Tuesday 11 March 2014

Aidan Turner is Poldark

Aidan Turner Photo: Barry McCall
Aidan Turner is Ross Poldark in the new BBC TV series.

Aidan is known to many as Kili the dwarf in The Hobbit film trilogy and as Mitchell the vampire in the cult BBC TV drama Being Human. As Mitchell, Aidan plays a complex character who becomes more dark and brooding as the series progresses and it's good to see Aidan being cast as a character with many facets to his personality again.

In an interview back in December with SBTN Aidan said he was doing, "something -erm - a TV series in March" and fans, who have missed seeing him on their TV screens these last three years, will be delighted that it turns out to be the lead in such an iconic drama.

Poldark is set in Cornwall in the late eighteenth century, where battle scarred Ross Poldark returns home from war to find his country facing hard times and the life he once knew, gone forever. