Aidan Turner

Last updated

Aidan Turner
Aidan Turner 2013.jpg
Turner in 2013
Born (1983-06-19) 19 June 1983 (age 40)
Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
OccupationActor
Years active2005–present
Spouse
(m. 2020)
Children1

Aidan Turner (born 19 June 1983) [1] [2] is an Irish actor. He began his career in the RTÉ medical drama The Clinic (2008–2009), [3] and the BBC series Desperate Romantics (2009) [4] and later gained attention for starring in Being Human (2009–2011). [5] [6] He starred as the eponymous character in the BBC adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark (2015–2019). He also starred as Kíli in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014). [7] [8]

Contents

Early life

Turner was born at home in Clondalkin, a suburban town of Dublin. The family moved later to Walkinstown. [9] Turner attended secondary school at St Mac Dara's Community College in Templeogue before leaving to join his older brother at Firhouse Community College. Turner has stated: "I probably wasn't a great student. I had a car when I was 17, so I used to just run out of school when I could, jump in the car and go play pool in Tallaght. I don't know how I knew, but I convinced myself that my [final exam] results were never going to matter to me." [10]

Before becoming an actor, Turner was a successful ballroom dancer, once obtaining third place in the adult section of the Irish National Championships. [9] After finishing secondary school, he briefly worked as an apprentice electrician, alongside his father. After he saw a notice up in Dublin's Gaiety School of Acting, and having become interested in acting while working in a cinema, he applied. [11] [12] [13] He graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting in 2004. [11]

Career

After graduating, Turner appeared in several theatre plays, including The Plough and the Stars , Romeo and Juliet , and A Cry from Heaven . [11] [14] [15]

Turner (second from left) with his Being Human castmates Lenora Crichlow and Russell Tovey, and creator Toby Whithouse (right) in 2009 Crichlow, Turner, Tovey, Whithouse.jpg
Turner (second from left) with his Being Human castmates Lenora Crichlow and Russell Tovey, and creator Toby Whithouse (right) in 2009

Turner's television acting career began in 2007 with an uncredited appearance on the first episode of The Tudors . [16] In the same year he produced and starred in the film Porcelain, directed by Gavin Cleland, which was shot in a convent in Dublin. However only a trailer of the movie was ever released. [17] Between 2008 and 2009, he appeared in a recurring role on The Clinic . [18] Appearing in 18 episodes as Ruairí McGowan, he followed The Clinic with a BBC production, Desperate Romantics . [16] He portrayed Dante Gabriel Rossetti in all six episodes of the show, which aired in 2009. [16] [19] [20] Turner played the vampire John Mitchell on the supernatural drama programme Being Human during the first three series from 2009 to 2011, for which he received widespread praise. [21] [22] [23]

His film career began with two short films, The Sound of People and Matterhorn, both in 2007. He later played Mal in the thriller feature film Alarm (2008). [24] [25]

His role on Being Human brought Turner to the attention of Sir Peter Jackson, who cast him as the dwarf Kíli in The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014). [11] In 2014, he won the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer for the second film in the series, The Desolation of Smaug , which had been released the previous year. [13] In 2013, he also played shadowhunter-turned-werewolf Luke Garroway in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones . [16]

In the 2015 BBC TV miniseries And Then There Were None , based on the Agatha Christie novel, he plays the cynical mercenary Philip Lombard. [26]

Turner performed the title role of Ross Poldark in the 2015 revival of the BBC series. [11] [27] [28] At the National Television Awards ceremony in 2016, Turner was presented with the "Impact Award" for his performance in Poldark. [29]

Since Poldark ended in 2019, Turner has led the Italian series Leonardo and also had a role in the ITV police procedural The Suspect as Dr Joseph O'Loughlin.

Personal life

In 2017, Turner met actress Caitlin FitzGerald. He also bought an 18th-century house in East London that year. [30] [31] The couple married in August 2020; [32] they have a child together, born in January 2022. [33]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007The Sound of PeopleFatherShort film
MatterhornTheodoro
PorcelainKevin [34] Unreleased [35]
2008 Alarm Mal
2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Kíli
2013 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Luke Garroway
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Kíli
2014 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Kíli
2016 The Secret Scripture Jack Conroy [11]
2017 Loving Vincent Boatman
2018 The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot Young Calvin Barr
2019 Love Is Blind Russell
TBA The Way of the Wind André

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 The Tudors BedoliEpisode: "In Cold Blood"
2008–09 The Clinic Ruairí McGowanMain role, 18 episodes
2009 Desperate Romantics Dante Gabriel Rossetti Main role, 6 episodes
2009–11 Being Human John Mitchell Main role, 22 episodes
2010ResonanceTTPilot
2011 Hattie John SchofieldTV movie
2015 And Then There Were None Philip LombardTV mini series
2015–2019 Poldark Ross PoldarkLead role
2021 Leonardo Leonardo da Vinci
2022 The Suspect Dr. Joseph O'LoughlinLead role [36]
2023 Fifteen-Love Glenn LapthorneLead role [37]
TBA Rivals Declan O'HaraLead role [38]

Theatre

YearTitle [14] [39] RoleTheatreLocation
2005 The Plough and the Stars Corp. Stoddard Barbican Theatre London, United Kingdom
Suddenly Last Summer Focus Theatre Dublin, Ireland
A Cry from Heaven Ardan Abbey Theatre Dublin, Ireland
Yokohama DelegationHercules Kilkenny Arts Festival Kilkenny, Ireland
Titus Andronicus DemetriusProject Arts TheatreDublin, Ireland
2006The Crock of GoldPan Olympia Theatre
On tour
Dublin, Ireland
On tour
2006–2007Drive-byCork Mid-Summer Festival
Dublin Fringe Festival 2006
Canterbury Arts Festival 2007
Cork, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Canterbury, United Kingdom
2007La MareaBedrock Theatre Co/DTFDublin, Ireland
CyranoChristian Project Arts Centre Dublin, Ireland
2008 Romeo and Juliet Paris Abbey Theatre Dublin, Ireland
2018 The Lieutenant of Inishmore Padraic Noël Coward Theatre London, England
2023Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons LemonsOliver Harold Pinter Theatre London, England

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2011SFX AwardsBest Sci-Fi Actor Being Human Nominated [40] [41]
Sexiest MaleNominated [42]
2012Online Film & Television AssociationBest Original Song Shared with cast The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Nominated
SFX AwardsBest Sci-Fi ActorBeing HumanNominated [43]
Sexiest MaleNominated [44]
2013 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Nominated
2014 Empire Awards Best Male NewcomerWon [45]
2015 Radio Times ChampionDrama Champion Poldark Won [46]
TV Choice Awards Best ActorNominated
2016 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Breakthrough AwardPoldark And Then There Were None Won [47]
GQ Men of the YearBest TV ActorPoldarkWon [48]
Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in Lead RoleNominated [49]
Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor in a TV Series-DramaNominated [50]
National Television Awards Impact AwardWon [51]
Drama PerformanceNominated [52]
Radio Times ChampionDrama ChampionWon [53]
2017Irish Film and Television AwardsBest Actor in Lead RoleNominated [54]
2018Stage Debut AwardsJoe Allen Best West End Debut Award The Lieutenant of Inishmore Won [55]

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