Orlando Bloom [VIDEO]
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This is What Now? with Trevor Noah.

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You know, one of the weirdest things about doing an introduction when somebody's sitting next to you is that you want to give an introduction that's as honest as possible, but also as effusive as possible without making it seem like you're doing it to the... So just act like you're not here while I speak about you. I'm not here. Yeah, I'm chatting to Orlando Bloom today, who is arguably one of the most recognizable faces in the world because he has been...

I mean the lead in some of the biggest movies that have shaped our lives, I was thinking about the other day. And we're going to be chatting today on the podcast because today he's embarking on a different journey where it's a different type of trilogy. As epic, I would say, as Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean. Only in this story, he could actually die.

He doesn't. Spoiler alert, he's here. This is the great news. He's here. Came close though. Came close a couple of times. Yeah, came close. But spoiler alert, he's here. So Orlando Bloom, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me, man. It's great to see you. By the way, when did you cut the hair? I just finished working in London on this movie and we cut it for that.

Wait, you cut your hair for the project? Yeah. Yeah. This is probably why I'd never get into acting. Well, you've got beautiful hair. You're like Samson. No, you've got beautiful hair. I don't know if I would like the idea of me having to change my appearance for somebody else's. Also because it might be shit.

Which is sometimes as you get like a little older, you go, oh, that could work really well though. You need to embrace that shit look, right? No, what I mean is like, imagine making something that's shit and I cut my hair for it. Oh, I've done so much of that. I've done so much of that.

And you go, forget just looking shit. It's like the time that you put in. I attack everything like 110%. I can tell. I'm like fully loaded, committed. So if it doesn't work, it's just a lot of egg on my face and a really bad hairdo. What's the thing you regret doing the most to your body for a project?

Well, I don't know the answer to that quite yet. But the thing that I just did that I did extreme for my body was a movie I just produced and starting called The Cut, which it's a boxing movie, but kind of it focuses the fight is not the fight. The fight is the battle to cut, lose the weight. Cutting is losing weight. It's terrible. Yeah, it's terrible. And I'm a boxer kind of having, I'm a boxer coming out of retirement to have a last moment of a title fight. But yeah.

What I had to do was transform my body in a major way. And so I'm about, as I sit in front of you, I'm about 185, probably similar to you. What is that in kilograms? I don't use fake numbers. I don't know. I don't know. I don't work in kilograms. Do you work in stone? Yeah, I used to work in stone. I still don't understand that. Yeah, I don't understand stone either. Like the English, everything seems correct. And then it's like, what do you weigh, stone? Stone? I know. 2024. I don't feel like it was probably because they just had a bag of stones. Yeah, but it feels like that. Back

back in the day, medieval times, they had a bag of stones. But it's weird for that to be now. Still. Like literally in this day and age. Oh, there's a lot of things that are quite unusual. You know, it's like, oh, the economy, the GDP, you know, oh yeah, the new Teslas, oh yeah, electricity. How many stones does he weigh? Yeah, how many stones?

So, but anyway, 185 pounds, I dropped to 152. 185 pounds. So I dropped 35, 30-ish pounds. Okay, I think I know what that is. That's like 70-something, 80-something kilograms. It was brutal. How long did that take you?

I worked with a really great nutritionalist in Santa Monica. He basically tethered me, he sort of teared me down on food. And so I started just stripping out carbs and basically was running mostly keto, if you've heard of that, you know, that kind of fat thing. And then I ended up just eating tuna and cucumber was basically it. Not worth it.

Not worth it. And then what I did to make the last step, I actually had this hot Epsom salt bath, which is a technique that boxers use. I dropped 10 pounds in one night.

I had 25 pounds of Epsom salt in a boiling hot bath up to my neck. What does it do exactly? I've heard about this, but I don't understand what it does. It's like osmosis of some sort, I think. It's like, because I had to basically drink two liters of water afterwards. I went to bed and I woke up and I stepped on the stale and I'd been on the scale, like looking at my weight obsessively. So the movie really is about the complexities of, you know, the masculine as it,

looks at weight loss, weight gain, all of those things. But yeah, it was brutal. Okay, but so this is maybe the perfect segue to get into your new show on Peacock. You've made this new show. Yeah. Maybe why is the most important question for me? Not a bad question. Yeah, like you already make movies. Right. Okay. And you're living your life. You're a dad, you're a husband. Yeah.

How and why does Orlando Bloom decide to make a show

That isn't, it isn't like a cute, easy show, which is what I thought it was going to be when I first heard of it. You know, they were like, oh, this is going to be, you're going to be skydiving and you're going to be, you're going to be, you know, free diving and you're going to be climbing. I was like, oh, this is adorable. I want to see you do this. And then I watched it. I was like, this is, this is work. This is horrible. Yeah, it was a lot. I sort of came up with this idea during COVID, but it was, I was just feeling all the fear, you know, around me all the time. Yeah.

you know, we were all, I think that was a really challenging time for the planet, for the world. I'm actually probably a wonderful time for the planet because we, nobody was doing anything, but for the, for us humans on the planet, it was a super challenging time. I think we can all agree. And I actually have had this Buddhist practice since I'm 16. And I thought what I'd like to do is meet people like elders, like wise people and people who live a long time, because I think we're also afraid of dying because of this COVID disease and talk to them and,

But the, uh, but we didn't really get any bites on that. They were like, how about we just throw you out of a plane down to the bottom of the ocean and, you know, you can try climbing something. And I was like,

Yeah, that works with my sort of, uh, that works. That's the other thing that I would sort of probably. Cause you're, you're a, you're an adventure junkie. You know, I'm, I'm definitely, um, I definitely enjoy the thrills and the adrenaline and the high octane moments in life. And I think part of that is probably down to being, you know, I was diagnosed dyslexic as a kid, but I'm also wasn't diagnosed ADD. There's loads of labels you can give people, but like,

