Blue Water High Characters Series 2

Starring: Sophie Luck, Gabrielle Scollay, Lesley Anne Mitchell, Taryn Marler, James Sorenson, Trent Dalzell, Ryan Corr, Martin Lynes and Liz Burch.

Welcome back to 'Blue Water High' - in the second series of the Logie Award winning teen drama, new faces mix with some of your favourites from series one including Sophie Luck as Fly, Martin Lynes as Simmo and Liz Burch as Jilly. Also back in guest appearances are Adam Saunders as Heath, Kate Bell as Bec, Tahyna Toxxi as Perri, Khan Chittenden as Edge, Christopher Foy as Matt and Nadine Garner as Deb.

Solar Blue is high performance surf acedemy where six lucky sixteen year-olds are selected for an intensive, twelve month residential surfing and schooling program. Selected from all over Australia, some have focused for years to get there while others have coasted in with natural confidence of those who know they've been born to succeed. But once these kids walk through the door, everyone is on a level playing field and facing the same challenge.

Everyone is experiencing the excitement of being at Solar Blue but like all teenagers, even though surfing is their consuming passion, these kids still have to face the reality checks of school, housework and mixing with their peers.

A year at Blue Water High is a year no one wants to miss. It's the ultimate teenage adventure.

Out now of DVD, Blue Water High Series 2: www.girl.com.au/blue-water-high-series-2.htm

SOPHIE LUCK plays Fiona 'Fly' Watson

At only 16 years of age, this AFI Award-winning actor already has a list of enviable credits to her name.

Sophie’s television credits include Water Rats, Don’t Blame Me, Snobs and a five month role as Tamara in Home and Away and the first series of Blue Water High.

She has also appeared in numerous television and print commercials for many high profile companies .

Sophie is represented by the Sydney Talent Company and is continuing her acting and singing courses in its professional training program. She also enjoys skate boarding, rollerblading, horse riding and bike riding. Sophie won the 2005 AFI Award for Best Young Actor.

Fiona 'Fly' Watson
Fly took everyone by surprise. They watched this tiny girl wrestle her way through the waves and expected her to get the pounding of her young life. But Fly is used to being underestimated. She doesn’t judge people for it. She doesn’t even get some perverse pleasure out of proving them wrong. She’s just pragmatic enough to know she’d probably think the same thing if she was in their shoes.

After being one of the lucky two to qualify for the pro-circuit last year at Solar Blue, Fly’s parents think she’s too young to join the pro-circuit but by way of consolation have allowed her to spend another year at Blue Water to hone her skills under Simmo’s tutelage. This suits Fly down to the ground – at heart she’s still a homebody and has no sense of urgency about rushing off to compete in far away places. She still can’t actually believe she won last year so she’s quite happy to take her time and hang around for a while.

GABRIELLE SCOLLAY plays Amy Reed

Blue Water High series 2 is the acting debut for 16-year-old Gabrielle Scollay.

The Forster based actress is looking forward to the challenge of playing this bubbly teenager.

Gabrielle is very athletic and as well as studying ballet, hip-hop, jazz and modern-dancing, Gabrielle also enjoys aerobics, surfing and wakeboarding.

Amy Reed
Amy comes from Noosa and is the only child of her doting, elderly parents. Like the Sunshine Coast itself, she is bright and sunny.

Tanned and attractive, Amy likes bright coloured clothes and big jewellery. She has a good sense of humour and a loud, distinctive laugh that can often break the ice and sometimes cause people to grind their teeth.

In the surf she is a polished performer and a joy to watch. On land she likes to have fun and is always the first to start dancing when her favourite song comes on the radio. She likes to see the others have fun too and will urge them on, regardless of their reservations or what obligations they might have the next day.

For the most part though, her happy demeanour and natural confidence make her something of a role model for the other girls and if they’re down in the dumps, they’ll often turn to her to help pull themselves back up again.

LESLEY ANNE MITCHELL plays Brooke Solomon

Blue Water High series 2 is Lesley Anne Mitchell’s first professional acting role.

