Naomi Watts & Andrew Lincoln: True Story of “Penguin Bloom”

Two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts stars as Samantha Bloom in the film version of her story titled “Penguin Bloom.” The walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln stars alongside her as husband Cameron, who also with their three sons left their home in Australia in 2013 for a holiday in Thailand.

While enjoying a view, Sam fell off of a rooftop due to what was later determined to be a rotted railing…breaking her vertebrae in two places. Paralyzed from the chest down, Sam — a lifelong outdoorswoman, surfer, and traveler — was unrecognizable to herself, and spent long months in a depression that made her question who she could be in the world and in her own family.

A year later, her children brought home a wounded baby magpie they found. Warily eyeing the black-and-white bird the kids affectionately named “Penguin,” Sam bonded with the household’s new member, beginning a process of emotional healing that surprised everyone

We talked with the duo about this amazing true story, the photographic book that showcases their journey, and finding hope again.