10 Unknown Actors Who Kicked Serious Ass In Major Films

10. Orlando Bloom - The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

Baby-faced and Elvish Orlando Bloom arrived in New Zealand to film Peter Jackson's epic trilogy with but a handful of one-off appearances in mediocre British dramas to his name. A gamble then, to cast such an unknown in such a famous role? After all, Tolkien's die-hards would have already had their own idea of what a perfect Legolas would look like and I'd wager none of them had envisaged the Kent-born actor of Casualty and Midsomer Murders *ahem* 'fame'. Still, the gamble paid off and Bloom delivered a performance that encouraged every kid to pick up a bow, talk like you're being quoted on an inspirational poster and dance through fields shooting imaginary orcs... no, just me? In fact, his character was so well received in Peter Jackson's first Middle-Earth trilogy that the character was written into his second €“ the recent Hobbit Sequel: The Desolation Of Smaug. This sets up Legolas (and Bloom) to be the talking point of another generation whilst us old hats can sit back and admire the continued work of an actor who brought such an important nugget of Tolkien lore to life. Good job Orlando.