The Orlando Bloom performance inspired by Liam Gallagher: “I had a lot of fun doing that”
The return of Oasis to stadiums across the UK this summer has led to a burst of Oasismania in their home city and beyond, and it seems that even those most immune to popular culture have been affected by the public frenzy surrounding this (in)famous Mancunian rock band.
The relationship between frontmen and brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher has been of ongoing fascination to fans and non-fans alike, with their tour reunion fuelling all kinds of rumours about their dynamic, so much so that their heavily publicised characters of Liam the younger outspoken and volatile frontman, and Noel the more reserved musical mastermind, have become cults of personalities in themselves.
Liam, in particular, even became a surprising source of inspiration for actor Orlando Bloom. When he landed the role as a struggling actor-turned-undercover criminal from Manchester for Amazon’s new gangster action comedy Deep Cover, inspiration sprang from Manchester’s most famous contemporary export, besides football, of course.
Bloom stars alongside Bryce Dallas Howard as improv teacher Kat Bryant and Nick Mohammed, known best for playing Nate in Ted Lasso, as a socially awkward IT worker, who are all recruited by the police for an undercover operation surveilling London’s criminal underworld. Orlando’s character, Marlon Swift (after Marlon Brando), whose undercover alias is ‘Roach’, is a silky-haired, smouldering wannabe Hollywood star stuck doing TV commercials.
Released in June this year on Amazon Prime, Deep Cover was directed by Tom Kingsley, most well-known for directing the hit Channel 4 series Stath Lets Flats, starring Jamie Demetriou, and the screenplay was crafted by Derek Connolly, Ben Ashenden, Colin Trevorrow and Alexander Owen.
Speaking to L’Officiel, Bloom, who is originally from Canterbury, revealed that he grew up listening to Oasis, and it was one of his first concerts. Hence, when it came to the role, he said of joining the dots, “My character is from Manchester. I leaned into the physicality of the band, specifically Liam. I had a lot of fun doing that”.
With Roach’s oversized green parka, a signature Liam Gallagher wardrobe fit, shaved head, and rough-around-the-edges Manchester accent, there are certainly quite evident parallels between ‘Roach’ and the Oasis frontman.
Bloom’s character Marlon is a far cry from his roles as the earnest and gentle heartthrob Legolas, in Lord of the Rings or as the humble but adventurous Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It’s a sign that the actor, now 48, has swapped out the intensity of the Hollywood limelight after the extraordinary fame from two blockbuster film series for more intentional, independent films that bring the actor back to UK soil and flesh out his characters with more of that Oasis edge.
