Hi Orlando! OK, we know you broke your back a few years ago but can you explain what happened?

Yeah, I was at a friend's place and I climbed out of a window and onto a drain pipe because I was trying to get onto the roof surface. The drain pipe gave way and I fell back three floors.
I know I had a very lucky escape. I was told I might not walk again. I spent four days contemplating that may be a serious reality. They operated on me and then about 12 days later I actually walked out of the hospital. It was a miracle!

Were you under the influence of drugs or alcohol?

No, it almost would have made it more acceptable because you think, "What fool would do that otherwise?!" No, I've slowed down a lot since then. I was young and I figured I could do anything. Actually, it was probably one of the most profound things to happen to me. I had time to contemplate my life and I've tried to make it one of the more positive things that has happened to me, as opposed to a negative thing. Although I still get the odd twang of muscular pain, it's changed the way I approach life. So, it's kind of cool.

How do you approach life now?

It's made me appreciate things more. I try not to take myself too seriously. I feel fortunate to be doing everything that I'm doing. I feel quite privileged to be an actor, I think it's unbelievable that I'm being paid to do something I love!

Has the accident made you a lot more careful?

Yeah. It was a bit of a wake-up call. In the past, I've broken both my legs, my wrist, my nose and all sorts of things, but breaking your back is a different thing. I didn't think I was going to get through it, but I did. I thought I was going to be in a wheelchair.

Lying in hospital, did you think about what life in a wheelchair would be like?

I wasn't really contemplating it too much because I couldn't let that happen. I was also in a hell of a lot of pain, so I was in and out of consciousness and on drugs and stuff. At first I couldn't even move my legs, but once they did a scan they assessed that I'd crushed my vertebrae and bruised my spinal cord. I was very lucky.
And two years later I was playing one of the most physical characters in The Lord of the Rings which is kinda of surreal!

During filming, what did you do to relax away from the set?

Surfing! I felt we needed to do something outside the movie to keep us sane. I was like, "Let's get motorbikes!" And the guys were like, "No need to kill ourselves while we're working on this." So I said to Billy [Boyd] one day, "Let's buy surfboards." And he was down with that.
I had never surfed before so we'd be walking to the beach with these brand new, sparkling boards, freshly waxed and in our new little wetsuits. The other surfaces were looking at us like we were idiots. And the water was freezing! But we ended up being quite good at it and everyone else, like Dom [Monaghan], Elijah [Wood], Sean [Astin] and even Viggo [Mortensen] bought a board!

What else did you get up to in New Zealand?

I had fun! I went bungee jumping, I did, like, five in a row at one point. I did skydiving - it was great - and I was surfing and snowboarding, fishing, and just generally having a great time!

Bungee jumping? It sounds like you still live dangerously...

[Laughs] Yeah, I love anything dangerous. You'd of thought my accident would have put me off but sports like bungee jumping and snowboarding would be hard to give up.

Did you injure yourself at all during the Lord of the Rings shoot?

Yeah, I broke a rib when I fell off a horse. I had Gimli [Actor John Rhys-Davies] riding on the back of the horse with me. We were trying to get this shot where we pulled the horses up while doing down this gulley.
He was always holding on to me for dear life and I kept saying, "Lean back, lean back!" Because he was pushing me and the horse forward. The on the fifth time the horse was over-excited, I was tired and I couldn't pull up. We just bailed off the side and I landed on a rock. He landed on top of me and I broke my rib. But, a rib is something you can deal with because it heals.

Whoa! With your injured back, it sounds like you should be completely restricted from action flicks!

You know what's funny? I was running up and down hills and I was on horseback - because my character Legolas is the most physical character in the three movies - and it hasn't hindered me at all! I went to boot camp for Black Hawk Down and I was fine. Actually, I popped my knee out there! But I hope that it won't prevent me from doing a movie like The Matrix or something like that.

Have you ever been involved in a car accident?

No. Well I once had a motorbike but I broke my leg. So my bike's now in bits. I realised when I came off the motorbike that I was probably not safe on the roads. It wasn't my fault, but I move too quickly through life.

Do you consider yourself a rebel?

Yeah, I'm a rebel without a cause! [laughs] I don't know. You're right, I'm a rebel. I'm not excessive although except with danger. I'm a bit of an adrenalin junkie!

What are you scared of

Sharks freak me out. I love swimming and scuba diving, but [the movie] Jaws scared me!