Swashbuckler Orlando Bloom lives out his childhood dreams.

You have to look closely, but beneath the artfully tousled brown air and chocolate eyes lies the face of Legolas. Having disposed of the long blonde wig and fighting accoutrements associated with The Lord of the Rings' famous elf, Orlando Bloom is continuing to live his childhood dream.

He played a soldier in Black Hawk Down, an outlaw in Ned Kelly, a boxer in the upcoming Calcium Kid, a prince in next years Troy opposite Brad Pitt and a pirate in this month's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, co-starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush.

"On this film I just said, 'Where do I sign?' I mean to start with, isn't it every little boys dream to be a pirate? I certainly played pirates when I was a kid," says the 27-year-old.

After a swag of such epics, you'd think the Brit would want to taper down with a smaller movie but the script, character, producer (Top Gun and Pearl Harbour's Jerry Bruckheimer) and a big budget lured him.

"And then there was Johnny Depp," Bloom admits. "He was a big draw for me. I've always really admired him as an actor and the truth he brings to the characters he plays. I feel really lucky. I feel like a sponge when I'm around him, you know, just soaking it all up."

Bloom has been soaking fast and threatens to take over his similarly smouldering co-star due to his knack for picking commercial winners. Incredibly that knack, and his prodigious ascent, began in what will potentially become the biggest film series ever.

"Rings was my first experience out of school, and I was sort of dropped in the deep end," he admits. "I definitely learned a lot, especially about acting and keeping your character going whatever is happening all around you, and yes, that's useful for a film like Pirates too."

Evenafter a mere four years in the business, Bloom has directors and studios salivating. Pirates of the Caribbean director, Gore Verbinski, fresh off his success with The Ring, goes so far as to compare Bloom with Errol Flynn.

"That's pretty flattering, because in case anyone didn't know, he was the classic screen pirate," Bloom says.

In Pirates, Bloom plays a blacksmith, Will Turner, in the adaptation of the Disneyland theme park ride, of all things.

Turner team's up with Depps Jack Sparrow- "a real deal pirate who's completely cool and roguish"- to counter a ship of villains led by the ruthless Captain Barbossa (Rush).

Unfortunately for Bloom, "It's Johnny and Geoffrey who have the full-on paraphernalia, which I'm a bit envious of to be honest."

"Then again, since I play the earnest young man, my bet is that I end up getting the girl," he teases, "the girl" being played by Bend it Like Beckham's Keira Knightly.

While Bloom's previous LOTR experience handling a blade put him in good stead for his current swashbuckling adventure, he was relieved to leave the wig behind.

"Well, my hair really is brown," he says. "You know, I really enjoyed the anonymity that's come with the long , blonde look in Lord of the Rings. It's like you get all the fun and excitement of being in a really big movie without any of the undue attention or harassment, or whatever else goes with being recognised in public. But the rtruth is. So far even I hardly recognise myself when I see myself up there on the big screen."