Orlando Bloom is often not safe for work. Particularly due to his love of paddle boarding and hanging out at lakes in the buff. Orlando likes to be naked and I am not mad at it. However, this story isn’t about Orlando’s lack of clothing while paddle boarding, its about something absolutely cool that Orlando got to experience recently WHILE paddle boarding. In a video, shot by photographer and videographer Carlos Guana, Orlando and another person are paddle boarding, appropriately clothed, in Malibu. They’re seen on a wide blue expanse of water above a great white shark swimming and circling beneath them. It seemed like such a surreal moment. Below are a few more details via Hollywood Life:
In the minute-long clip, the shirtless actor seems relaxed as ever despite his uninvited guest. Wearing black shorts, Orlando put his toned physique on display as he paddled around the creature. ‘Paddle Boarding With Great Whites,’ he captioned the clip. ‘When fear becomes your friend and @themalibuartist captures the moment.’
He made sure to tag local photographer Carlos Gauna, in the clip as well as they captured the terrifying moment. “Awesome day man,” Carlos wrote on Orlando’s post. “You got some good looks of a large juvenile white shark. Happy for you! Something you’ll never forget. Very calm shark just chilling in Malibu!”
Fans took to the comments to discuss the wild encounter. “Omg that’s insane,” one fan wrote alongside a fire emoji while another commented, ‘One of the most beautiful and misunderstood fish of the ocean,” with a heart emoji.
I love nature and have an affinity for sea creatures. Watching this video made me tear up a bit because of how beautifully communal the event was. Here was Orlando, a hooman, cohabitating and communing with one of nature’s fiercest and most majestic ocean creatures as if it were a regular schmegular Tuesday morning. There was something so soothing about the scene that it didn’t even register that I should be afraid seeing this whole ass shark swimming beneath Orlando. I am envious of Orlando. I hope to one day swim with dolphins in Greece. Seeing this video just reminded me of that dream I have had since reading my first Greek myth about Poseidon when I was about eight. Also, can we talk about how ripped Orlando is? Speaking from my inner thotiana, Orlando looked good topless (hides in a corner in shame). I know this video isn’t about pollution and climate change but it really made me think about my carbon footprint. I am glad Orlando shared this beautiful footage with us. This video is just a reminder of how fragile the balance of the planet is. Now that has me thinking about the circle life and wondering if that shark thought Orlando and his friend were food?
Okay, I will say that I thought that video would be a lot more terrifying than it was and that the shark wasn’t as big as I had expected.
But thats only because I had in my head some scene out of Jaws and you can rest assured if that was my ass out there on the paddleboard….well, I would not have been so calm.
And yes, I know the rates of shark bites and how sharks don’t really pose a threat to humans and all of that. I still don’t want to be near a great white, even a juvenile, in the water. I have a huge fear of open water and I am pretty sure Jaws is to blame for that.
(but if we’re talking about good looking men out on the water, Chris Hemsworth did a shark documentary on Disney Plus, complete with some random scene where he takes his shirt off to put on his wetsuit lol.) Sharks freak me out but I love watching documentaries about them.
I am a marine biologist and I find this video super disturbing and would be freaking out.
What a beautiful encounter, but my heart rate went up just watching that. I don’t know how safe it is getting that close to sharks.
There are some really amazing videos on yt of people swimming and paddling with dolphins, especially orcas.
Your inner thotiana!!
Childdd she be wildin.. I gotta try to keep her in check. LOL
My husband had a whale swim under his paddle board at the beach in Montecito where he paddles. He said it was like having a very barnacled submarine floating beneath him.
Oooh, we had a whale go underneath our scuba expedition boat once. That was otherworldly!
FWIW, and because great whites are misunderstood and demonized, the juveniles eat fish. It’s the adults that eat seals and thus mistakenly attack humans. But still, what a great and moving video.
Is it just me, or has Orlando had a bit of a glow up since he’s gotten with Katie?
I don’t know, but I remember when he was supposed to be the Next Big Thing.
For anyone that is afraid of sharks due to movies, I recommend the YouTube video “Marine biologist breaks down shark attacks scenes from movie” by GQ, it’s really interesting to learn how sharks actually behave!
The ocean and its inhabitants petrify me. I’m glad Orlando didn’t try to bother the shark or get closer, as many people do with whales. It’s great that he showed we can share spaces with them without treating all animals as pets.
I had a very similar encounter with a shark while paddleboarding this summer. The water wasn’t clear so I just saw the fin circling above the water. I had my 3 year old nephew on the board with me.
You better believe I didn’t stop and marvel at the “wonders of nature”. We got the hell out of there. Never paddled so fast to shore in my life.