At 19, Orlando Bloom fell from a third story window. In the months following, he went to a "dark place".

We all know Orlando Bloom as one of the most recognisable actors of our time.

With boyish good looks and a soft-spoken British accent, he came to our attention throughout the 2000s, taking on roles such as Legolas in Lord of The Rings, Paris in Troy, and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean.

But before the actor shot to fame, an accident he suffered when he was 19 forever altered his life. 

In a recent chat with UNICEF, Bloom opened up about the experience, calling it "one of the darkest times" of his life.

"When I was 19, I fell three floors from a window and broke my back," he said in a joint Instagram video with the humanitarian organisation. 

"I was very fortunate to survive the fall because my spinal cord was still just intact."

Bloom explained how he was climbing to the roof of a terrace when a drainpipe he was holding onto collapsed, sending him plummeting to the ground below.

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"When I was in the hospital, I was told for the first four days that I may never walk again," he said. 

"That was really the beginning of what was a long and painful journey for me into recognising 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."

His fast recovery was a shock to everyone. After surgery, the actor was given a back brace, and was able to leave the hospital on foot, using crutches to support himself. 

However, that was only the beginning of a very long journey back to full recovery, given the accident took a major toll on Bloom's mental health.

"I would say the months after the fall were quite a dark time," he admitted. 

"As somebody who'd sort of always been very active in my life, it felt very restrictive all of a sudden and I was in a lot of pain," he said.

"I would say that, for me, the injury created time and space for me to look at my life, recognise what was good and great in my life, and the fact that I had this recovery, and then build that into the way that I live my life."

Bloom was confined to a back brace for a time. Image: UNICEF.

The actor then turned the anecdote into a broader message on mental health.

"Mental health is particularly challenging, because it's unseen," he said.

"There is always an opportunity for you to transform the pain, whether it be physical or mental, into the great, good fortune of your life.

"It is so important to reach out to people, to talk to people,to find somebody in order to create the possibility for communication that leads to transformation and change.

"It starts with one moment, one conversation, it starts with one question, 'what's on your mind?'."

"There is always an opportunity for you to transform the pain, whether it be physical or mental, into the great, good fortune of your life." Image: Getty.

Bloom has spoken about mental health in the past, calling it "one of the huge challenges of our times".

"Especially with the advent of social media and different platforms that feel like they are set up to engage us in ways that don’t necessarily behoove us," he said in an interview with Open magazine.

When it comes to managing his own mind, he has a range of daily practices to help him.

"I always think about breaking a sweat every day, moving my body every day in any way possible. I try to limit the amount of time that I spend on any of my devices. I try to engage in a spiritual practice, which I’ve had since I was a kid, and that’s my Buddhist practice," he explained.

In recent years, Bloom's acting career has slowed down as he has turned his attention to humanitarian efforts. In 2015, he received the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award.

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Aside from acting and humanitarian work, Bloom has been in a relationship with pop star Katy Perry since 2018.

The pair share one daughter together, Daisy Dove Bloom. He also has a son, Flynn Bloom, from his previous marriage to Australian model Miranda Kerr.

Feature Image: Getty/Instagram.