Aidan Turner was born in Dublin, Ireland on this day, June 19, in 1983.
Turner is one of Ireland's brightest acting talents - but who is the Dublin actor? And how did he make a name for himself?
Turner grew up in Clondalkin, a working-class area in Dublin's suburbs, and was a latecomer to the acting world. He was working as an apprentice electrician in Dublin when he saw a notice in the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and decided to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.
After starring in several theater productions, Turner made his television debut in an uncredited appearance on the BBC hit show "The Tudors," and his career has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
After several small roles in both TV and film, Turner made his big break at the beginning of the last decade.
First, he landed a starring role in the BBC show "Being Human," a highly-rated British supernatural comedy-drama series.
In 2012, Turner featured as Kíli in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," the first in the three-part prequel to the hugely popular "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He reprised the role in 2013's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and 2014's "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies."
It was in "Poldark," however, where Turner made a name for himself as a heart-throb and excellent actor in the lead role of the BBC period drama.
Set in the late 1700s, the series follows Captain Ross Poldark who returns to Cornwall, England after serving in the British Army in the American War of Independence.
Based on Winston Graham's novels, the period drama proved to be extremely popular and successful and further boosted Turner's growing profile.
In 2019, Turner starred in the indie flick "Love is Blind" alongside Shannon Tarbet, Benjamin Walker, Matthew Broderick, and Chloë Sevigny.
In 2021, Turner landed the role of Leonardo da Vinci in the eponymous "Leonardo" mini-series set to hit screens in the near future. The mini-series follows a young da Vinci as he learns his craft.
Since then, he's also starred in the TV series "The Suspect" and is set to appear in the upcoming television projects "Fifteen-Love" and "Rivals."
Elsewhere, Turner scooped the honor of "World's Sexiest Man" in a 2016 poll conducted by Britain's Glamour Magazine.
*Originally published in July 2020. Last updated in June 2023.
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