Yeah.

performed just at school theaters and stuff. But I was never more focused. I was never more present. I was never more in the moment than when I was absolutely shitting myself. You didn't have time. I can relate to this. As somebody who has ADHD, your brain doesn't have the luxury of being distracted because you have to... It's life or death. Right. You know what I mean? There's no checking your texts. There's no...

you know, meandering off. You are on his game time and if you're not in the moment. Did you feel that as a child? Like, were you cognizant of that as a child or is it something that you now understand in hindsight? Do you know, I only really in the last,

two years started to look at and this is even before the show I kind of realized that ADD was something that was definitely part of my life when I actually had a conversation and I remember sitting down in an office with somebody and they gave me a list and I was like I started going through the list it was just like tick the boxes and I was like and I just stopped ticking and I just looked and then I flipped over and I just looked and I went okay I don't need to I

It was you. Yeah. I was like, this is everything. And then I was like, I don't want to take a pharmaceutical. I'm English. And I think America has, you know, got a lot of stuff that they do with pharmaceuticals. You're not wrong. I'll tell you that much. So I was like, I don't want to take an anthet, like somebody's going to get me, um,

You didn't want to take like a stimulant. I didn't want to take a stimulant. And I'd been raw dogging it for so long that I was like, listen, this is my character, guys. You know, love me or leave me. But I think my partner was like, okay, you know, like that doesn't work for somebody who's got OCD. Yeah. Because what are some of the things you do? So you race motorbikes. I saw you race around the track. Yeah. Do you have a bike right now? I have more than one. What's your go-to? I saw the Ducati and the... Yeah.

I'm not riding super fast. I've got an Aprilia that's for track. Oh, those are fun though. Yeah, it's fast. Those are nice. I always loved the way the engine, like it's such a specific vibration. Vibration, yeah. I mean, that whole feeling, I think that like motorcycles, you know, I started riding motorcycles when I was a kid. I really, you know, I got my license when I was 16. I rode a Vespa around town and, you know, I thought it was a cool kid. And, you know, then I rode a motorbike in London. Which town is this? Canterbury. Canterbury.

Happily on the wall. I feel like London is the least... London would have been... Yeah, like London, UK. Everywhere in the UK is the least Vespa town I can think. Like I ride bicycles everywhere I go in the world. Right. Just to get around. Love that. London, I'm terrified. Yes. There's more... I remember even seeing the stats once and it's like it's one of the most dangerous places to ride bicycles in. It is. I'm sure. Because your drivers in the UK, they have like a... They're almost angry at you...

for being on a bicycle and passing them in the traffic. Do you know what I mean? There's like a... Yeah, it's like, yeah, yeah. It's true, it's true. You're getting ahead of us. It's like a massive, it's like it's sort of a race.

Which actually I've, I think I've, I inherited a bit of that in my driving style, which is like, like aggressive and it's, you're racing through the streets. I mean, I'm, people hate being in the car with me. They think I'm dangerous, but I think I'm super focused, but I am, it is like I'm racing everybody. So it's like, I'm like, okay, I need to just take a chill pill. Um,

Because I think there's a lot to learn from that as well, right? A bit of grace. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A bit of grace. I'm considering more. I'm fascinated by this. Did it, for those who know nothing about the show, you essentially choose three, I don't even know if you'd call them sports, because they're all extreme. Yeah, I guess they're sports. They're extreme sports. They're extreme sports. Yeah.

I don't know. It just feels death defying to me, you know, because you have, um, what do they call it? Wingsuit flying? Yeah. Wingsuiting. Wingsuiting. Wingsuiting. Yeah. You have wingsuiting where you're basically like a giant squirrel. Yeah. You jump out of a plane and then you hope for the best. Yeah. And then you do, um, you do diving, but free diving, free diving, no tanks, no nothing. Yeah. Essentially like, yeah, you might, you might just die coming back up to the surface. Feels like it. Um, and then you have, uh, rock climbing, but, uh,

Like all of these... Kind of, yeah. Talk me through this moment. So you're a dad. Right. Right? You are currently with someone. I am. When you say to them, hey, you know what I'm going to go do? I'm going to go learn how to jump out of a plane. And I'm going to do this in two weeks. I'm going to get my jumping license. Yeah.

My skydiving license. You know the one that normally takes months? Yeah, I'm going to do that in a week. I'm going to get qualified. And then I'm going to start wingsuiting. Which I don't think anyone's done before. No, I don't think. We're trying to find out. I've never heard of anybody do this. Somebody said to me the other day, maybe you could go for one of those Guinness Book of Records for the quickest to a wingsuit. You might actually have it.

Because how many jumps did you do in one day, for instance? In the first episode, we just see you go jump for jump for jump for jump for jump. How many do you think you did in one day? Like the first day was at least five, I think. And then...

I mean, the time, the accelerated timeframe. I mean, the thing is, is that what's crazy about that is that every increment, everything that you change technically with the gear, where there's a different shoot, like we started with one shoot, it's a beginner shoot. Then you change to another shoot, which has a totally different feeling under canopy, right? The canopy is the shoot.

All of these different things come into play and you're like, and you're, and you're, and my brain is moving, trying to keep up with the things that I'm learning. And it's a pretty straightforward thing. When you jump out of a plane one to release your shoe, if that doesn't work to you, release the shoot that didn't work. And three, you're like,

I've forgotten what it is. It's one, one to release the shoe. Two to release. Yeah, exactly. One to release the shoe. It's pretty straightforward, Trevor. You see, let me tell you now in the calm space that we're recording a podcast in, it's pretty simple. And I've forgotten it. There were three moves. Is this why you need to do it? One out the back is the shoe. Okay. Two to release it if that didn't work for whatever reason. And then three is on the other side. Yeah. Three to open the second shoe.