The 18-year-old Sydney based actress has enjoyed performing in plays throughout high school and has completed a camera course through Screenwise.

Brooke Solomon
Brooke grew up on Sydney’s southern beaches, where the two biggest influences on her life were sport and her big, loving family. The middle daughter in a family of 7, Brooke grew up with brothers and sisters and cousins and second cousins who were all sports mad. And from the moment she picked up her first board, threw her first ball and ran her first race, everyone knew she was going to be something special.

Her parents have sacrificed a lot to make sure their daughter would get the best training they could afford and now she has blossomed into a champion all round athlete. Sport is Brooke’s driving passion. In her eyes it defines who she is and she takes enormous pride in what she has been able to achieve. She is dedicated to training, disciplined and with a hunger to win and be the best she can be. But while she is a killer in the surf, on the training track and in any other competitive environment, her upbringing has given her a great sense of the importance of family and friends. She carries no grudges against any competitor who happens to beat her but she can come down really hard on herself if she thinks she hasn’t performed to her best.

When it comes to discipline and training, Brooke has an iron will. She has a set exercise routine that she sticks to rain, hail or shine and most of the time is totally diet conscious, possessing immense willpower even when confronted with chocolate cake. Her high protein, low carb diet can make life difficult for others who want to eat regular food at regular times.

Brooke understands the value of good coaching and is desperate to learn whatever she can from Simmo. She’s motivated and practises hard - determined to ensure she maximises every ounce of her potential.

TARYN MARLER plays Rachel Samuels

Blue Water High series 2 is 17-year-old Taryn Marler’s first professional acting role.

Taryn has always loved performing, and was inspired to pursue an acting career when she saw the musical ‘Annie’.

Taryn lives in Brisbane, Queensland when she’s not shooting Blue Water High 2 and enjoys jet skiing, surfing, painting and drawing.

Rachel Samuels
Rachel is from Newcastle where she grew up as the youngest and only sister of 3 hardcore surfing brothers. Rachel’s parents run an outdoor adventure company which they set up after a number of years spent fourwheel driving around Australia and, for as long as she can remember, Rachel has been passionate about adventure, the environment and life in the great outdoors.

Family legend has it that ever since she ditched the training wheels of her bike, Rachel has always been pushing the limits in whatever she does. She’s into mountain biking, indoor and outdoor rock climbing, snow boarding, and is a qualified abseiling instructor thanks to school holidays spent working with her parents. Rachel’s idea of a quiet weekend is caving in the mountains, li-loing along a remote river or horse riding through some secluded wilderness valley. The bigger the surf the better for Rachel, and her bedroom wall is festooned with spectacular posters of big wave surfing and other extreme sports.

Her engagement with nature has also produced a thoughtfulness and sensitivity in Rachel. She loves surfing but it doesn’t consume her like it does some of the others. She’s passionate about the environment, and has a strong sense of moral justice. And in her perfect world she is travelling through different countries, experiencing new cultures and ideas. And maybe a place on the world surfing circuit will help her realise her dreams. But even if she doesn’t win this year she’ll get to travel the world somehow, sooner or later, nothing surer.

JAMES SORENSON plays Mike Kruze

19-year-old James Sorenson was born in Melbourne to Danish and Portugese parents.

James has a passion for acting that was ignited by performances in numerous school plays before passing his VCE as an A+ student.

James’s acting debut was in Hating Alison Ashley as a main classroom member. When some of the cast were not filming he played piano for Delta Goodrem. James was also a featured extra in Wicked Science. He plays piano, sings, loves music he can dance to, snowboarding, played tennis on a national level, soccer, was with the European Football Institute and is excellent in all ball sports.

He has a twin sister and a 13-year-old brother.

Mike Kruze
Mike is the epitome of the teenage global citizen. He has a German father and mother and lives (most of the time) with his family in Biarritz on the south coast of France where his parents run a small guest house and restaurant.

For nine months of the year he lives, surfs and goes to school in France and for three months of the year he hangs out on Phillip Island, south of Melbourne with his Australian grandparents.

