Oh, Orlando

Just what is Mr Bloom thinking? Eve Barlow finds out

- Eve Barlow

Are we going to talk about my penis?” asks Orlando Bloom, letting out an almighty laugh. He’s referring to an episode in August 2016, when he was photographed paddle boarding naked in Sardinia with his then-girlfriend Katy Perry. The paparazzi images went viral. Did the hysteria surrounding his penis surprise him? “Yes, it was extremely surprising,” he says. “I wouldn’t have put myself in that position if I’d thought it would happen.” I wonder how the 40-year-old actor and tabloid regular (who has starred in two of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, The Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean) would think he was safe from a long-distance lens. “I have a good radar,” he says. “We’d been completely alone for five days. Nothing around us. So I had a moment of feeling free.” Had it been a woman exposed by the press there would have been outrage. Is it a case of double standards? “I didn’t take it that deep. What can I tell you? Note to self: you’re never free!”