So you have two shoots when you jump. If the first shoot doesn't open, it's like a one in a thousand chance that the shoot doesn't open. That's right. We're watching you jump. Yeah. Yeah.

On the seventh jump, I think, if I remember correctly. Oh my God, I'm getting PTSD just thinking about it. On the seventh jump, your chute doesn't open. Yeah. Or it like opens and then it's like a weird. So it opened actually, which is not as insane as if it hadn't opened, which would have been, I'd have been thinking in seconds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the protocol is one, two, doesn't work.

one, two, I'm going. So I was like, right, baby, here we go. One, two. And then I was like, one, my, the other shoot fell away and I was into free fall again. And then two, and then I felt the canopy came out and I was like,

I was just like, oh, you don't even realize how terrifying this is until you see the look on the face of the guy who was driving by. Can you believe we got that? You land by the side of the road and there's some good, like just some good Samaritan who drives up and you love that. You saw his face. He was like, how are you alive? Cause all he saw was somebody falling out the sky, parachute, not working parachute snap. And then a parachute land in the field. Yeah.

In that moment, did your life flash? Like people always talk about what happened in that moment to you? Is it fear? Is it adrenaline? Is it practice? You know what's really interesting, actually, Trevor, is I think what I learned most is that these kind of wild people who do these wild things,

They are experts in this, this little area. Like people have asked me if I've done any of these things subsequently. And the truth is I haven't, not because I haven't wanted to, but because I think it's a lifestyle choice. These people are experts. They are, they were the family. They are the people that taught me how to, how to navigate and it's protocol. It's like everything you depend on is like, it's like, it's like there's a protocol. You follow that.

So long as you're good with your maker. Yeah. You know? But you know what I found? That's actually one of the things I found like really fascinating about the show is there's this paradox. Yeah.

You know, when you think of extreme sports, you think of all the people who are doing everything to risk their lives. And the one thing I noticed when watching your show was these people have more discipline than we have when like driving on the highway. You know, the same way you'll go, I'm going to look at my phone. Let me check a few texts. Or did I put my seatbelt? No, the people who do extreme sports are...

are the most disciplined people. Yeah. Because they acknowledge the fact that at any moment it can end and it ends. And then ironically in life, we're running around like people cross the street. Yeah, we cross the street. We don't even pay attention. You know, do you think

That changed something in you at any point? Like, did it make you, even if it lasted for a few weeks, was there a part of you that was a little more meticulous now? Huge. I mean, it was huge for me in that respect because it, like, I like to think that when I overly prepare, partly because of dyslexia or whatever else, when I'm preparing to go into a movie or a character of some sort.

But this was like, okay, this is life stuff. These are tools for life. And confidence. It gave me a certain sense of like, oh man, I did that. I can do this. This isn't... Wait, even at this stage in your life? Yeah. Because I would assume that you feel accomplished all the time. No. I mean, that could be... Not really. I mean, I feel like...

I think, you know, so young to have had so much great good fortune and to have come out the gate, but not really knowing, you know, my ass from my elbow and just like, I mean, that's not true. I trained, I went to, I always do this to myself, but somehow, yeah, I think, you know,

I think it's only really getting interesting for me now in some ways in this, I don't know how, you're a few years younger than me, right? You're like, I'm like 47. Oh, I just turned 40. So there you go, right. So it's like, yeah. But my journey was, you know, as much as you went to school and you studied medicine,

And there's a strange curse I'll think about for people who experienced the pinnacle. And I mean, the absolute pinnacle of success. Yeah. Like, think about it. You come out of drama school. It was what? Your last week? Two days before I finished. There you go. That I heard. But I mean, yeah. And then you get Lord of the Rings. Yeah. I mean, I've been auditioning for months, but yeah. Yeah. But this is what they give you. No, they give you the announcements. They go, all right, Lord of the Rings. It's on.

Even at that point, people knew that this was going to be one of the biggest films ever made because it was based on one of the biggest books ever. It was massive, massive, massive, massive. The cost, everything, the budgets. But in a strange way, it's almost like dreaming of being a mountain climber.

And then your first mountain is Everest. Yeah. And then, you know, then you go on to do Pirates of the Caribbean. And it's like, oh, your second mountain is Kilimanjaro. Right. I often wonder, like, how you keep yourself motivated. Yeah. Or even stimulated. Yeah. When those are your first peaks. Yeah. Like, what's that been like in life? It's been a real...

it's been a lot about evolving. I think that there was a period where I was just, it just never ended. I was either on a set or I was doing publicity for a movie. If you think that there were three rings, so I was, for three years, I was releasing a huge movie with Lord of the Rings and there were like three Hobbits, two of which I did. And then there were like Troy and Kingdom, all these giant movies. I just hit the juggernaut of all these epic style movies, right? I think I had just gotten kind of like, yeah,

I'd lost a, I love what I do. And I think I, I just love what I do. And I had all of this amazing opportunity. And I think a little bit like that kind of Tolkien quote of it, like where, where Bilbo says he felt like a piece of toast that was spread a little thin, you know, I just had, I just had, I just had lost, I'd lost a sense of who I was and where I was. Cause it, it, with, with all of the,

those huge movies came all of this attention that I didn't really know what to do with. And it was, you know, there was always people following me and, you know, I couldn't go anywhere in the world. And I like to be in the world. I like to go to places, you know, it's like, I like to be amongst people and I like to ask people, I'm curious about people. Yeah.

So I was suddenly like, you know, not able to do those things. It's why I picked up motorcycling again, actually, because I could actually get to one place without being followed. The helmet, right? You know, the helmet. Can I tell you, one of my favorite things when riding, my friends used to ask me this, they go like, why do you like riding so much? You know, when I used to ride back in the day and I said, one of my favorite things about riding a motorbike is you don't exist. It's just the helmet. And I

I found it was one of the few instances where there literally was no race, there was no gender, there was no where you from. And all motorcyclists, we have like a camaraderie about us. We all know what's happening. We all know that we... We've got life in our heads every time we get on the bike. It's this interesting connection that you have, but that anonymity is also a special thing. Yeah. And I had, you know, a child with my ex now and I was very present for him. And then when we separated, I was sort of

I was living kind of like, you know, and not really working. And then I sort of went on a bit of a journey at that time. And I did a lot of stuff with Laird Hamilton. I was living in Malibu and

I did this crazy swim training with him and then I was sort of like flying on motorcycles, on tracks, learning a few kind of... I was doing a lot of adrenaline things. I was really pushing my edges. Do you think you were trying to feel? I think I was trying to feel because I was numb and I was probably depressed and didn't really know that I was depressed because I had everything. I'd attained everything and everyone looked at me like I had everything and I was like, you know...

But then it felt like, you know, I remember Alec Baldwin telling me on this, on this movie set when we worked on, um, Elizabeth town, he said, uh, they'll give you the keys to the executive bathroom. Take the keys. I was like, what does that mean? It was like, if you don't,

There's a key right behind you. All right. Okay, bro. What does that mean? It means you can go into like the studio and you can go into the executive bathroom instead of going where everyone else goes to the bathroom. You know, that's a big deal. Anyway, I don't know. But I think the analogy is if you don't take the key, if you don't keep taking that, making the most of that moment, there will be a bunch of guys who are ready to go. And they're going to take that. Yeah, but can I tell you? Yeah. So I'm torn on this idea. I agree. I'm torn on this idea. I feel like.

one of the worst things we've done in the world today. And, you know, part of it is a byproduct of capitalism. Part of it is like the competitive nature of like, you know, it exists more in America, but it's not like a, it's not a quote unquote bad America thing. It just, it happens in many places.

I think we threaten people who dare to take a break or try to find balance in their lives by telling them that if they do, there's other people who are going to take what they're taking for granted when they're not taking it for granted. Do you know what I'm saying? That happens. But in this instance, I think even like an energy wise, like I think I had personally shut down.

Oh. Energetically, I had closed shop. I was like, I was just like, I'm toast right now. And I energetically didn't know which way to go. That's a scary place to be. And it created in me, I think, a very deep sense of, you know,

Like, what was my next... All of these things that had been so mapped out. Yeah. And I didn't have the work-life balance, right? So, you know, that was part of the problem. And I always think I was working... You know, that old adage, are you working to live or living to work kind of thing? Yeah, definitely. So at the time of doing the show as well, it's like, how do I just...

How do I grow? I'm all about evolving, trying to grow, trying to be... As you said, I had a pretty unique experience. So how do I stay kind of creatively involved? I mean, I basically now, for the last few years, I've done movies that probably...

Considering how many people saw the first half of my career, virtually nobody's seen the second half. Right, right. As the second chapter. It's really- It's artisanal. It's like, but you know what I think I was missing? Before I got cast in Lord of the Rings, my agent in London had called me and said, the RSC is interested in you coming to work, coming to be in rep and work with the RSC. And I was like-

Well, hey, baby, I've landed. This is it. Because in England, it was like, you go to theater. Yes. Maybe you get a bit of telly and then you go and do a movie. Right. And I was like, well, let's go. What are we waiting for? Let's go. I'm ready. You know, pull me. Let's go. You know?

But she never let on a thing, by the way, about what was happening with rings. And I was like, probably ADD still, just going out on all these auditions, which I get pulled out for. I think I auditioned on tape for Baz Luhrmann like five or six times for Moulin Rouge. And I kind of just did all of these and I would go up for all sorts of auditions. And it was like, that's a skill as well. That's a muscle, right? To learn how to be in a room and audition. Yeah.

So I was like not thinking about anything. And then she gave me that call about rings. So I was like, wait, what? But I often think I wonder what my life would have been like, because in a way I missed this part of my career. You know, so I went back and did Romeo and Juliet on Broadway. I went back and did a play on the West End. I went back to it a couple of times.

I feel like in a way, the things that I've been doing in the last few years, you know, I did this crazy movie called, they renamed it Retaliation. It was originally Romans. I got these, it dropped during COVID. I got these crazy reviews. I got some of the best reviews in my career, actually. It was wild. It was like- It was beautiful. Did that fill something? Literally, I think one of the reporters, just to say, said, Orlando Bloom must be really gutted right now because he's just done some of his best work and nobody's going to see this movie. Oh, man. It was like, I was like- I was like, great. Yeah.

Do you think it filled something in you that you didn't know you needed filled? Filling. I think I'm filling. I think it's a tank where it's like, look, I think we're all on this journey, right? We're all in our own fields, in our own respective fields. We've all got goals that we maybe look to.

And when you've had so many met at such a young age, then you're like, I need to, I kind of was going back to basics. I was like, okay, well, how am I going to, I need to kind of do this. I skipped a step. You know what I mean? I skipped the theater. I skipped the small independent movies. But there was something I felt was missing. So I've sort of been building that part of my life.

and career because I think, you know, hopefully I'll have, you know, it'll only kind of keep getting better as my home, you know what I mean? And I want to fill the gaps in the foundation that I felt were maybe missing and even if that's true or not. So that's kind of what I've been doing and there's been a few roll of the dice and some of them have worked, some of them haven't, but, you know, I love every time I stand on a set. I always think like, where would I rather be? And unless it's with family and my kids or something, even I'm just like, it's just I'm in my happy place there.

