Bloom hangs his sword

Cast member Orlando Bloom, who portrays Will Turner in the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End', poses for pictures in Beverly Hills, California, May 16, 2007.[AP]

Actor Orlando Bloom plans to hang up his sword after spending nearly a decade making the blockbuster trilogies "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Lord of the Rings" to tread the boards of a London theater this summer.

Bloom, 30, begins rehearsals in June for "Celebration" by British playwright David Storey. The play will open in July.

"I just need to do this," Bloom said in an interview last week. "I wanted to feel like going back to basics in a sense and having just a completely different experience."

Bloom had intended to go onto the stage after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in Britain, but instead ended up on the big screen in a series of blockbuster sword-and-sandal films, starting with "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which began production in 1999.

He also appeared in "Troy," "Kingdom of Heaven" and the three "Pirates" films, the latest of which hits theaters on Friday.

"I think everything takes its toll," he said, when asked whether the nearly decade-long glare of fame had been a strain. "It just felt like I wanted to get back into the driver's seat of my career and my life, and part of that is coming back to what I have known in the past ... really solidifying the foundation of my working career."

Working with acclaimed stage actors Bill Nighy and Geoffrey Rush in "Pirates" also whetted his desire to return to stage acting, he said.

"They all keep their hand in because it's working on the craft ... it's really having that immediate interaction with the audience, having great text and letting the dialogue fall and see how it lands," Bloom said.

Bloom would not close the door on making a fourth "Pirates" film after his theater hiatus.

"It's been an incredible ride for everyone involved. Nobody thought we were going to make three movies out of the one successful starter," he said. "Who knows what the future holds. Right now I can't even think about that."