Aidan Turner (born 19 June 1983)[1][2] is an Irish actor. He played the roles of Ross Poldark in the 2015–2019 BBC adaptation of The Poldark Novels by Winston Graham, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in Desperate Romantics,[3] Ruairí McGowan in The Clinic,[4] and John Mitchell in the supernatural drama series Being Human.[5][6] He played Kíli in The Hobbit film series (2012-2014).[7][8]
Aidan Turner | |
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Born | (1983-06-19) 19 June 1983 (age 39) Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2005–present |
Turner was born at home in Clondalkin, a suburban town of Dublin, Ireland. 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]
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'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.[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 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]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2007 | The Sound of People | Father | Short film |
2007 | Matterhorn | Theodoro | Short film |
2007 | Porcelain | Kevin[30] | Unreleased[31] |
2008 | Alarm | Mal | |
2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Kíli | |
2013 | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones | Luke Garroway | |
2013 | 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 |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | The Tudors | Bedoli | Episode: "In Cold Blood" |
2008–09 | The Clinic | Ruairí McGowan | Main role, 18 episodes |
2009 | Desperate Romantics | Dante Gabriel Rossetti | Main role, 6 episodes |
2009–11 | Being Human | John Mitchell | Main role, 22 episodes |
2010 | Resonance | TT | Pilot |
2011 | Hattie | John Schofield | TV movie |
2015 | And Then There Were None | Philip Lombard | TV mini series |
2015–2019 | Poldark | Ross Poldark | Lead role |
2021 | Leonardo | Leonardo da Vinci | Lead role |
2022 | The Suspect | Dr. Joseph O’Loughlin | Lead role[32] |
Year | Title[14][33] | Role | Theatre | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | The Plough and the Stars | Corp. Stoddard | Barbican Theatre | London, United Kingdom |
2005 | Suddenly Last Summer | Focus Theatre | Dublin, Ireland | |
2005 | A Cry from Heaven | Ardan | Abbey Theatre | Dublin, Ireland |
2005 | Yokohama Delegation | Hercules | Kilkenny Arts Festival | Kilkenny, Ireland |
2005 | Titus Andronicus | Demetrius | Project Arts Theatre | Dublin, Ireland |
2006 | The Crock of Gold | Pan | Olympia Theatre On tour |
Dublin, Ireland On tour |
2006–2007 | Drive-by | Cork Mid-Summer Festival Dublin Fringe Festival 2006 Canterbury Arts Festival 2007 |
Cork, Ireland Dublin, Ireland Canterbury, United Kingdom | |
2007 | La Marea | Bedrock Theatre Co/DTF | Dublin, Ireland | |
2007 | Cyrano | Christian | 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 |
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (April 2018) |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | SFX Awards | Best Sci-Fi Actor | Being Human | Nominated | [34][35] |
2011 | SFX Awards | Sexiest Male | Being Human | Nominated | [36] |
2012 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Original Song Shared with cast | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated | |
2012 | SFX Awards | Best Sci-Fi Actor | Being Human | Nominated | [37] |
2012 | SFX Awards | Sexiest Male | Being Human | Nominated | [38] |
2013 | SFX Awards | Sexiest Male | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated | |
2014 | Empire Awards | Best Male Newcomer | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Won | |
2015 | Radio Times Champion | Drama Champion | Poldark | Won | |
2015 | TV Choice Awards | Best Actor | Poldark | Nominated | |
2016 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Breakthrough Award | Poldark – And Then There Were None | Won | |
2016 | GQ Men of the Year | Best TV Actor | Poldark | Won | |
2016 | Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Actor in Lead Role | Poldark | Nominated | |
2016 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actor in a TV Series-Drama | Poldark | Nominated | |
2016 | National Television Awards | Impact Award | Poldark | Won | |
2016 | National Television Awards | Drama Performance | Poldark | Nominated | |
2016 | Radio Times Champion | Drama Champion | Poldark | Won | |
2017 | Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Actor in Lead Role | Poldark | Nominated | |
2017 | Radio Times Champion | Drama Champion | Poldark | Won | |
2018 | Stage Debut Awards | Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Won |
Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer | |
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