We're going to continue this conversation right after this short break. One of the more interesting parts of the show is...

learning that you essentially, did you break your back or did you, what did you do to it? Yeah. I fell three floors and I crushed T12. I need to understand what happened because you, obviously you allude to it and then we see the pictures of you in the hospital and we, and essentially there's a moment where doctors said, Hey, you're never going to walk again. So explain to me what happened? Where were you? How do you fall three floors? Cause they just say that in passing, he fell three floors. And I was like, how, where do you fall three floors? I don't know how that's possible. So I was in my second year at drama school. I just finished a

Like we'd had this five-a-side soccer match with the other drama schools. We'd gone to a pub. Did you wait? Did you win or lose? I need the details. Anytime there's a football match, I need to know. I can't imagine that we won. We weren't the winning side. Okay, got it. I probably blanked that out. I'd gone to a pub with everyone afterwards, had a Sunday roast and maybe one pint. Not like I was a big drinker. I've never been a big drinker.

And then I went over to these friends' house in Chepstow Villas in Notting Hill. And they'd just moved in, these two girlfriends of mine. And they'd had this fourth floor apartment. And the stairwell that went up to the flat had a landing below their fourth floor apartment. And the door, they said, oh, we can't get that door open, but there's a roof terrace for us to use. And we're going to put plants and stuff. And I was like, oh, it just needs to be kicked in from the outside. Right.

So anyway, I was like, you'll have to get that. Anyway, we walked into the apartment. I was like, wow, this is such a great apartment. I looked at the window. This is the ADD impulsiveness, right? This is 100% what that is. I'm seeing it now. I looked out the window. I was like, oh, wow. I looked to the south. I said, oh, wow, there's the roof terrace. And I kid you, the roof terrace is probably from this chair to where, you know, a meter and a half to the left. And I'm like,

oh, I could just jump. I could jump that. That's no problem. But then instead I saw this piece of metal running down the wall, which was not a drain pipe that you could hold onto. It was a piece of metal, like coming out of the wall, like, like this. And I was like, oh, well, if I just pinch it like this, I'll grab hold of it like this. You've watched movies. Yeah. Right. Somehow I was like, I'll pull it and just pull across. And I got out of the window, held onto this thing. And of course there's nothing for my feet. And I just fell and I landed on a,

from a four-floor window on a first-floor balcony that had, you know, in England they have those. So the railings are going around with those, like, you know, spearheads. Oh, with, like, the spikes. The spearheads. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And an old washing machine. And I landed, like, plumb between the middle of it. And I was, like, I think out for a couple of minutes. My best friend who's actually in the show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was like, Gibbo, Gibbo. I was like, and I was out. And then I kind of remember coming around and I was like,

I think my first thought was, who's going to play Orsino in Twelfth Night? Because I was having a really good time playing Orsino. I was like, I'm not going to be doing that. And I was like, I can wiggle my toes, but nothing else. And I was obviously in shock. And your body, I think, when you... The pain came later. But essentially, London is amazing. This is why I'll pay taxes for the rest of my life, wherever I am. But I'm like, in London is specifically... Because like...

There was nobody in that first floor flat. I was on the balcony. They got... So they ended up getting a fireman, winching him in. He kicked open the doors to somebody's house, destroying their doors, no doubt. They opened and got the special services in. So they called this the Royal Stem Oral Orthopaedic Hospital. And they said they'd just got a hospital flu. So they were taking no more inpatients. There was like no more. But they were like, we have a 20-year-old kid, may never walk again unless you take him. And they were like, so...

They took me at walking pace in an ambulance. My parents were in the car, a car behind following, like with police escorts. Took five hours to get from Paddington to North London to this other hospital so that I would be able to be seen and treated at this, you know, much better hospital that could handle my case. And so when I got in, it was like, yeah, for four days, they were like, yeah, yeah, that's...

Were you present when they were saying this to you? Yeah, I was very present. I was in a lot of pain. I basically had almost severed my spinal cord, but I hadn't quite. So I remember this sensation. They had a cage over my legs because if I touched my legs, it was like razor blades coming up under the skin or like electricity. It was crazy. The nerves had gone. There was this wonderful nurse actually who –

She used to come in at night and move my legs, move my body, because she was like, I don't even know where she came from. This is the NHS care staff, you know, amazing, amazing. But so I'm in this hospital, I'm looking at the bed opposite me, and there's a there's a guy with a cage, one of these, they call it a halo, it's a cage, young 18 year old guy jumped into a lake, he used to be in the army, his parents were just weeping by his bed, because he was never going to walk again.

And there was a guy to my left who'd fallen off a ladder and broken his back and he was wearing this plastic cast and he looked and we were chatting and I was just getting used to looking at the ceilings and thinking, oh, I could get used to looking at ceilings, I suppose. I mean, they're kind of interesting. It's a different perspective, right? He said, he knocked on his chest and he goes, if you get one of these, mate, you're going to be good. And I was like, what? He goes, this, this, this. So...

The surgeon came. First, they were like, you're not walking again. They said, we're going to do an MRI because you're physically able to move you to the MRI. And they were like, it's hanging on by a thread. So we're going to try opening your spine. We will pin and plate above this one crushed vertebrae and the two below that are fractured. But we will put a structure around it, a titanium structure, so that you can move. And then we'll see what happens. And basically, I got this...

