Luke Evans’ Instagram Is a Travel Destination Dream

As the production of the new Apple TV+ series Echo 3 migrated from the heights of Bogotá, Colombia’s sprawling Andean capital, down to the lush tropical environs of Girardot, Luke Evans was savoring every moment. “It was a three-and-a-half-hour journey through these winding mountain roads — which at some points made you feel like you’re in Nepal — it was really extraordinary,” says the Welsh actor and singer over Zoom. The cast and crew also stopped in the port city of Cartagena and the white-sand Rosario Islands. Evans documented the experience to his 3.4 million followers, with videos of beachside workouts, shots of local fauna and expertly composed streetscapes. During filming, Evans’ Insta served as both a teaser for the show and as an unofficial ad for Colombia’s tourism industry.

“I’ve always loved traveling. So traveling for me is the biggest gift I can give to myself and the fact that I get to do it for work is even better,” he says, ahead of the Nov. 23 premiere of Echo 3. In the Mark Boal-created show, Evans plays Bambi, a U.S. Special Forces soldier who tracks down his missing sister along the Colombian-Venezuelan border. During his self-imposed mission, Bambi grapples with his lingering childhood trauma and a fraught relationship with his rich brother-in-law and soldier-in-arms Prince (Michiel Huisman), as the pursuit takes them from night raids in the city to jungle guerilla warfare. Hence, many early shoots and intense action scenes.

Evans — who recently made headlines for his take on the question of whether only gay actors, like himself, should play gay roles (“I’m not sure about that … I wouldn’t have had a career if gay people played gay roles and straight people played straight roles,” he said) — is also a singer. In November, he released his second album, A Song For You, featuring a duet of 2013’s “Say Something” with his Nine Perfect Strangers co-star Nicole Kidman. He hesitated to ask her, he admits. ” ‘Who could I ask?’ I thought, ‘Should I ask Nicole Kidman? What would she say?!’ ” he says. “I thought, ‘Hey, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.’ “

Like a number of globe-trotting movie stars these days, Evans maintains a sideline as a travel influencer of sorts. He properly hashtags gratis resort vacations and has an ongoing relationship with Land Rover on travel-related content, like test-driving a Range Rover through California wine country — a first visit for him. “We got to Sonoma Valley by helicopter, which was just so special. I will never forget that,” says Evans, who has an unspecified deal with the automaker.

A look through his grid reveals playful, behind-the-scenes #TBTs in Budapest with his collaborators on The Alienist; street candids with pals in Lisbon, where he has a home; and trips to spots like Ibiza and the Maldives. “I love color and to find something that’s quintessentially of that place,” he says of curating his Instagram. “I just immerse myself in everything and everyone around me, and also I’m grateful for it.”

The actor credits his parents, David and Yvonne, for sparking his passion to explore; he remembers boisterous family vacations traversing Wales in their “caravan” (aka a camper). “We’d get in the car, the music would go on, and we’d be singing ABBA or Queen songs.” On his travels today, he says, “I’m often finding things that I know my mum and dad will enjoy looking at.”

A version of this story first appeared in the Nov. 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.