[from Contact Music]

Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom spent the first two weeks of shooting Troy working out like a madman after realising he'd look like a skinny weakling next to co-stars Brad Pitt and Eric Bana.

The two action men spent months getting in shape before cameras started rolling on the movie, whereas Bloom felt sure his slight frame would enable him to pull off an authentic Paris.

But, after taking one look at Bana - his brother Hector in the film, the British movie star knew it was time to hit the weights.

Director Wolfgang Petersen recalls, "Orlando got so jealous when he saw Eric's body. He was shocked on the first day of shooting when Eric put his arm around him before the big fight.

"Orlando saw his body on the little video and said, 'Oh my God, how come I look like that?'

"So he immediately got a personal trainer to do whatever he could to put some muscle on! He's rather skinny, Orlando, so it was quite funny."

Published May 4, 2004