Finally got this plastic cast and I, you know, I mean, I was 20. So admittedly, youth was on my side. Yeah, but still youth. And then, you know, as you said, your maker slash your ancestors, slash whatever you want to call it. Angels, whatever you want to call it. Amen. That clearly changes how you see the world and it changes how you see life. Yeah. When you are now climbing, it was interesting of all the sports you were participating in.

The first time you looked uncomfortable to me was when you had to climb. So jumping out of an airplane, you were like, all right, tell me the rules. How does this go? There's even a point where you come in really hot on one of your parachute landings. I thought you were going to break your legs. And you were just like, ha ha. Did you guys see that? Did I scare you? Ha ha ha. And you just carry on. You really just carry on. The first time where it just felt like a little bit of your swag disappeared was when you had to climb. Yeah. There's two things I wanted to know about that. One,

What did you learn about getting over your fears or your traumas in that experience and in that moment? And did you? And then the second one is, how did you put that much trust in people who you never really met, never spent any time with, but fundamentally had to believe, had your best interest at heart? Yeah. Overcoming the fear was a sort of...

I've had this sort of unique trust in life since I'm very young, and there's not really any rhyme or reason for it, but I just...

I mentally went to that place, which I think you do when it's game time, when you're like, this is it, I'm on. The most challenging thing, the fearful thing about that, by the way, was for me, was with parts of my dyslexia and other things, it was like these knots. Learning to tie the knots. These knots and when you're going to move these things. It's just like... The loop goes that way and if you go the other way, then it's wrong. And it's like, and if you go the wrong way. So that was...

Like I just had to commit to the process and be as present to it as possible and trust that this was something that was meant for me and that I'm on this journey and I'm committing to it. So I'm going to go like I do 110%, you know, and I'm going to go into it. And the really hard part was the second part to your question, which was trusting and meeting Mo for the first time. And he was an adaptive climber who has climbed since she's a child with one hand, born with one hand.

So her spirit and her confidence and the twinkle in her eyes was really kind of leading me forward. And I was like, look, if she can do this and she's telling me I can do this, I can do this. But I was, I had terrible potty mouth on that shot. They beeped me about a million times because I was so frustrated.

I was, there were points where muscles in my back and in my body that I didn't even had. Everyone says when you climb parts of your body, you never knew you had. And, you know, I knew if I fell, I was going to fall on a rope. So in some ways it didn't have the same apps, abject terror of standing on the edge of something, but the climbing was just, it was so challenging to,

overcome at one point I'm climbing this in this video bit and I completely I've had I chant Nam-myo-renge-kyo since I'm a kid and this woman goes so what do you do I breathe and she goes well because my head was so spinning it was like I chant Nam-myo-renge-kyo and then I'm like Nam-myo-renge-kyo and then suddenly I was like okay I'm doing it I can do it you know what I mean it's like my magic kind of tape if you like and so I'm like just like chanting my way through which is like basically just say I'm grateful I'm grateful I'm grateful I don't know if my read was correct

But when I was watching the show, I felt like I learned a lot more about you as a person. You reveal parts of yourself that are forcefully drawn out by the severity of the situation. So when you're wingsuiting and you're skydiving, you're getting accredited in the space of a week,

I see a side of you that is like you really push yourself. I couldn't help but wonder where you get that from. You have like such a, it's like, are you hard on yourself? Yeah, probably. You know, I don't want to ever look back and think I didn't suck the marrow, right? Because I feel like

I feel like there's, there's, there's like, I would always take the harder path, right? Because I would get something from that, you know? And I think that that's what the show represented for me, taking the hardest path possible to confront this fear at a time where I'd felt so much fear. And it's just that, like, for me, I'm, I'm super privileged, right?

You know, I'm super blessed. I've had this insane life. What is it going to take for me to be out of that? It took this insanity. Hopefully the takeaway is let's step outside of whatever it is, is our comfort zone so that we can and trust and engage and be curious and learn and sort of try to... That was...

you know, that's what I'm, that's me, right. Trying to do that stuff. That's just, you know, and, and I think the hardness is like, it's, it's probably just an ancestral thing. And like, you know,

I think partly having so many remarkable experiences so early. Yeah. Like I, my whole life played out on giant movies that everyone watches, watched. And I was just still learning, you know, like I look at some of my peers and, you know, like some of my friends who are in the business who started in the Disney club, you know what I mean? Yeah. So like acting was like second nature to them. They're like all directors now or like wanting to, you know, they're like literally they started at 12 and they're in the, so they, they have timing, they have comedy, they have dance, they have everything that they, I was like,

I was doing school plays, you know, playing the Pirates of Penzance and the police officer. I didn't even play the pirate. I played the fuck, you know, I played the character, you know, and I was like, you know, I went to the National Youth Theater and I didn't get the lead roles. I was like the spear carrier. And by the way, Chew, Chew, I'm not, Chew, who was like, he played Othello, right? And he was like, I was like on stage with him when he was doing it. He was like, and he's phenomenal. And he's phenomenal.

Oh my God. Yes. He's just like chewing the scenery. We were all looked up to him and he was just like crushing it as a fellow. I've never seen an animal on stage like it as a kid where he's just dominating. And I'm like, so I'm like with my spear. And the guy was like, just pipe down with the spear Orlando. You're not like, do you know what I mean? I'm like, you know, it was like that. So I'm learning everything. But like in these tiny bits of moments, like,

So then I'm suddenly 18, no, 20, and I'm going off and I'm, I mean, it was the most amazing education. And thankfully Peter Jackson and Fran, his partner, and that whole team in New Zealand were just like, and Ian McKellen in home, you know, Christopher Lee, Viggo Mortensen was my, was my mentor basically. He didn't even know it. I used to sit next to him and just like absorb his, and that guy, there's a guy who's committed. There's a guy who knows, like, there's a guy who's an artist. Yeah.

