Bloom says he will not go naked on London stage

"Pirates of the Caribbean" star Orlando Bloom, seen here in May 2007, has disappointed thousands of female fans by insisting he will not strip off in David Storey's play "In Celebration".[AFP]

"Pirates of the Caribbean" star Orlando Bloom disappointed thousands of female fans, insisting Wednesday he would not strip off in his London stage debut, despite fans' hopes he would follow the lead of Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe.

Bloom will be treading the boards in the West End as one of the leads in David Storey's play "In Celebration," which opens Thursday.

But despite rumours on Internet fan sites that he would bare all, as Radcliffe did in a recent London production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus," Bloom, 30, said that his modesty would remain intact.

"I heard what they're saying. But you've read the play. Where would I possibly get my clothes off in it? It's bizarre," the "Lord of the Rings" actor told the Guardian.

"In Celebration" is a revival of a 1969 play about three sons who have escaped the way of life embodied by their father, a miner in the north of England.

It was made into a 1975 film directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Alan Bates