Liam Hemsworth on Secret to Chemistry with Laura Dern in “Lonely Planet”: 'She's as Much of an Idiot as I Am' (Exclusive)

"We got along and we never had to do any sort of work to find that relationship," Hemsworth tells PEOPLE of him and his costar in the new Netflix romance

Liam Hemsworth and Laura Dern didn't have to reach far to make a connection that was believable for their new movie Lonely Planet.

In a joint interview with PEOPLE ahead of the release of their Netflix romance, Hemsworth, 34, says that he and Dern, 57, "didn't know each other beforehand." But once they met, "It was weird — it felt like we'd known each other for a long time, and there was this instant trust there, and connection."

"And as we worked together, that just grew and evolved, and we had such a great time doing this project together," he adds. "And it was a really unexpected, wonderful surprise to work with someone that I was already such a big fan of and is obviously an amazing, brilliant actress."

Lonely Planet, written and directed by Susannah Grant, follows "reclusive novelist" Katherine (Dern), who "arrives at a prestigious writer's retreat in Morocco, hoping the remote setting will unlock her writer's block," per Netflix.

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"While there, she meets a young man" named Owen (Hemsworth), and "what starts as an acquaintanceship evolves into an intoxicating, life-altering love affair."

Hemsworth tells PEOPLE of his connection with Dern on set, "When you meet someone you are a fan of and respect so much ... you don't want to come across as an idiot or seem silly. But when we met, all of a sudden it was like, 'Oh, I'm speaking to someone that understands me and hears me.' "

"Who's also an idiot and silly," jokes Dern.

"And she's as much of an idiot as I am," Hemsworth quips. "We got along and we never had to do any sort of work to find that relationship. We had this connection and it was sort of ... what do you call it? Life imitating art or the other, art imitating life?"

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Aside from Dern and Hemsworth, Lonely Planet also stars Diana Silvers, Younès Boucif, Adriano Giannini and Rachida Brakni.

Much of the movie was shot on location in Morocco. Of filming amid a stunning landscape, Hemsworth says that "it felt like we were just walking around experiencing Morocco, hanging out as Laura and Liam, and someone was filming it somewhere."

"There was times when we were shooting in the Marrakesh markets where we couldn't even see the camera," he says. "We're literally just walking around and chatting to each other, and we were completely immersed in it."

Lonely Planet is streaming Friday, Oct. 11, on Netflix.

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