I think I felt like maybe it was like people would like to say, and people probably think or said it was a layup. They don't know the work that went into it before. Yeah. So in a way, so in a way it's like,

They don't know the amount of auditions I went through. This makes a lot of sense. Or the fact that I left home at 16 to move to London on my own, to hustle like a crazy person, to get into drama school, fail the first time, second time, get in. Right. Then to get myself through drama school, to work on the weekends, folding clothes, to sell, you know, to get... You know what I mean? It's like... There's a beautiful phrase. A friend said it to me once. She said... Anneli, she was actually on the podcast a few episodes ago for my birthday, but she was saying...

I love this line. She said, overnight success does happen overnight, but the preparation leading up to that point takes a lifetime. And I think that's sort of what you're speaking to. Because it's zero to everything. I was probably eight or six and I used to sit in the school gym and imagine that I was Superman flying in to get my girlfriend or something. It was like, I had like fantasies of playing like the full guy, right? Yeah.

Lee Majors. I used to watch that or, you know, like it was things like Dallas and LA law. I was very like, you know, watching TV of American, the American style, you know what I mean? Like it was all of that that led to the, and I think breaking my back,

You know, I think if anything, I remember going back to drama school and I sat in this circle of friends and it was all like, everybody had to speak about what they were going to do. And we all had to speak about what the other, what we, how we saw the other person. Right. So everybody said like, what are the, when we come out of drama school, you know, we talked about and everybody went around and we were like, oh, this is what Maya does. She's this amazing Italian actress who I love and adore still.

And you're sort of imbuing all of these people with their dreams. It was beautiful. I like it. It was really special. And people said wonderful things, even though I'd broken my back. And people who I didn't even think liked me, honestly. And they were saying these wonderful things about what they thought I was capable of.

And it was as if I didn't know that. It's a very weird thing. You mentioned this earlier. I think there is a disconnect, which is probably why I keep going back to building it out. You know what I mean? And I'm good with that. It's like I work. I just work. You know, it's like just keep showing up. I think Tom Hanks said that, right? It's like in something you'll give. And it's like in a weird way. I like that though. So the other thing I learned was you... One of the parts of the show that's... I mean, in time, it probably takes no time in the show, but it has...

I think some of the most gravitas in the show, it's the moments where you're talking to Katie. Yeah. And it's beautiful because it showed me something about the two of you that is very difficult for people to understand until you see it. Yeah. And it's that you seem to be pursuing a life of purpose, a life of peace, right?

And also, strangely enough, like a life of normalcy. Yeah. Which is strange because like Katy Perry, one of the biggest pop stars that's ever lived. Orlando Bloom, one of the biggest actors that's ever been, you know, like the movies. No, really, the blockbuster, you name it. Trilogy after trilogy. Right, right. But there's this strange thing where it seems like the two of you have found a connection that exists in peace and normalcy. And I could be wrong. You could just be like, nope. No, you're right. I think one of the things that I fell in love with with Katy was like I didn't really –

she hates when I say this, so I have to word it carefully, but her music was everywhere, right? When I came up, it was just on every radio station, but I wasn't conscious of, like, I wasn't what I was listening to, but like, I fell in love with this, with Catherine, this girl from Santa Barbara, you know, and by the way, parents, pastors, living on food stamps. Yeah. We're not talking glamorous. Right. Montecito, like, or Santa Barbara. It's the side of Santa Barbara no one knows. It's the side that no one knows in.

We both understand, I think, we both meet each other with understanding where we came from, what we worked to do, what we had to do to get to where we got to. And she definitely demands that I evolve, right? And I feel I do the same for her. And that makes for fireworks, pardon the pun, but it also makes for a lot of fun and a lot of growth. And, you know, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Even when sometimes it feels like, how do we do this? Because we've got these two giant careers and lives and

And hers is even, you know, there's even, it's like a universe sometimes. But I think I just keep coming back to her and trying to like hold her hand and walk her back to the sand pit and be like, yeah, but this is, we're just going to build a sandcastle, you know? And she loves to do that too. She's like, she's like, oh yeah, the sandcastle or the ride of the bike, you know, the, the little, the little moments that, that, that, and she's a master at helping to,

you know, do create the help, help to keep building those moments, you know? So I try to, I try to hold a space big enough. I try to be big enough. I think even you could even say in the show, it was like me proving to myself that I was man enough, big enough, whatever, capable enough. Cause part of it was I learned to be capable in that show. Hmm.

in life in a way that like, and it's like, see, I can do it. Yeah. Mom, I can do it. Yeah. See this, babe, I can do it. You know, if you thought I couldn't, I drive too fast. Look at this. You know what I mean? But in a way, you know, that's me. That's my journey. That's my journey of evolution to like constantly remind myself that, you know,

Of the things that, you know, because sometimes I forget. I mean, maybe. But it seems like she never forgets. That's what I mean is so powerful. And I hope people watch the show, even if it's just for that moment and that reason. Yeah. Every time you do something amazing in the show, and it's amazing not just because you've done it, but because of the timeframe that you've done it in.

You seem to be surprised and you seem grateful and you seem happy. She seems like it was a confirmation of something she always believed about you. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. There's always a moment where, and she either says it or she intimates. She almost has a vibe of like, all right, now come home. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you jumped, you did it. I knew you were going to do it. Now come, don't, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. It really is, it really is stunning. Don't go anywhere because we got more What Now? after this. What Now?

