AceShowbiz - "True Blood" star Ryan Kwanten chose not to follow his father into surfing after one scary encounter with a shark put him off riding the waves. The Aussie actor, whose father was a champion paddle boarder, still surfs but his passion for the sport took a hit at the age of 12, when he found himself staring into the mouth of a shark off the coast of Sydney.

He explains, "I fell off the top of a wave and put my hand down, expecting to get the sand bank and it went straight into the mouth of a shark... (but) it was a wobbegong shark; it's got more gums then teeth... I didn't get bitten, I got gummed (but) there are scars to prove it."

Beside dodging the sport, the actor is also avoiding women this time being. "My life is very much consumed with work," he told Daily Telegraph. "It would be very selfish of me to try and bring someone into that world when I can't give them the time they deserve."