SA hottie smooches Bloom

For A woman who recently locked lips with Orlando Bloom - a man voted one of the sexiest in Hollywood for the past decade - Tanya van Graan is pretty nonchalant about it all.

Then again, she has known for at least two months that she would be playing Tara, Brian Epkeen's (Bloom's) girlfriend in Jérôme Salle's 2013 film Zulu.

The smooch is a thing of the past. "There is a kissing scene - and we actually shot that on the first day, but nothing too serious," Van Graan says.

The 28-year-old, who was voted FHM's sexiest woman in the world in 2007, says: " [Bloom] is so down-to-earth . He is just a normal guy [who] is good at what he does."

The movie is Salle's adaptation of his countryman Caryl Férey's crime novel of the same name - set in post-apartheid South Africa. The novel won Férey France's Grand Prix for Best Crime Novel in 2008.

Epkeen (Bloom) and Ali Neuman (Forest Whitaker) play two policemen fighting lawlessness in Cape Town.

Van Graanhas appeared in Binnelanders, Snitch, City Sesla, Malan en Kie and Hard Copy, not to mention a host of commercials.

"It's definitely a great honour [landing the role of Tara] and a big achievement for me . I'm climbing the ladder of becoming the best actress I can be ."

But another local actress, Natasha Loring, is star-struck after working with Whitaker, her hero.

Loring landed the role of Marjorie, the girlfriend of Epkeen's son David (played by Sven Ruygrok).

Loring played Kimberley in the UK comedy series Beaver Falls, which was shot in Cape Town.

She says: "He [Whitaker] walked around introducing himself to everybody and chatting the night away in his South African accent. He was so nice."

Zulu is a big deal for Bloom. He played the Duke of Buckingham in The Three Musketeers, which received poor reviews.