Orlando Bloom is opening up about the accident that nearly left him paralyzed when he was a teenager.
In his new Peacock show, Orlando Bloom: To the Edge, Katy Perry’s beloved husband attempts some of the must daring acts imaginable. We’re talking wing-suiting thousands of feet above the ground, diving into the deepest depths of the ocean and rock climbing hundreds of feet.
But all of this would’ve been impossible almost 3 decades ago, when an accident left Orlando in such condition, it was feared he’d never walk ago.
Orlando Bloom’s Accident: What Happened When He Was 19?
“I felt as close to death as I could possibly get.”
Those are the words of Orlando, as he introduced his new adventure series to fans with the first promo. In the first look of Orlando Bloom: To the Edge, the fame Pirates of the Caribbean star shows fans what to come of the 3-episode docuseries.
Orlando soars in the sky, swims to the murky deeps, and even finds himself scaling a massive rock formation he is warned “1000% do not fall territory.”
But why do all of this? Well, for one thing, Orlando is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie. Yet, perhaps more importantly, it’s the fact that he can that he does, because when he was 19, there was a real fear he wouldn’t ever walk again.
Orlando first shared the story in 2022, as part of Unicef’s World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10. In a video message, he explained that he broke his back after falling three floors from a window. With his spinal cord “just intact” the doctors gave him a grim diagnosis.
“I was told for the first four days that I may never walk again,” he said in the Instagram video.
Orlando’s “Painful Journey” Back To Himself
The show, which airs on Peacock starting on April 18th, discusses Orlando’s injury, as well as how his recovery time motivated him to keep going.
“That was really the beginning of what was a long and painful journey for me,” he added in his video for Unicef, “into recognizing and understanding some of the patterns that had been in my life that had led me to having numerous accidents. And the culmination was breaking my back, which was a near-death experience.”
Orlando confesses that his recovery was “really remarkable and unheard of.” Just 12 days after having surgery on his back, he was able to walk out of the hospital on crutches. Of course, that was after nearly two weeks of wearing a brace and physical therapy
Still, the point is, he walked away.
His New Show & What Fans Can Expect
“While I was at moments scared for my life during the show, having come out the other end of it I feel way more capable,” Orlando told The Associated Press ahead of the show debut.
That’s an understatement. In attempting all three ridiculously dangerous sports – wingdiving, rock climbing, and freediving – Orlando trained for weeks, where as other train for years.
In one particular moment, his wife Katy Perry watches on during his first flight in a wingsuit. Usually, jumpers need 200 leaps with an instructor before going solo; Orlando does it after two weeks. While he makes it to the ground safely to his wife’s arms and earns the nickname “wombat,” it’s frightening all the same to watch.
Especially knowing just how well he knows the risk if something goes terribly wrong.
“I’m very grateful for my life,” he says. “I’m even more grateful having survived ‘Orlando Bloom: To the Edge.’”