Paradise found
The new Australian drama series Eden explores the disappearance of a woman in an idyllic coastal town. Actor Keiynan Lonsdale tells Danielle McGrane about the darkness behind this paradise.
AEden, ustralia’s film production industry has been the envy of the world for the past year.
As celebrities have descended on the east coast to film Marvel movies and TV shows, the rest of the world has grappled with difficult COVID conditions as they try to get new content made.
Australia has emerged as an idyllic spot where filming continues as normal.
One such TV show that was made in one of the country’s most beautiful areas – the Northern Rivers region of NSW – is the Stan Original Series Eden.
As the title suggests, this new Aussie show centres on a beautiful coastal town that attracts holidaymakers and those hoping to discover peace and wellness.
But there’s a dark underbelly to this place, and the people who live there are grappling with secrets and darkness, which come to the fore after the disappearance of a young woman.
“I think it’s important for people to know that what they’re lusting for and what they’re longing for always has deeper layers to it.
And it’s a mess, life is messy. Eden shows you that,” said actor Keiynan Lonsdale.
He plays Cam, a young man who lives in this idyllic place but has become caught up in its seedy underbelly.
“He’s found his way into some messy and dangerous territory that’s questionable,” Lonsdale said.
Cam is close friends with Hedwig (BeBe Bettencourt), the young woman who goes missing, but we also discover that he’s been on
his own path, trying to find himself and attempting to live off the grid.
For Lonsdale, there was something very relatable about Cam’s attempts at self-discovery.
“There’s a part of him that I’m really connected with.
I was going through my own spiritual journey and there’s a spiritual side of him where he’s gone out and said ‘I’m going to go live in nature, I’m going to do it.’ So many of us talk about it and he did it, he lives that life and has found his freedom in his way of living and I think that was inspiring because I get to live through that,” Lonsdale said.
“At the same time he’s still young and he’s still figuring it out. So I found it cool to flesh Cam out in those ways. I would say that he’s, in many ways, a free spirit.”
It tapped into something in Lonsdale where he got to imagine what it would be like to live as freely as Cam.
“I have times when I’m just connecting with nature,
I’m becoming a bit of a plant daddy, I can really just get lost in taking care of my plants so there’s definitely times where I’m really grateful for this career but oftentimes what’s brought me a lot of peace is just nature,” he said.
“What I’d want to pass on to my kids one day is that I want to be able to understand nature as much as I can. I think that takes a bit of a risk of letting go of everything that we’re accustomed to.”
It’s a far cry from Lonsdale’s current lifestyle. He lives mostly in Los Angeles, where he’s had great success as an actor starring as the superhero Kid Flash on the series The Flash and he’ll also be bringing his dancing talents to the upcoming film Work It (produced by Alicia Keys). He’s also acted alongside Hollywood star Jennifer Garner in the film Love, Simon and he’s a musician, releasing his album Rainbow Boy last year.
But he relished the chance to come home to film Eden.
“It was the best. I missed Australia like crazy and getting to explore a new part – I hadn’t spent much time in Byron
Bay or in those areas – so getting to do a full 3-4 months there was really, really cool,” he said.
“It’s gorgeous, definitely a healing place and to couple it with this dark intense mystery drama series was an interesting dichotomy. But it worked so well with the show. It was beautiful.”
As much as he loved shooting in this beautiful place, he also loved how the show explored its darker side.
“It’s idyllic and I’ve been fantasising about a certain peace or a certain lifestyle that would grant that kind of peace and happiness, but I think you get to pull down the covers in this show. Not to say that that’s always what’s going on but definitely to see the darker roots of this imaginary place and the people was interesting,” he said.
Working with this cast and crew on such a collaborative production also helped him rebuild his confidence and get centred again.
“We dived deep on Eden, everyone did. The cast was really open and vulnerable with each other, as was the crew and our directors,” he said.
“We had good communication. You could put your opinions forward and everyone wanted to dive into the story really deep.”
There was also room in this production for some improvisation, which Lonsdale enjoyed.
“There would be times when you’d get to set and you’d have your lines but everything would just get thrown out the window and you’d just improvise and at that point it’s just trust. They’re trusting in me so I’d trust in them and I’d trust in my partner to say ‘Let’s just go and create this world’.
So the set was pretty wild.
“I had done a little improv here and there. There are times when you’re given opportunities to just throw in a line when you’re comfortable. Some projects love it, some projects don’t and this was one where it was very much like ‘Play.
This is the story we’re telling, but let’s play because we trust in that creative project and then we’ll just refine’.”
It gave the actor a real taste of freedom and he’s keen to come back home to Australia to work on more projects.
“I’ll definitely be back at the end of the year. That’s my hope,” he said.
“I’ll be back hopefully for a good solid amount of time because I love working with Australians from across the board – the dance community, music, film and television.
That’s my home.”
The Stan Original Series Eden, all episodes now streaming, on Stan.
Visit www.stan.com.au