I could talk to you forever about this, but you know, unfortunately time is time. Yeah, that's right. Some people say it doesn't exist. Are you going to come jump with me then, Trevor? Jump where? We'll jump out of a plane together. Let's do that. I'll get you with Luke. You'll love it. Confront some of those fears. Have you done it before? Maybe you've done it before in my life. I haven't done it before. Let's do it. Let's go jump out of a plane. So here's the thing. Here's the thing. Orlando, I come from an African family.

And there's one thing I've promised myself and my family that they won't, all they'll need to do if they ever, God forbid, have to come to my funeral, all they'll have to do is cry. They won't have to ask questions. They won't have to justify why I'm there or how I'm there. They will just, they'll just get to cry and go, Trevor's, no, God willing, none of them will ever be coming to my funeral because they're older than me. What would be your fear then? What would be, what would be the one that you would do?

No, no, all of them are my, but it's not like my, what I mean by it's not my fear is I don't, I don't have a fear of jumping out of a plane. Right.

I just think... He doesn't have a desire either. Exactly. So I think of it this way. I think in life, we have a limited amount of luck and we have a limited amount of this magical life force thing. I think I've got... That's my brain. Oh, really? Yeah, it's endless. This is what happens. If you break your back and then you walk, I mean, after that you go like, I can probably do it again. No, and then it's great. It's great for you. But yeah, I don't know. Look, I'm not saying I won't ever do it. Right. You know?

You know, I bungee jumped. Oh yeah. Well, there you go. Now that's, I've done, that's, that's an intense feeling. It's safer than skydiving, but it is more terrifying.

Yes, it is. It's terrifying. It is terrifying. And I'd never want to do it again. I don't need to do it again. I hated it. I hated all. I hated jumping. I hated waiting to jump. I hated falling in South Africa. At the time it was the highest jump. It's just terrifying. And then there's a moment where you're just hanging upside down. This is all that's happening. You're dangling. The blood's rushing to your head. And you're thinking, why did I do this? And then it feels like your feet are slipping out. And then you get to the top and they're like, huh?

How was that? I'm like, no. I'm good, thanks. It felt like I jumped off a bridge. Do you know what I mean? There was nothing that changed in me. Because let me put it this way. I believe as Trevor, I can jump off a bridge if I need to. I believe this. So nothing changed after that. I didn't walk away from it going, you see, I can jump off a bridge. I knew I could. If I need to, I will jump off of a bridge. But I hope I don't need to. Before I let you go.

I'll ask you the question, ask everyone who comes on, on the podcast. And thank you again for joining me. You know, I appreciate the time, the conversation, you being candid. Love what you're doing here. What now? Like what, what does, what does Orlando seek to do now? Because again, you, you have sort of,

done the same thing that you did with Lord of the Rings and Pirates. This is another trilogy, but this is a personal trilogy. Right, right, right. Where do you want to see yourself going from here? I have these three visions. If I can make good on this promise that I made to myself for my career, right? Yeah. If I can make good on this promise, then I'll be able to use what I've been doing there to support my work, UNICEF, which I've done for 20 years, which I find to be the most rewarding thing in my life outside of...

My family. Right. If I keep moving those three around. So it's just, it's a quite family, family, not in any specific order. It's like if I, if my career is going right, if I'm, if I keep just showing up for my career and it keeps working, then it gives me a greater platform to keep working on UNICEF, which is really something that I think they do amazing work. And then, you know, and then my family will be taken care of. And that's the most important thing. Interesting. And so it's a trifecta. It's a trifecta that just keeps working. It's like, okay, keep doing this, do this. And you know, and then, then you're good. Do you know what I mean? And,

And, you know, I think simplify, honestly. Like I'm, you know, I think I'm seven years older than you and I think it's like I've got so much. I just need to – like who wants to sift through this stuff when I'm gone? You know what I mean? Like get rid of it. You know what I mean? Like I'm like, but it's so valuable, is it? Does anyone really know? But, you know, just think. The over my attachment to things and just like just simplify so that you can just –

The one thing my mum did say to me is he who travels light travels far. I don't know where I missed that lesson because I keep saying it and I did not travel light. But I like to think I travel far and mostly in my head. So I'm just, you know...

slowly preparing for death. Damn. I mean, that is both, you know, I recently meditated with some monks. Yeah. And it's funny because, you know, you practice Buddhism. Yeah. That is one of the fundamental principles is understanding that it is all fleeting. Yeah. Understanding that it is all temporary. Yeah. But

but having more appreciation for it because of that. It's like we keep, you know, some of us just keep focused on this life. It's like, I'm thinking about the next life. You know what I mean? I'm like, this life, let me just, don't fuck it up. I've already been given some, I've been dealt some pretty nice hand. Don't F it up. But like, let's build for the next one. So when you drop in next time,

You've like, you've done enough to be able to go, okay, am I good here? Do you want me back? You know what I mean? In a way, you know what I mean? Like in my brain, I'm like, did I, did I get flying colors last time around or enough to bring me back? You know what I mean? So. Yeah. What seeds do you plant today to enjoy the forest tomorrow? Yeah, correct. And, um, but even if a lifetimes, I always say, I used to say to Katie, um,

you know like we're doing lifetimes baby like you're here and we're doing lifetimes it's not this one so let's you know it's like we're doing life i think everything is missed i think we're all interconnected you know so yeah well i like that thanks man thank you for for this lifetime for this moment and uh thank you for the next one yeah i'm glad you're alive thanks dude appreciate you we'll do this again another time we will definitely love it oh trevor you're sweet man

What Now with Trevor Noah is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day Zero Productions and Fullwell 73. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, Sanaz Yamin, and Jody Avigan. Our senior producer is Jess Hackle. Marina Henke is our producer. Music, mixing, and mastering by Hannes Braun. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday for another episode of What Now? What Now?