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There are new hot hot hot photos of Orlando Bloom at Gossip Girls, taken on the set of his new movie Sympathy for Delicious. The jury is still out on the wig, which hopefully shows up better on film, but there are plenty of fangirls squeeing everywhere over the hot rock star goodness of shirtless Orlando Bloom with tattoos, eyeliner, and that’s right, tight leather pants. I would have preferred a slinky, lithe androgynous rock star Orlando rather than grungy hardcore rocker Orlando, but hey, did I mention the tight leather pants? Sympathy for Delicious hits theaters and I’m there, no question.

While we wait for more delicious shirtless Orlando Bloom pics to surface, I thought we’d enjoy a bit more Orlando Bloom in Ned Kelly.

The Kelly Gang rides into town. Notice the sort of casual slouchiness of Joe Byrne (Bloom). I love that he’s riding a horse while wearing a suit.

The casual slouch even as he helps Kelly (Heath Ledger) hold up the bank manager.

I love this devilish glare, with the slightest hint of a smirk.

Here’s more of the scene with Rachel Griffiths as the bank manager’s wife. Joe tries to play harmless, but she knows he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

A man should always take out his gun before he sits down next to a lady…

The slightest hint of a sensual touch…

And she, er…gives in. I love that when Orlando Bloom kisses, he’s always got a hand up to grip the back of the woman’s head rather possessively. Very sexy. He’s got great hands.

Making out with yet another girl.

Notice the hand…again…

Worried by troubling news…

On horseback, with Ned Kelly. They’ve been betrayed.

It breaks Joe’s heart.

**Orlando Bloom, Rachel Griffiths, and Heath Ledger screencaps, Ned Kelly screencaps, c2003 The Australian Film Commission, Universal Pictures.

Well, once news broke of Orlando Bloom’s new movie, Sympathy for Delicious, there were just as many cries of derision as there were cheers. See, people love to hate the pretty. They also love to blame attractive actors like Orlando Bloom for the failures of directors, writers, and producers. Hey, he’s the name on the top of the poster and the face you see most on screen, so that weak plot and poor editing must be his fault, right?

Wrong. My favorite pet peeve is also audiences who confuse the actor with the character, and don’t understand basic storytelling. Let’s take the movie Troy, for instance. Orlando played the role of Paris, the impossibly beautiful, spoiled, selfish, and weakling brother of the noble Hector. The impossibly beautiful Orlando Bloom played Paris as, get this, spoiled, selfish and a weakling. Short-sighted viewers railed on his performance, talking about what a prissy ninny Orlando Bloom is and how they wanted to laugh at him every time he appeared on screen. Wow. I hate to break it to you, but that means he did it right. We’re not supposed to like Paris. He starts a war that gets thousands of people killed, including members of his own family, out of his own selfishness, greed, and naivete. If Orlando Bloom had played the role as this noble, heroic, awesome, manly guy, he would have been Hector. And Eric Bana would have had nothing to do, and the story wouldn’t make any sense.

So, anyway. While Orlando Bloom is appealing in action blockbusters, he shines particularly well in smaller films like Haven and Ned Kelly that unfortunately don’t get the wide release that expensive epics like Troy do. Many people have never even heard of Orlando Bloom’s Ned Kelly, and yet it also starred the late Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, and Geoffrey Rush. This small film can be rather simply described as an Australian Bonnie and Clyde, with sympathetic yet dangerous members of a gang robbing banks and holding a town hostage until an inevitable bloody standoff with police. There’s more to it than that, however, in this true story about an innocent man who gets forced into being a criminal by corrupt authorities. We see the testing of friendships and loyalties, the agony of oppression and injustice, and the joy of freedom turning into the agony of tragedy. It’s a tough film, but with excellent acting and glimmers of humor and lust and love to keep it from being utterly desolate.

Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger in Ned Kelly.

One of the lighter moments in the film, and one of Orlando Bloom’s most enjoyable performances, is when his character Joe Byrne–second in command of the Kelly Gang–seduces one of the hostages of a bank holdup. Seduction is perhaps too strong a word, as the the married older woman played enchantingly by Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under, Brothers & Sisters) seems quite willing for a little excitement. The scene is both funny and sexy, and Bloom is deliciously slithery and brimming with devilish charm.

I’ve always thought Orlando Bloom should do more films with an older woman as his romantic partner–Elizabethtown might have gone red hot sexy if Susan Sarandon had played his lover instead of his mother. I don’t care if White Palace was 20 years ago, Sarandon still has it goin’ on. And Orlando Bloom can play naughty boytoy any day of the week.

**Orlando Bloom, Heath Ledger, Rachel Griffiths Ned Kelly screencaps, c2003 The Australian Film Commission, Universal Pictures.

**Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana screencaps, c2004 Warner Bros. Pictures.