Ranking Every Major Performance In Carnival Row
1. Orlando Bloom (Rycroft Philostrate)
Orlando Bloom is no stranger when it comes to fantasy set pieces with experience in Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean, and that experience is clear to see here. The star of the show, especially from the second half onwards, Bloom’s Philo carries the show brilliantly and keeps everything steady even as the plot gets more and more outlandish.
There are a couple of missteps, certainly. Bloom can’t quite sell the tough guy image that we’re apparently supposed to see in Philo, and his action scenes aren’t as fluid as they were as Legolas or Will Turner.
Whether that’s to do with direction, to paint Philo as a grittier character than those ethereal figures or if Bloom just isn’t as young as he used to be remains unclear. In the grand scheme of things though, they don’t detract from Bloom’s performance.
For all this is a fantasy saga and Philo’s dark secret is being a halfblood, most of his time is spent in one on one dialogue. That’s where Bloom excels here, and glosses over any cracks in other elements of Philo.
His connection with Delevingne feels genuine, and his tone subtly becomes more melancholy as the series goes on.