Living this multi-national, multi-cultural life has made Mike a very confident and assured young guy. He speaks three languages (German with his dad, French with the kids at school and 'Australian' with his mum - plus a touch of Spanish) and can live in just about any surroundings and adapt to any situation. But it also means he can find it hard to relax and open up with new people. He tends to keep his own counsel and doesn’t always make friends easily. He will listen to all sides of an argument but tends to dig his heels in when he believes he is right. Once his mind is made up it takes a convincing argument to make him change it. He’s a kid who can be easy to misread. His strong inner convictions can easily be mistaken for arrogance and despite his mystique of Euro-teen cool, he’s actually quite shy around girls.

With his fractured family life, surfing has become the one great constant for him. Having to spend a whole year as part of a 'family' at Blue Water High will be a big challenge to Mike. His convictions will get up their noses and his stubbornness will make them impatient. For all that though he’ll be respected for his integrity, for living up to his principles and - more than anything else – for being one helluva surfer.

TRENT DALZELL plays Corey Petrie

Trent Dalzell started off his career in appearing television commercials he then filmed two guest spots on the drama series Home and Away.

As well as runway modelling, 17-year-old Trent has also done voiceover work.

Trent majored in drama at I.C.S. and has undertaken quite a bit of training including the NIDA Summer School Introduction to Screen Acting, Maura Fay Camera Work Shop, Screen Teens at Screenwise, Adults Stage 1 advanced at Screenwise, Invitation only class with director Scott Hart Ford Davis and the Screenwise 2005 Showcase.

Trent is a keen sportsman who enjoys swimming, surfing, bodyboarding, snorkelling, weights, football, soccer, rollerblading, dirt bike riding, shooting and horse riding.

Corey Petrie
Corey comes from a small farm in the Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia. His family (mum, dad and two brothers) grow grapes and olives and just about anything else that they can sell to the bigger, more successful concerns and passing tourists. Seeing what his parents have had to do to get by has helped Corey focus more than most kids his age on what he wants to achieve and how he plans to do it.

Corey is not afraid to do the hard yards. For him, research, study, preparation and strategy are the keys to success both in the water and in life in general. Before any competition, it’s not unusual to find Corey conducting a meticulous examination of the weather and wave conditions, the particular geographical structure of any beach he is surfing and a detailed analysis of his opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. He is always looking for the thing that will give him the extra 1% over his rivals.

Beneath his laid back, friendly personality, Corey is ambitious, visionary and passionate about his surfing. He may well end up owning Solar Blue by the time he is 30. He is a student of the sport and a walking encyclopaedia of surfing history. Corey loves experimenting and is fascinated by the science of his sport. He is never short of a new scheme to test out a new theory. Whether it be a radical new fin design, a scale mock up of the beach to test how an artificial reef would affect the swell, or some new computer software generated wetsuit model, Corey’s head is always pumping with new ideas and schemes to rule the waves and maybe one day take over the surfing world.

RYAN CORR plays Eric Tanner

17-year-old Ryan started professional work at the age of 13, with the short film Opraholic. His TV debut came with the Burberry series Sleepover Club, for which he relocated to Queensland for six months for a supporting role. Soon after his return to Melbourne he gained the main cast role of Sheng in Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier’s Silver Sun for the ABC. Guest work on TV includes Scooter: Secret Agent (JM Shiff); Blue Heelers (Southern Star) and Neighbours (Grundy).

He does regular voiceover work and has appeared on a number of commercials. He was also the voice of a sheep in Paramount production’s forthcoming Charlotte’s Web.

Ryan is a skilled sportsman, being proficient in AFL Football, Swimming, Basketball, Soccer and Bodyboarding.

Eric Tanner
Eric hails from Lindarra, a sleepy little fishing village on the NSW south coast. People often joke that Eric could talk under water. Maybe he can. Wipeouts seldom stop his motor mouth for long. He’s back on the board and chatting without losing his breath. Some think that Eric talks all the time to keep sharks away. Eric could tell you a few stories about sharks. In fact, Eric could tell you a few stories about anything. If Eric hasn’t had the personal experience, he always knows a friend of a friend who has been there and done that.

