Canterbury-born actor Orlando Bloom has become a goodwill ambassador for children’s organisation Unicef.
Orlando, who was in Pirates of the Caribbean, said his work will help poor children and raise awareness of the organisation.
The 32-year-old's first task will be to film an appeal about the importance of clean water supplies.
Stars who have held the ambassador role before him include Audrey Hepburn, Danny Kaye, Shakira, Sir Roger Moore, David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Mia Farrow, and Vanessa Redgrave.
A former pupil of St Edmund's School in Canterbury, Bloom started his acting career in three episodes of TV’s Casualty, and has already been doing work for Unicef.
From his humble start, he landed the part of Legolas in Lord of the Rings just two days after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, then he appeared in the hit film Black Hawk Down.
He went on to become one of the world's most popular male celebrities thanks to his boyish good looks and has picked up a host of titles like ‘most desirable date’ and ‘most attractive’ by a mass of style magazines.
But Orlando has refused to become simple a good looking icon, and made it known two years ago that he wanted to support Unicef as an active ambassador.
He has campaigned in Australia to get support for victims of this year’s bushfires, and has already been on Unicef missions to Moscow and Sarajevo.
In Russia, he went to the Krasnoselsky centre in Moscow which is a shelter for children from poor families.
Bloom said: "Unicef doesn't just deliver humanitarian aid, which is what they are known for all over the world.
“They also educate and provide tools which help women and children face challenges specific to their own lives. I responded to how Unicef works as much as I did to the work itself.”
He has also helped Unicef with visits to schools and villages in a remote area of Nepal to support sanitation and education programmes.
Unicef's executive director, Ann Veneman, said: “Advocacy from Unicef Goodwill Ambassadors helps build momentum to improve the lives of children around the world.
“We are proud to have Orlando Bloom as one of the strong voices for vulnerable children."
In Nepal he visited schools in the remote western districts of Kaski and Chitwan, two of the poorest areas of the county.
He saw how Unicef’s water and sanitation programmes helped local families, and he spoke about the importance of education.
When some of the youngsters plucked up the courage and asked him to perform a small role in their local school radio production, he gladly agreed.
Bloom was back in Nepal again in June, 2008, to see Unicef working to provide clean water for children and families.
POSTED: 18/10/2009 12:00:00
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