HE reached the milestone age of 30 this year, but far from being daunted by the advancing years, fresh-faced actor Orlando Bloom reckons he's entering the best stage of his life.
What's more, the versatile star says he credits his new found peace of mind and contentment to his life away from the movie screen.
"It just feels so good to reach 30," beams the Canterbury-born star.
"To have lived this far. I actually never thought I'd make it to 30. It feels different - less urgent.
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Bloom is currently reprising his role as swashbuckler Will Turner in the third instalment of the incredibly successful Pirates Of The Caribbean series.
In the latest outing, Will and his beautiful sidekick Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) face an epic struggle to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from Davey Jones' Locker after stealing a navigational chart from Chinese pirate Sao Feng, which will lead them to the World's End.
Director Gore Verbinski has ensured fans won't be disappointed, with plenty of thrills and spills and clearly Orlando couldn't wait to be back in the heart of the action.
"I never thought I'd be doing as much action as I have been in my career," he says. "I've always loved interaction between characters but now I think action-adventure is just so much fun."
Though Rolling Stones rock god Keith Richards has a cameo role in the latest movie, Orlando didn't get a chance to meet him - something he now regrets.
"I actually made a point of not going to the set and I'm kicking myself for it now," he laughs.
"I thought he was going to be hounded. I just thought, 'Let him get on with it,' so I didn't bother him.
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And despite taking things easier on the work front, the talented star hasn't ruled out making a fourth Pirates movie.
"This is the end of another trilogy and I don't know if they'll make a fourth. However, I'd never say never," he smiles.
For now, though, the busy star reckons he's found his own personal treasure by chilling out and enjoying the fruits of his success. And if he is lured back to the acting world soon he reveals it would be to tread the boards.
"I would love to do a play in Britain," he enthuses.
"When I was at drama school theatre really got into my blood. I recently saw Daniel Radcliffe in Equus in the West End and thought he did a really great job, it was a really brave choice.
"I could see why he did it and it made me think, 'Yeah, maybe I could do something like that'.
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In the same week that the Cutty Sark went up in flames, we bear witness to a second maritime disaster.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End is not a complete shipwreck but it sails perilously close, capsizing in the first hour under the weight of audience expectation.
Rumbustious action set pieces, augmented with spectacular computer generated effects, bookend this third instalment of the series, and cute comic interludes buoy the downbeat mood.
However, there's no mistaking warning flares sent up by Johnny Depp, who looks interminably bored with his character, salty seadog Jack Sparrow.
If you haven't seen the first two films, there's very little point seeing At World's End. Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio presume audiences are savvy with the characters and their fates, chugging full steam ahead with the quest to rescue Jack from Davy Jones' locker.
Falling foul of a pact forged with the multi-tentacled Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), Jack finds himself consigned to purgatory.
Thankfully, lovebirds Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) join forces with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to rescue Jack from eternal damnation.
They head to Singapore to meet with Chinese pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), in the hope of creating an alliance against the despicable East India Trading Company, which now controls Davy and his vessel, The Flying Dutchman.
The meeting with Sao Feng ends in bloodshed and Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa and their shipmates barely escape with their lives. They head to the edge of the world in search of Jack, where Barbossa helpfully informs his crew: "It's not getting to The Land Of The Dead that's the problem. It's getting back!
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Meanwhile, Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who commands the troops of the East India Trading Company, bides his time, waiting for the perfect moment to destroy the pirates. The action sequences are thrilling as expected, including skirmishes on the high seas with boats blown to bits by cannon fire.
Jack's hare-brained scheme to escape The Land Of The Dead definitely shivers the timbers, as does Keith Richards' appearance as Sparrow Snr, strumming a guitar and dispensing cryptic advice to his wastrel son: "It's not about living forever Jackie.
The trick is living with yourself forever."
Knightley is thrust to the fore in this third film, usurping both Bloom and Depp. She flings herself into the melee with some impressive sword fights and less than rousing speeches.
Bloom postures and pouts while Depp pressgangs the few decent one-liners, like when Jack recoils at the thought of taking Davy Jones' place at the helm of the Flying Dutchman.
"I don't have the face for tentacles," he laments in that cod-English accent.
The cliffhanger finish of the second film will attract cinemagoers in their droves, quite possibly shattering box office records.
Unfortunately, once the initial storm of excitement and anticipation blows itself out, At World's End will be dead in the water.
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