australian television information archive

Phoebe Tonkin as Cleo Sertori

Phoebe Tonkin was born in Sydney in 1989 and from the age of 4 participated in various dance classes including classical ballet, tap, hip hop and contemporary dance.

Keen to pursue her passion for acting Phoebe completed various courses at the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) at the Wharf Theatre from the age of 12. Courses at ATYP included Shakespeare, Script to Stage, Clowning Around and Musical Theatre.

Attending Queenwood school at Balmoral, renowned for its excellent drama department, Phoebe attended private drama classes and became involved in all school productions including Antigone, White Crane and Venetian Twins. Each year Phoebe took part in the school's Shakespeare festival culminating in winning the state final in 2005 in a Midsummer Nights Dream.

At 16 Phoebe is the youngest member of the principal cast of H2O and her role as Cleo is her first TV appearance. Winning this role was a dream come true and although not the strongest swimmer originally, Phoebe worked hard to develop her swimming skills during pre production.

For her work in series 2 of H2O, Phoebe received a prestigious 2008 Australian Film Institude Award nomination in the category of "Best Lead Actress in Television Drama". A first for an actor in a teen orientated series produced in Australia.

After the conclusion of H2O, Phoebe landed a starring role in the CW series The Secret Circle and then a reoccurring role in The Vampire Diaries alongside fellow H2O alumna Claire Holt.

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CLEO is the follower - the one always getting in over her head - the joker who's is always taking the mickey ­ which helps when you've just messed up. She the type who is always wanting to fit in ­ in that respect, she can be a bit of a chameleon ­ she adapts and changes depending on the circumstances and who she's with. She doesn't like conflict and is always the peacemaker in the group.

Cleo's a bit of a klutz. It's a bit unclear whether she's genuinely uncoordinated or if it's just a lack of confidence, but she's often dropping things, falling over things and knocking things off benches.

Cleo can influence the volume and pressure of water. She can even draw particles from the air to make a large body of water from a small puddle. Handy if you're a little thirsty or you want to fill a teacher's car with water. She can also influence water pressure. She can hold it back, or shoot it out fast. A garden hose can become a powerful device when Cleo's around. A water pistol could be lethal.