Bloom no lone-ly star in town

Daniel Crocombe and Orlando Bloom outside Lone Star restaurant in Wellington. Photo / Supplied

An aspiring actor and his mum forced themselves to eat two dinners last night after strolling down the street and spotting actor Orlando Bloom through the window of a Lone Star restaurant.

"We weren't originally going out for dinner, we'd already eaten ... but we got ourselves a table at Lone Star and sat there with the man himself," Liz Rayes, of Auckland, said.

Rayes and her 16-year-old son Daniel Crocombe, a student at Kristin High School in Albany, were walking to the corner store about 9pm to buy bottled water when they first noticed Bloom, back in the capital for filming of the Hobbit.

Despite having eaten already, the star-struck vegetarians booked a table at the predominantly meaty restaurant just to get a glimpse of the star.

"He was dining out with three other guys, we got him to sign our Lone Star menu and as he was walking out of the restaurant we got a photo of him."

She said Bloom, who was dressed causally in jeans and a black T-shirt, was open to photos and autographs but wasn't being mobbed by fans.

"He's obviously a good looking guy, but he was intent on being really chilled, taking it all in his stride and being gracious with requests [for autographs]. People were being very respectful around him ... there were people all over the place trying to look very casual, but quietly humming with excitement."