Spy: Kiwi actor's Hollywood flower power

Former Shortland Street star Spencer Falls is competing in floral reality show Full Bloom.

Former Shortland Street star Spencer Falls headed to Hollywood to follow his acting dreams — but fame has sprouted in unexpected places.

The 31-year-old headed to the US 10 years ago and made headlines being linked to actress Lindsay Lohan. He did a stint back home on Shorty as Garrett Whitley in 2014/2015 before returning to Hollywood.

But it was his part-time gig that has landed him in the public eye. He began selling flowers out of a 1980 VW van — and now he is a contestant on floristry reality show Full Bloom.

Falls, the son of an orchardist and a fine artist, is starring in the show, which has been screening in the US on HBO since November. It has been described as The Great British Bake Off for florists and the 10 competitors fighting for a $100,000 prize are true artists.

Falls told the LA Times that one day in 2016, when the acting opportunities seemed particularly slim, he took stock.

"I knew I wanted to be creative, so I began thinking, 'How can I creatively make some money?'.

"I had this VW van, which I still have, and I looked up and down Abbot Kinney and realised there were no florists, so I started going to the flower market downtown, buying flowers and selling them from my van. I thought, If I can't get the acting job I want in this town, maybe I can play the character I want — the unlikely florist — and I ultimately became one."

Falls sold enough flowers to be able to begin a subscription service and moved from his van to a large studio space in an old garage in Venice Beach.

The Unlikely Florist, his website, takes orders from all over the US. On it, he says, using reclaimed wood as a tool, he consistently looks for new ways to present florals.

Full Bloom does not yet have a screening date set for NZ — but it has certainly been good for business for Falls. He boasts nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram.