Phoebe Tonkin and Ryan Corr are two of Australia’s most recognisable young stars. Both getting their start on children’s television, the pair certainly made an impact once they moved on to adult roles, with Tonkin appearing in The Vampire Diaries’ spin-off The Originals, and Corr capturing our hearts in movies like Holding the Man. As familiar as they have become, we can promise you Stan’s upcoming Bloom will showcase the actors like you have never seen either of them before.

Bloom centres around a country town that sees the arrival of a mysterious and extraordinary plant that, when ingested, allows someone the power to restore their youth. Cue Tonkin and Corr, who both portray the transformed younger versions of people who have become despondent in their current form. In Tonkin’s character’s case, Gwen is a woman suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s in her older age, while Corr’s Sam attempts to use his restored youth to try to outrun his troubled past.

As far-fetched as the show may sound, Tonkin explains how genuine it truly is.

“It’s a really unique idea, but at the same time it’s really simple, and it poses a lot of interesting philosophical questions as well. These shows are always more interesting when they’re a metaphor for something, as opposed to just being literal sci-fi. It’s much more grounded sci-fi,” she told POPSUGAR Australia.

Corr concurs, saying it was clear from the get-go the show wasn’t “another kitchen sink drama.” This notion is exemplified in Corr’s Sam, whose hedonistic lifestyle involves outrageously running from the law at almost every turn. Corr told POPSUGAR Australia that although Sam might not be a character he’d immediately relate to, all characters must “come from you somewhere.”

“Playing any character involves both dialing up and dialing down different elements of yourself and your own life experience,” he said. “I knew Sam had to be wired, and that there had to be something untrustworthy and edgy about him. It was a pretty broad field to be playing within, but I think what made him so fun to play was that there were no rules.”

As different as their characters may be in personality, both Corr and Tonkin had to channel their maturity into portraying people who are mentally over forty years older than them. Corr explained it was just as much up to Jacki Weaver and Rod Mulliner, who play older Gwen and Sam respectively, to match their mannerisms as it was him and Tonkin to match their’s.

“The nature of TV sometimes means there’s not a huge rehearsal process, but Rod and I were able to sit down for an hour and agree on where we could meet vocally and what mannerisms we could both carry though,” he said, “in Phoebe’s case as well, you’ll notice Jacki actually matched where Phoebe’s voice sits, and production matched her appearance to Phoebe’s…it’s all very cool.”

This dedication to detail is one of several things the pair say Australia’s entertainment industry matches America’s on, having both worked in the US. “There really isn’t a huge difference [between the two industries], Ryan and I have both been fortunate to work on really high-end Australian projects,” says Tonkin, “there was still the same amount of energy, time and talent…the only difference is the food on set!” she laughs. “In Australia we got cordial, in America you get more food than you’ve ever seen in your entire life!”

Despite the difference in catering, Corr says American actors seek opportunities in Australia due to the heightened work ethic. “[Americans] notice there’s something about Australians where we’re really used to getting it done fast. We don’t have these stupid budgets, we’ve got it get it done, and we’ve got to get it done quick, but we’ve still got it get it done to quality. That creates a work ethic and a drive that’s palpable among everyone.” “Yeah” Tonkin agrees, “the crew are so present and hardworking, and it’s all very Australian. It’s like ‘get dirty, get into it!'”

When asked the number one thing audiences should know before the show starts airing on January 1, Tonkin said it is that they will need to be “open-minded.”

“Be open to how wild it gets, in a great way! I think we really pushed the envelope on this show, and it alternates between being really quite funny, and really quite dark. It’s a roller coaster of a show.”

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Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin has garnered an unrivaled international fan-following by playing everything from a mermaid, to a werewolf and even an ELLE Australia cover girl.

But Tonkin is wrapping up 2018 with possibly her most fascinating role yet, as Gwen Reed on Stan’s original series, Bloom.

Described as a gothic fairy tale, the six-part series ventures into questions surrounding the pursuit of eternal youth and the fragility of life.

Bloom first introduces Gwen as an ailing, frail elder played by Australian screen legend Jackie Weaver, before she is bestowed with a “miracle” fruit, that reinstates her youthful self, played by Tonkin.

Ahead of the show’s premiere on January 1st, we sat down with the Chanel face and got her to address some of the most-Googled terms surrounding her name.

“PHOEBE TONKIN BOYFRIEND”
That’s the number one search? Can I say no comment?

“PHOEBE TONKIN DIET”
No…diet’s an ugly word.

“PHOEBE TONKIN MARGOT ROBBIE”
We’ve known each other for a long time. She’s a power house. She is so inspiring; not just her work ethic and how she’s obviously so talented, but through the years has truly been a real champion for getting [actors and actresses] together. She loves having barbeques and stuff, she’s just so cool.

I remember hearing that Heath Ledger, as he started getting more successful, he was really inclusive and made sure that everyone felt part of the community and I would say she’s taken that baton a little bit. She really surrounds herself with really great, inspiring, creative people from all facets of life with all different careers and puts them all together. I think that’s really admirable.

