Bold and the Beautiful star Katrina Bowden tells all about struggles on set for thriller Great White

US actor Katrina Bowden has spent the past decade filming in exotic locations for films and iconic TV series Bold and the Beautiful. She can now add a Gold Coast prawn farm to that list.

US actor Katrina Bowden has spent the past decade filming in exotic locations for films and iconic TV series Bold and the Beautiful. She can now add Gold Coast prawn farm to that list.

Bowden, 31, touched down in Australia in mid-November to play the lead character in the southeast Queensland-filmed thriller Great White.

She spent seven weeks filming at Scarborough, Peel Island and a Gold Coast prawn farm.

“It was very interesting,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I was like ‘I don’t want to be here with a bunch of prawns swimming around’.

Actor Aaron Jakubenko, Great White director Martin Wilson, and Katrina Bowden on the set at Peel Island.

RACHEL GRIFFITHS TALKS NEW FILM AND PAST GOLD COAST LIFE

“They pumped in ocean water and cleaned it out. It was a safer place to shoot there than the ocean. The whole movie is shot in water.

“We were in a raft for a lot of (filming) of the movie, or swimming through set pieces.

“Underwater filming and acting is a whole new crazy experience.

“I knew it would be challenging but I didn’t quite know how challenging. We had no goggles and had to keep our eyes open.

“We also shot at aviation tanks at the Brisbane Airport and it was hard. Everything was just a blur of light and colour.

“We would have to shoot multiple takes and have multiple rehearsals just to make sure we had this muscle memory of what we are going and where we are going.

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $5 PER MONTH FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTHS

Katrina Bowden learning to scuba dive with other Great White actors. Photo: @instagram

Filming at Queens Beach at Scarborough for thriller Great White. Photo: Peter Wallis

WHY DIRECTOR LACK LINDON PUT MOVIE ON HOLD FOR TWO YEARS SO JOHN JARRATT COULD STAR IN IT

“It was challenging and time consuming but it was so much fun too. Such a cool experience.

“The crew were phenomenal. They were so much fun. It was a great collaborative environment.

“Most of the time in movies you don’t hang out with the crew on weekends, it doesn’t happen that much. But on (Great White) we got to hang out and it was very fun. I really loved getting to know everyone.”

Bowden said her favourite stop on her Australian tour was Byron Bay.

“The beaches are the most beautiful I have ever seen.

“It had a bit of the Malibu type of look mixed with something in Hawaii. It was so stunning. The vibe is just so laid back. I had the best time.”

HOUSE OF INEQUITY: INSIDE THE GOLD COAST HORROR FILM SET

Katrina Bowden fell in love with Byron Bay while filming in Australia. Photo: Supplied

Katrina plays “Flo” on the iconic soap opera show The Bold and the Beautiful.

TYSON JOHNSTON REVEALS HOW HE GOT FORMER OLYMPIAN IAN THORPE ON BOARD FOR DEBUT FILM STREAMLINE

Great White is from the producer duo Michael Robertson and Neal Kingston, who filmed crocodile thriller Black Water: Abyss in southeast Queensland this year.

In Great White, Bowden plays a seaplane operator who becomes abandoned on the fictional Hell’s Reef in Northern Australia. Two great white sharks hunt her as she tries to make it to shore.

The cast, also includes Tidelands’ Aaron Jakubenko, Neighbours’ Tim Kano, Kimie Tsukakoshi from The Bureau of Magical Things and Monster Problems’ Te Kohe Tuhaka.

Script writer Michael Boughen (Tomorrow, When The War Began) was inspired by an incident off the north coast of NSW in 2017, during which a 2.7 metre, 200 kilogram great white shark jumped into a fisherman’s boat.