Orlando Bloom admits watching his son being born had a "profound effect" on him.

Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom

The 39-year-old actor has five-year-old Flynn with ex-wife Miranda Kerr and seeing the 33-year-old beauty go through a long labour with the youngster gave him even more respect and admiration for mothers.

He said: "No single moment has had such a profound effect on my life as when I held my son after his mother had endured 27 hours of labour.

"That should teach any man the meaning of respect for mothers the world over."

The British actor - who is dating singer Katy Perry - divides his time between the UK and US and admits he can only spend short stints in one place before he craves a return to his other home.

He told Empire magazine: "I live between the US and the UK. Too long in one and I crave the other.

"I've called Shanghai home for the last two months, I'm here filming."

Outside of his work, Orlando's biggest "passion" is trying to "master the art of living", something he knows he can never fully achieve.

He said: "[My passion is] mastering the art of living, which I will never do, so that learning curve keeps me thoroughly occupied."

But the 'Lord of the Rings' star worries about the impact of "stupidity, fear and greed" on the world.

Asked what he thinks is most destructive to the soul, he said: "Well, Albert Einstein, one of the wizards of our time, said, 'stupidity, fear and greed'.

"There's a lot of that around, particularly if you turn on the news.

"The antidotes are courage, wisdom and compassion - which are coincidentally the qualities of most Hobbits. The rest of us elves and humans have to work harder to manifest them."