DO YOU THINK YOU’LL END UP WORKING WITH HER ONE DAY?
Yeah I would love that! I think my dream for the next few years is just to work with people who I look up to, whether that’s actors, directors to writers and that sort of started for the last few years. I was just trying to find projects that really spoke to me and that I kind of really wanted to sink my teeth into.

“PHOEBE TONKIN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES”
I was only on that for a few episodes, because obviously then I went and did The Originals for five years. I mean yeah, it was great. That was sort of my home and family for six years of my life and I lived in Atlanta… I loved Atlanta. I love the south, I love Southern American states. I just loved living there. But yeah it was great, it was an amazing experience. I made amazing friends and I learnt a lot, but I was excited to explore other opportunities after that.

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‘Bloom’ causes you to think about the scarcity of time, the fragility of life and the decisions that define us

Life is arbitrary; it could be fleeting, it could be extraordinary, it could be riddled with pain. But however the cards are dealt, it should always be meaningful. Stan will drop it’s highly-anticipated mystery drama Bloom on New Year’s Day, a six-part television series that will have you pondering your present and question if you are living your fullest life.

When a freak flood annihilates a small Australian country town – and kills five residents – it leaves behind a super plant which, if ingested, has the power to temporarily restore your youth. This means those who take it have the opportunity to right a wrong, to fix a regret or to keep a loved one alive. But what it can also do is change the course of life forever.

Ray (played by acting legend Bryan Brown) is a retired astronomer who is taking care of his actress wife Gwen (played by Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver) whose memory has been ravaged due to early on-set Alzheimer’s disease. When Ray comes across the super drug, he has a chance of saving Gwen and gives her the plant bulb to swallow. When she wakes up, she is her young self (played by Phoebe Tonkin) but she’s driven to rehash things with an old flame, Max, a farmer who lost all his cattle in the flood and never stopped loving her. Will this impulse tear her and Ray apart? On the other side of town is Sam (played by Ryan Corr). He’s wild, brash and fancy-free. And with that, he comes across a young Gwen.

If you had a second chance to go back, what would you do? We sat down with Tonkin and Corr in Sydney and put that very question to them.

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For those who did not get a chance to listen, the show is available in podcast form on iTunes.

Woody plays "Kiss Chicken" with Ryan Corr 💋🐔@ryan_corr @1PhoebeJTonkin pic.twitter.com/oidWoWW0Ht

— Will and Woody (@willandwoody) December 3, 2018

Highlights:
• The first time Phoebe saw the finished production of Bloom was at the recent premiere.
• The talk of nudity and modesty patches came up in the interview (the first scene features Ryan Corr running naked down the street), and Phoebe mentions that in the past she’s used pillows as the barrier/cover during love scenes along with modesty patches.
• Due to the nature of filming the show, there wasn’t much time for rehearsals. When Jacki Weaver flew in, Phoebe had already been filming for 2-3 weeks.

You can find the whole interview in podcast form on iTunes. Their interview begins about an hour and fourteen minutes into the two hour show.

Ooohh @stanaustralia's new show #Bloom sounds INSANE! pic.twitter.com/O2QKipZ4Ln

— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) November 29, 2018

Ryan Corr is FULLY NUDE in the opening scene @stanaustralia pic.twitter.com/QiWzAtFWXj

— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) November 29, 2018

Ryan's onscreen love interest is his best friend's GF! @stanaustralia pic.twitter.com/jZyV8W98X1

— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) November 29, 2018

Phoebe Tonkin grew up in Kyle's area! @stanaustralia pic.twitter.com/AmvTtbIG7B

— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) November 29, 2018

Phoebe Tonkin is one of Australia’s most successful young acting exports. Beginning her career on the Aussie teen series H20: Just Add Water, she gained international fame (and a casual 4.8 million followers on Instagram) from her starring role on The Vampire Diaries and its-spin off, The Originals. Now, with her career in its peak, she has returned to Australia to take on the lead role of young Gwen (with her older self to be played by Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver) on Stan’s new original series, Bloom, premiering on January 1. Below, Phoebe chats all about Bloom, and what it means to be an actor in 2018.

POPSUGAR Australia: Tell us about the premise of Bloom.

Phoebe: The premise is if you have the opportunity to have your youth, energy and vitality back, with the knowledge of being in your sixties or seventies, what would you do differently? Are there any wrongs you would right, any big regrets you had in your life that you would try to make up for, if you had the chance?

PS: You play a character called Gwen – tell us about her!

Phoebe: When we meet Gwen we find out she’s been struggling with dementia for the past few years and so a lot of her memory has gone. But you realise there’s a man she loved once when she was much, much younger, as well as the man she’s still living with now, Ray. She went through some stuff when she was younger and was quite torn between two men she loved very much. You realise as we explore in the series that sometimes our memory is a little foggy and you can romanticise relationships. So, we’ll learn more about the relationship she had with Max and her husband Ray.

PS: What drew you to the character and the show?

Phoebe: I love working in Australia. I think Stan is doing a great job of being a strong competitor to big American cable shows. I thought the premise was really interesting and unique, and I thought the creatives involved – [director] John Curran is someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time – and all the Australian actors are people I’ve always looked up to. But yeah, the premise was just really different, and I think it’s very bold for Australian drama.
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