Orlando Bloom Gets Honorary Degree in Kent

Actor Orlando Bloom's picked up at honorary degree at the Uni of Kent - see the pictures here

Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom said he felt ``chuffed'' as he received an honorary degree from the University of Kent.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star donned a red gown and mortarboard as he took his place alongside more than 340 graduates for the ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in his home city.

Proud relatives joined him, including his fiancee Miranda Kerr, his mother Sonia Copeland Bloom, his father Colin Stone and his sister Samantha Bloom.

Ahead of the ceremony, he said: ``It's a really big deal. It's an exciting day for me. I'm really honoured to be back in my home town. I have so many amazing memories of the cathedral and Canterbury.

``I have lived near the university so it's like my playground. It's a huge, huge honour and I feel chuffed, as does my mother - nobody more than my mother.''

Bloom said he missed out on the graduation ceremony after he finished his degree at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama because he was filming Lord of the Rings.

After the ceremony he visited the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury where he made his stage debut aged four.

The venue is being redeveloped at a cost of £25.6 million and is due to reopen in autumn next year.


Speaking about his visit there, he said: ``It's wonderful to be bringing that kind of theatre to Kent and Canterbury. It's nice if I'm going on tour and have something special to come back to.''

The 33-year-old first caught the attention of audiences and film-makers in Peter Jackson's award-winning Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

He went on to star as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy and established himself as a lead in Hollywood films.

Also honoured with an honorary degree by the University of Kent today was fellow actor David Suchet, best known for his title role in the TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Joined by his wife Sheila, he said: ``I feel on an occasion like this, coming to such a prestigious university like the University of Kent, rather humbled. It almost validates a 42 year career.