Why Brenton Thwaites wants to buy a Brisbane council bus

If you were casting an actor to play the city of Brisbane you could do no better than Brenton Thwaites. He’s good-looking; great for raising kids (he has five); is sunny and upbeat; and despite everything still flies a bit under the radar.

He also happens to be a huge advocate for the place that launched his acting career.

“People are realising Brisbane is a cool place to live,” he says, in a cafe opposite City Hall, having taken off his black hat to reveal long hair tied in a bun.

“You know, it’s safe, it’s got culture, it’s got South Bank.

“Things are developing here so quick, not just construction, but people and culture and art. In the lead-up to the Olympics, it’ll be great to see that culture just continue to swell.”

Thwaites, who lives on the Gold Coast, has had major roles in huge blockbuster films including Maleficent and Gods of Egypt. In Pirates of the Caribbean 5, he played the son of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.

He also starred as Batman’s estranged offsider Robin (aka Nightwing) in four seasons of the dark DC series Titans.

But he’s back in Brisbane spruiking a locally made romantic series for Paramount+ called Two Years Later, in which he plays a Brisbane accountant, Ryan, opposite Phoebe Tonkin’s journalist Emily.

The two are acquaintances who enjoy trading quips on the bus ride to work. Reunited on the commute after COVID-19, Ryan impulsively asks Emily to marry him.

Once this rom-commy conceit is out of the way, the series starts painting in the gritty details.

“The characters in this one just feel real,” Thwaites says.

“I thought, what a great opportunity to take off some layers a little bit, and do something that’s a little bit closer to home.”

Two Years Later was a homecoming for Thwaites in more ways than one.

He grew up in Cairns but got to know Brisbane when studying acting at QUT and working in local bars and restaurants.

On graduating in 2010, he packed up his life and drove to Sydney, only to get an invite to fly back the next day to audition for Brisbane-set Fox8 series SLiDE – a River City answer to Skins.

The schedule was tight, and Thwaites was asked to wait while the producers decided whether he’d gotten the part or not.

“It was kind of agonising, but at the same time, I loved that they kept me there and told me, right then and there.”

“I can still remember him sitting on the floor going, ‘Are you gonna give it to me?’” says Tracey Robertson, chief executive of Brisbane’s Hoodlum Entertainment, who made both Slide and Two Years Later.

“It was such a breakout role for him, and he was so good in it. We’ve kind of kept in contact with Brenton, and then we heard he was back living in Queensland.”

Written by Brisbane screenwriter Pete Bridges and directed by Emma Freeman, Two Years Later hinges on the chemistry of its two powerhouse leads.

In a reverse of screen cliche, Thwaites is the natural and open one, while Tonkin is brittle and wisecracking.

“I loved Phoebe in Boy Swallows Universe,” Thwaites says.

On set, she kept him on his toes: “You really wonder what she’s going to do next. I think that’s the mark of a great actor. It’s thinking the thought, and discovering the moment.”

While Ryan and Emily are falling in love, the audience is falling for the city. The series makes use of locations including the Story and Kangaroo Point Bridges, rooftop bars, and eye-candy Queenslander houses. And that killer skyline.

“If you’re shooting in a city like Brisbane, you want to see the city, you want to see the natural light, see how bright and uplifting it feels,” Thwaites says.

“From the get-go the goal was to have Brisbane feel like a character in the show.”

“The goal was to have Brisbane feel like a character in the show.”

The Commonwealth Bank building even got in on the act this week in a cornball piece of social media marketing that went viral. A phone message projected on the building’s side read: “To the brunette who always caught the 444 at 8.30am. Where have you gone? I’m worried I’ve missed my chance…”

“It was a smart way to, you know, let people know love is in the air,” Thwaites laughs.

While public transport is better known as the site of creepy occurrences, this could be the show to rehabilitate the image of the Brisbane council bus.

“I was gonna buy one!” Thwaites volunteers.

“Yeah, the bus that we shot in was decommissioned, and I was trying to buy it. So Brisbane City Council, if you have any buses out there that have gas in them that you want to sell, let me know.”

Thwaites had a mind to turn it into a tiny home on his farm – or a tour bus for his musical act. He honed his songwriting during COVID-19, and released his Jack Johnsonish debut album, Searching for the Man, last year.

He’s also making a mark in horror movies. Having just starred with Daisy Ridley in Tasmanian zombie chiller We Bury the Dead, he has two vampire films in the can: Stake Out (shot in Melbourne) and Can I Come In? (Toronto).

But Thwaites is also hopeful of making a second season of Two Years Later, which had him hooked from a first script reading.

“In a world where what sells is action and horror and vampire movies, it’s really refreshing to read something that’s really about two people, and how they connect with each other.”

Two Years Later screens from June 4 on Paramount+.

With Neesha Sinnya

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