifying, isn't it?

TeenHollywood: A lot of the film is about love. What's your definition of love?

Orlando: You know, I don't know how you define it but Zoe's character has a line 'Have you ever been in love?' to this therapist, and you feel the pain, in that moment, of this young girl who is just heartbroken. And it hurts, man. You know, when you're young and you're in love and it doesn't work out, it hurts. It really hurts. It feels like it's life-threatening pain, because, you know, we all have those emotions and they mean so much to us. I think the purity of their connection is one that is sort of tainted by the opinion of the world outside -- the father, the brother, everyone having an opinion about it and not being good with it. And it's what ultimately destroys it.

TeenHollywood: What's next?

We're shooting "Pirates 3" until November so Haven is next out for me. September 15th. I'm going to be calling the paparazzi. I never do that. I always wear a hat and hide from them but from now on I'm going to be wearing this [indicates his Haven tri-color sweat wristband]. But, there are a couple of exciting things in the pipeline for me.

TeenHollywood: Aren't you going to start shooting Seasons of Dust in New Mexico next month with Kate [Bosworth]?

Orlando: Hope so, yeah. It's hard to get these films off the ground.

TeenHollywood: Will you continue being a producer, maybe form your own company?

Orlando: One day, yeah. There are stories that I have in my mind that I'd love to tell. I'm not a writer. I thought about trying to write an idea down and I'm always keen to meet cool, young writers. But there are stories that I definitely want to tell.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.