Actor Orlando Bloom discusses his ongoing struggle with dyslexia

From the NY Daily News:

The usually private Orlando Bloom opened up during a talk at the Child Mind Institute with Dr. Harold Koplewicz on June 2 - namely, about his previously undisclosed battle with dyslexia.

"It's still an ongoing struggle," the hunky Brit admitted to a packed audience at Rockefeller University, which included his lady love, Miranda Kerr. "I have more trouble studying scripts and memorizing lines than most [other actors]."

So how did he train himself to be the movie star he is today?

"My mom used to tell me, 'If you read 50 books, I'll get you a motorbike,'" he laughed. "So it inspired me to read a lot and work through [my dyslexia]. But I never quite got to 50. And I never got that motorbike!"

While the "Lord of the Rings" star says he struggled through school, he admits he was - shocker - a popular kid. Especially with the ladies.

Asked if having a girlfriend made him less distracted when he was younger, Bloom blushed, paused and laughed, "No!"

Then, looking toward Miranda, who was giggling in the audience, he quickly added, "Now, yes. Definitely yes. Yes!"

His supermodel babe isn't the only one Orlando credits with his success - he had to thank his "Pirates of the Caribbean" co-star Johnny Depp, too.

"I always had actors to look up to, like Johnny," he said.

In fact, he admits that Depp is the reason he took the role in the now-famed trilogy.

"I got the offer for 'Pirates of the Caribbean' while I was shooting 'Ned Kelly' with Heath Ledger in Australia," he revealed. "I was like, 'I'm filming the coolest cowboy movie right now, why would I want to go be a pirate in a Disney flick?'"

"And then they said, 'Okay, but Johnny Depp is doing it,' and I was like 'Sign me up! I'll be there as soon as I can.'"