Harry Potter and Game of Thrones actress Natalia Tena has been spotted in Melbourne celebrating her birthday during a whirlwind Victorian getaway.
Tena was in the city staying with friends after travelling to Australia for a close friend’s wedding at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria last weekend.
After celebrating the couple’s nuptials, Tena also marked her birthday, with the bride and groom shouting her an espresso martini and a chocolate cake.
Speaking exclusively to the Herald Sun, Tena said she loved visiting Melbourne, where she has a close circle of friends.
“This place is amazing, I only get to come here every few years and I usually need a reason to come like work, or an event, because its so far away from England, but I absolutely love it.”
Tena said she experienced the tradition of the race that stops the nation for the first time after joining friends for a Melbourne Cup Day barbecue in the city’s southeast.
“I didn’t know what it was about. They made me choose a name — I think the horse was Goodie Two Shoes. It didn’t win, but oh well, it was a really good vibe. I would really like to come back next year to see it again.”
Tena is best known for playing Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter film series and wildling Osha in HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones.
Most recently she joined the cast of Prime Video thriller The Assassin as Inspector Cortez. The new season, which premiered on November 6, follows retired hit woman Julie and her estranged son Eddie as they take aim at corruption in Spain’s underworld.
Tena was wrapping up her two week Victorian getaway, where she also visited Prahran Market in South Yarra, which she described as “amazing”, and the Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs, which she was “absolutely banging”.
She also toured wineries in the Red Hill region, but said she was not a fan of Melbourne’s weather.
“When we got here I went for a swim at the beach and then the next day it was freezing and pouring rain. It’s just mad.”