On the beach and in the water, Eric is a total natural. A one of a kind surfer. In competitions he is oblivious to intimidation and gamesmanship. His sole focus is on the waves. He trusts his instincts completely and never gives a thought to strategy - an approach that’s fine if you’re surfing a small time local comp but a potential Achilles heel on the tough pro-circuit. But this same openness and lack of killer instinct makes it easy for his opponents to underestimate him and you should never underestimate how well Eric can surf.

Eric is always positive, bright and optimistic - which is a surprise, given his background. He was raised by his single mother and grew up in the Lindarra caravan park. Not the most auspicious surroundings but idyllic as far as Eric’s concerned. He mightn’t have had his own bedroom but there wasn’t a day that he didn’t feel he wasn’t growing up in paradise. Now that he’s mixing it with more privileged kids though, he starts to feel a bit sensitive about his background - even a bit embarrassed. This causes him to stretch the truth at first - it’s not so much that he lies, it’s just that he omits some details and embellishes others. Inevitably the full truth will come out and to Eric’s surprise, it will only enhance his standing with the others, not demean it. In the meantime though, nothing will ever lessen Eric’s attachment to and respect for his mother. The other kids can’t believe it when they learn that she’s his best friend. He still calls her every second day just to make her laugh.

Never having had any money it tends to burn a hole in his pocket whenever he gets his hands on some. His openness, naivety and bigheartedness mean that sometimes people can take advantage of his generosity, but Eric rarely thinks twice about stuff like that.

MARTIN LYNES plays Craig ‘Simmo’ Simmonds

Well known to Australian audiences as Dr Luke Forlano in the medical drama series All Saints, Martin actually began his entertaining career as a stand-up comic in Perth before graduating from NIDA in 1994.

His first theatrical role was in the Marian Street Theatre’s production of The Club, followed by the 1996 Sydney Festival production of Lady Chatterley’s Lover and This is the Sea at the Stables Theatre in 1997.

As well as his six years on All Saints, Martin’s other television credits include Blue Water High Series 1, Love Me Tender, Police Rescue, Pacific Drive, Big Sky and the telemovies The Devil Game and Inferno. Martin has also written, produced, directed and starred in the short film Know Your Destiny and produced, directed and starred in the short film Ask Muff.

He is also an avid surfer who has been surfing for over twenty years.

Craig ‘Simmo’ Simmonds
Simmo is in his late thirties and is a laid back, ex pro-surfer. Simmo has been employed by Solar Blue for the last five years to run the surf academy. He calls surfers ‘undisciplined athletes’ and is determined to ensure that every kid who comes to Solar Blue works hard to maximize their potential. Simmo relates to the kids like friends and often this can be mistaken for an over-relaxed attitude. With a nice sense of humour and mischief, he remembers what it is to be a kid, but you wouldn’t want to mess with him.

LIZ BURCH plays Jilly

Liz Burch commenced her acting career in children’s pantomime and has gone on to appear in some of Australia’s most well-known television series including Cop Shop, Five Mile Creek, The Flying Doctors, Play School, Chances, GP, Paradise Beach, Ocean Girl, Home and Away, Water Rats, Wildside, All Saints, Above The Law, and Crashburn.

Liz’s theatrical career also included performances in the Chevron Revue at the Chevron Hotel, Something’s Afoot and Season at Sarsparilla for the Twelfth Night Theatre, Lend Me a Tenor for Kevin Jacobson Promotions, Caravan at the Glen Street Theatre, Table For One with the New England Theatre Co which also toured WA, VIC and NSW; and Money and Friends at the Ensemble Theatre.

Jilly
Jilly is in her forties and is the omniscient, omnipotent manager of the boarding house. She’s firm and fair, with a cheeky sense of humour. Her positive, relaxed relationship with the kids means they often turn to her when they need a sympathetic person to turn to.



Order Now from Dstore
Order Now from Top Shop
Order Now from Chaos
Order Now from Sanity