Orlando Bloom takes himself to all-new heights and depths in his new three-part docuseries, Orlando Bloom: To the Edge. The actor may be best known for roles in big-budget blockbusters like the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, but it seems his truest passion is finding and testing his own limits—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
In each episode of the series, Bloom challenges himself to accomplish a very difficult and dangerous activity after just a few weeks of training. First, there’s the matter of learning to wingsuit solo; then, he decides to dive 100 feet into the ocean while holding his breath; and, finally, he climbs a massive peak that forces him to confront his deepest fear.
Each challenge is draining and revelatory for Bloom, and we learned so much about the actor (and apparent adrenaline fiend) watching it all play out.
He was very moved by the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Bloom hails from Canterbury, United Kingdom, so it’s not surprising that he has some feelings about the monarchy. However, just how much the queen’s death impacted him is a bit of a stunner.
In the show, he finds out about her passing while he’s training in skydiving and is very affected by the news. For Bloom, the queen was a hero who sacrificed for the system. Coincidentally, his next jump happens to go very, very awry, and he has to pull his reserve chute, which is rare. He then credits the queen for bringing him down safely.
His family is evidently full of go-getters
In To the Edge, Bloom characterizes his family by saying, “There’s nobody not living vitally… we have grit and determination.”
Audiences get to see one example of that when he brings along his Uncle Chris to join him in skydiving, and the man reveals he’s been on more than 700 jumps.
Katy Perry was all-in with support… but also quite worried about his safety
Throughout each of these dare-devilish endeavors, Bloom’s “partner” (though they are reportedly engaged and share a child together, she’s captioned as “partner” in the series) joins along in the fun with video calls to check on his safety and congratulate each achievement.
At the same time, though, she makes it very clear that she’s worried and even instructs his wingsuit instructor that there’ll be “no funny business” as she pays a visit to the site.
He considers himself a “collector of experiences”
Bloom has many reasons for doing these extraordinary challenges, including, he says, “I never feel so alive being so close to death.” Indeed, each and every one of the activities puts him on the edge (title wink) of his capabilities, from having to steer himself from landing in the ocean with a parachute to holding his breath for upwards of six minutes to scaling a bit of rock without any real safety net to catch him if he falls. “The more experiences I have, the richer I feel,” he explains in the series.
He struggles with his self-treatment, even though he’s happy with his life
In To the Edge, Bloom reveals that in addition to pushing himself physically — he works out, hard, twice a day, as he proves again and again in the footage — he also can be quite harsh on himself mentally.
“I think there’s way more at stake because I’m happier in my life than I’ve been in a long time and family and it’s just there’s more at stake now,” he explains, after a moment where he really struggles with his dive training regimen. “I think the thing at the end of the death table [breathing exercise], probably the reason why I got so upset is because of how hard I am on myself, not push myself because I don’t know that that’s a bad thing, but I think it’s about how hard my head is to myself. Somewhere on a much deeper level. I think if there was a takeaway, I’ll probably be like, don’t be so hard on yourself because that’s the bit you can do something about.”
His biggest fear is falling (again)
Bloom has talked before about the fact that when he was in his 20s, he fell three stories out of a window and broke his back. He was lucky to walk, let alone be able to do any of these extreme hobbies. The scar that lasted the most, it seems, is his fear of falling. So when it came to rock climbing, it was even more foreboding than the other, very scary activities.
After he achieves his third and final goal, his best friend, who was with him during his accident, is brought to tears, remembering seeing him “screaming” in pain before and now getting to witness him doing so again with success.
Orlando Bloom: To the Edge, Streaming Now, Peacock