Orlando Bloom: Is back sailing the high seas

Orlando Bloom ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Troy") reprises his role as the dashing Will Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 2003 blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, "Dead Man's Chest" sees Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) setting sail on an all new adventure - filled with more intrigue, more spectacular special effects and more comedy.

Sparrow discovers he owes a blood debt to the legendary Davey Jones, Captain of the ghostly Flying Dutchman. With time running out, Jack must find a way out of his debt or else be doomed to eternal damnation and servitude in the afterlife.

Making matters worse, Sparrow's problems manage to interfere with the wedding plans of Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), who are forced to join Jack on yet another one of his misadventures.

Bloom obviously, and understandably, holds the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" in high esteem.

"Oh we had a fabulous time making it," he says. "Lovely people, fantastic locations and a great director. It was one of the best professional experiences I've ever had."

And so it's easy to understand why he was keen to repeat the experience on "Dead Man's Chest" and the final part of the trilogy, "Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End," which have been filmed, virtually, back to back.

Bruckheimer and Verbinski have reunited their key creative team - cast, writers, crew - and added some new talent - Bill Nighy plays Davy Jones, the underworld captor of sea faring souls - and Bloom couldn't be happier to be back.

"I really enjoy doing it," he says. "I get to work with Johnny and Gore Verbinski and all these great talents. It's amazing because it's a chance for me to continue to learn my craft from some more experienced actors."

Orlando knew better than most that filming two sequels back to back would be a rollercoaster ride and a supreme challenge for all concerned. There was a two-month hiatus last year and another break whilst Verbinski edited "Dead Man's Chest" ready for release this summer.

He spent almost two years in New Zealand making the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "Pirates 2 and 3" was, in some ways at least, a similar experience.

"I am reminded of the experience on 'Rings' where it was that feeling of a huge steam train and everyone is just grabbing hold of it, trying to get a ride and letting is blow out of steam a bit," says the widely-traveled Orlando, who is reportedly planning to take on a real-life bigger challenge of scaling Mt. Everest. "But at the same time that madness, that crazy kind of wild beast that is running away from you is what gives it that energy and excitement and it makes the tension that much more palpable."

Opening soon across the Philippines, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" is distributed by Buena Vista International through Columbia Pictures.