Orlando Bloom isn’t a teen heartthrob anymore – he’s a ‘bucking fastard’

Orlando Bloom is moving on from his noughties heartthrob reputation, and Werner Herzog is the man delighted to make it happen in his new film Bucking Fastard.

Bloom, who earned legions of swooning fans from his breakout success in The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean movies over 20 years ago, plays the character who shoulders the film’s title.

The 49-year-old is charming Irishman Gareth Mulroney, the boyfriend of sisters Jean and Jane Holbrooke, who think and speak in unison and are played by real-life siblings Kate and Rooney Mara.

‘I was so much looking forward to working with you, and it came with such natural ease,’ legendary filmmaker Herzog told Bloom during a press conference at Venice Film Festival on Thursday, attended by Metro.

‘And I wanted him to step far out of what he is known for, the heartthrob of the “teenies”,’ he added, while Bloom laughed. ‘Now you are the bucking fastard and you have to shoulder the title of it!’

As can probably be guessed from the title, Bloom’s Gareth is firmly not in the mould of a traditional romantic lead, and he has no compunction over bedding both sisters at once.

In the bonkers film, Jean and Jane end up digging a tunnel through a mountain range in search of true love.

Carnival Row star Bloom praised Herzog for a ‘magical’ experience working on Bucking Fastard, calling it ‘the pinnacle of any actor’s career’ to be at Venice alongside him – however, he did have one gripe after Herzog revealed the Brit was gutted about how quickly he shoots.

‘He was actually upset because we work so fast. I did one take of a very long thing in the witness stand and that was that. And you were so upset I had to bring him back to do three more takes!’ Herzog laughed.

‘It was my largest scene in the movie and we did one take and Werner said, “Great, we got it!”,’ shared Bloom.

Herzog then apologised, but said his speed was ‘the spirit of the film’.

‘Like open heart surgery, going to the essentials right away, one camera, one take. That’s it – or maybe two or three takes with the sisters,’ he added.

Co-star Domhnall Gleeson, who plays the sisters’ social worker, called Kate, 43, and 41-year-old Rooney’s double act ‘an extraordinary thing to witness’.

‘When you look between somebody’s eyes when you’re talking to them, it felt like looking between two eyes from the same head,’ he shared.

‘At first it was very daunting, the idea that we were playing this same person,’ Rooney said of syncing up with her sister for this ‘once in a lifetime experience’.

‘But I think we found pretty quickly that having a lifetime together and all this history and a childhood of playing together, there was just an unspoken world between us that we didn’t have to work very hard to create at all.

‘Once we found our flow together, I’ve never laughed so much and had so much fun.’

‘Once we figured out the rhythm of our speaking in unison, it felt almost like a song,’ Kate added.