By Sean Chavel in Los Angeles

The 28-year old Orlando Bloom is emerging as a leading man. Bloom has been fortunate to have landed prominent supporting parts in "The Lord of the Rings" series, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," and "Troy." He is now the lead star of Ridley Scott’s Crusades epic "Kingdom of Heaven." Bloom has worked with Scott once before – he played a soldier who fell out of a helicopter in "Black Hawk Down." Bloom discussed his new movie recently with the press in Los Angeles.

Q: Are you married now?

ORLANDO: No. I’m a long way from marriage.

Q: Are you available or are you not available?

ORLANDO: I’m out there doing my thing, but I’m very, you know, good. [Laughs]

Q: Do you feel that mania is building in regards to your popularity?

ORLANDO: To be honest, I try not to be swayed by either positive or negative comments that come my way. In truth I’m like [my character] Balian who lives day to day, moment to moment, as a man who is just trying to do the right thing as each day passes. Ultimately, it’s about humanity. We’re all equal in the eyes, of whoever your God may be.

Q: Were you overwhelmed when you were filmed as said according to earlier reports?

ORLANDO: For the first time on this movie did I experience that kind –

Q: So that was true?

ORLANDO: It was the first time that I was the lead of a movie. We were in major cities in Europe and Spain it was the first time that I experienced –

Q: You didn’t get that while filming "Troy"?

ORLANDO: Brad was the guy, period. [Laughs] I’m still young. I’m five or six years out of drama school so it’s all a little new. I’m still learning as I go.

Q: Where is the weirdest place a fan has tried to get you?

ORLANDO: We had a lot of girls screaming outside the hotel until the vans moved us out in the morning. In truth, I learned a lot from that experience in Spain. I realized that it’s not like that always. It’s not like wherever I go there are people screaming out. It’s just that when you are on a big movie they are expecting to see you shoot a movie. And you’re in their hometown. And they’re excited that there is a possibility to see you. More of an effort is made to come and see you.

Q: Do you ever try to go out incognito?

ORLANDO: Trust me. I’ve tried a lot of different things in order to go about public life in a casual fashion.

Q: How did you come on board to "Kingdom of Heaven"?

ORLANDO: I read the script coming from "Troy," coming back from Mexico. I was bowled over by the message of the movie and the integrity of the story. And the opportunity to work with somebody like Ridley Scott [for a lead part] was truly exciting. I got a call from him just 12 hours after wrapping Troy. Maybe nine hours to learn three of the biggest scenes in the movie. I had two hours of sleep. The next day I had a stick-on beard, blood on my face… and I was screen-testing with Ridley.

Q: How is Ridley Scott to work with?

ORLANDO: He is such an inspirational director, a courageous director. I really felt like I knew what he wanted. We worked for a couple of hours on the screen test. A long process of waiting and then got the call that I got the part.

Q: Did you have second thoughts that you’d be in costume yet again?

ORLANDO: I had no intention of doing another sword movie but when you have the opportunity to play somebody the polar opposite of somebody like Paris [from "Troy"] who is the cowardly younger brother, it is great to play somebody like Balian who is not a politician, just a common man of the people. A blacksmith who has lost his wife and child. He’s in a state of nihilistic disillusion. How could God allow him to lose this much? He’s lost his faith. But after a road to redemption, he becomes a knight.

Q: What does it mean to be a knight?

ORLANDO: The knight’s code of conduct is: be brave in the face of your enemies, be brave that God may love thee, speak the truth even if means it brings you death, and save God to help us. And Balian follows that code of conduct to the end. It’s not part of what he thought was his process, but nevertheless he is constantly trying to step up to the mantle that his father has left him.

Q: Have you ever been responsible for living up to such an oath?

ORLANDO: Have I ever had that? I come out of drama school and I immediately get cast in "Lord of the Rings." [Laughs] People can do extraordinary things when given the opportunity. Hence, my character Balian finds himself at the end of the movie defending Jerusalem.

Q: Have you ever been in a lull when you’ve hurt yourself and can’t perform to your highest aspirations? Such as when there was a report that you hurt yourself on a horse while shooting "Lord of the Rings"?

ORLANDO: Oh, absolutely. I explored some pretty dark and hoary corners of my mind because I thought for four days that I would never walk again and then I knew that I would always have problems with my back. To be honest, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me because it made me realize that life is precious… and that we’re all human and precious.

Q: But you did a lot of falling again throughout "Kingdom of Heaven"?

ORLANDO: Well, I had a fantastic trainer which is something I always have because I feel it is important to me to keep fit and healthy. One of the things I wanted to achieve was to become a man in this movie from the boy that you see in Paris. The transition for me was to become physically bigger and more present in a way that you would imagine… I put on 15 to 20 pounds.

Q: You look chestier in some scenes, yes?

ORLANDO: A lot of lifting, a lot of eating.

Q: What did you eat to gain the weight?

ORLANDO: I had six meals a day from protein shakes to eggs and steak, chicken and goat. [Gasping in the room] It’s Morocco, so there were a lot of goats roaming around. [Laughs] It’s a food that many eat!

Q: Any truth in doing James Bond?

ORLANDO: It’s something that I heard so much about without hearing one word of offer from my agent or my manager. My cousin called me one night and said to me, ‘Wow, you’re doing Bond. I saw the new CNN report that says you’re doing Bond.’ And I thought, wow, that sounds great! To this day, I haven’t had a conversation about it, never heard about it from anyone in my [management] team.

Q: What upcoming movie is new for you?

ORLANDO: I shot a movie for director Cameron Crowe called "Elizabethtown." Look for it in the fall.

Q: Is being a celebrity worth it?

ORLANDO: When you’re blessed to be doing what you do – there’s always a price to pay to getting to do what you love. If the price to pay is that somebody somewhere is going to have a long lens and want to get a [photo] shot and make some money, well then they got a living to make. And you know what, I don’t look at those [tabloid] magazines, I don’t get involved. If people are interested in seeing me getting a cup of coffee, then whatever. I prefer if people just wanted to watch the movies. But as a celebrity you learn to adjust, learn to figure out how to go about your life without living in fear of that.

Q: What makes it all worth it?

ORLANDO: I love going to work in the morning. I’m very fortunate to be able to go and get dressed up, and to get to run around with a sword or a gun or a girl. It’s about grace and integrity. Often, I’ve been lucky to be involved with some amazing experiences. It’s been a privilege.

Q: What was your favorite Ridley Scott movie before shooting this one?

ORLANDO: That’s a tough question. "Blade Runner" was one of my favorites. It’s just a benchmark for how we look at the future. Ridley draws you into a movie like no other director. The first shot of "Blade Runner" alone… amazing.

Q: What do you want out of life ultimately?

ORLANDO: Happiness… Contentment… A family… Friends… A purpose… And a body of work… I’m still very young and I feel that I’m only in the first chapter of my career. I look forward to doing different things with my career ahead.

"Kingdom of Heaven" opens in theaters this Friday.