Fresh Faces: Christopher Egan

There’s a lot that’s nice to look at in “Letters to Juliet”: Amanda Seyfried’s mile-wide eyes, the lush landscapes of Italy and, for the ladies, the film’s romantic interest played by Australian actor Christopher Egan.

“Italy is such a strong character in our movie. It wasn’t hard to be romantic,” Egan said.

Egan got his big break on the Australian soap opera “Home and Away,” where he stayed for four years before coming to the States, where he had supporting roles in “Eragon,” “Alpha Dog” and “Resident Evil: Extinction” as well as a role on the short-lived NBC series “Kings.” But “Letters to Juliet” sees him playing the romantic lead as the grandson of a woman ( Vanessa Redgrave) whose unanswered love letters are discovered.

“I enjoyed Charlie’s protective nature, protecting his grandmother,” Egan said. “I got to go really extreme with him, but [director Gary Winick] guided me to make sure he wasn’t too unpleasant or too over the top. I didn’t want him to be so nasty you hated to watch him.”

In real life, Egan pals around L.A. with his Australian brethren Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”) and Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”). “A lot of us worked on the same show in Australia,” Egan said of “Home and Away.” “There’s so many Australians in L.A. now, they’re taking over.” But being recognized on the street hasn’t happened …yet.

That may change after “Juliet” or his next project, which he hasn’t decided on. “I have three movies I’m up for that are scheduled in conflict. It’s nice, but it’s going to be interesting to see which one I go with.”

patrick.day@latimes.com