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After his turns in Lord Of The Rings, Troy and Pirates Of The Caribbean, Orlando Bloom must be quite the swordsman. And judging by the huge crowd that turned out to see him in Leicester Square on Monday night, the movie-going public can't get enough of his swashbuckling antics.
Orlando was greeted by over 1,000 screaming fans when he arrived for the gala premiere of Kingdom of Heaven. "This is amazing," he said upon arriving on the red carpet. "I really feel like I'm back home."
There was no shortage of female attention awaiting him at the event, but the British actor saved his embraces for mum Sonia, sister Samantha and French co-star Eva Green. In the movie he plays Balian of Ibelin, a young blacksmith who rises to protect his people from foreign invaders during the Crusades.
"I had no intention of doing another sword movie," confessed Orlando. "I just couldn't resist playing a reluctant hero who is a man of the people. Balian is a common man who lost his faith, and that's a very timely story."
Also in attendance was a heavily pregnant Anna Friel, who had come along to support her partner David Thewlis. Master filmmaker Ridley Scott, who previously worked with Orlando on Black Hawk Down, was meanwhile accompanied by his glamorous partner Giannina Facio, who movie fans will recognise as Maximus' wife in Gladiator.
Ridley's latest epic has drawn criticism from some circles for its depiction of conflict between different religious groups, but the veteran director dismissed the allegations: "Religious difference, right now, is causing a great lack of understanding, so I felt it was important to show that not all Muslims are bad and that not everyone in the West is good," he said. |
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