The 'Poldark' star plays the Italian master in the upcoming TV show from 'The Man in the High Castle' creator Frank Spotnitz.
Aidan Turner examines an Italian masterpiece in this first look from upcoming TV drama Leonardo.
The Poldark star plays Leonardo da Vinci in the series, produced by Lux Vide with RAI Fiction and Big Light Productions in association with France Télévisions and RTVE, and co-produced and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television.
The series was created by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle, Medici) and Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Doctor Who), and is directed by Daniel Percival (The Man in the High Castle, Death Comes to Pemberley) and Alexis Sweet (Don Matteo, Back to the Island).
Leonardo, due for release in 2021, is set to unlock the mystery of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic people in history — a man whose genius and work is globally known and yet whose true character remains a tantalizing secret.
Turner stars alongside Giancarlo Giannini (Family Novel, Catch-22), who plays Leonardo's master, Andrea del Verrocchio, while Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) plays Caterina da Cremona, da Vinci's dearest friend and mysterious muse. Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor, Bates Motel) plays Stefano Giraldi, a young detective of the Podestà in charge of solving the central mystery.
Highmore also acts as an executive producer on Leonardo via his Sony Pictures Television-aligned production company, Alfresco Pictures.
Born the illegitimate son of a notary in the rural town of Vinci in Tuscany, da Vinci's lonely childhood leaves him with a relentless, near-superhuman drive to understand everything. All of his work, whether it was art, science, painting, engineering, anatomy or poetry, displayed a deep humanity that was determined to unfold the mystery of the world around us.
Da Vinci was driven by a profound need to search and discover, and this series aims to explore an alternative to the usual stereotypes about his personality, instead delving into the mystery of his extraordinary character.
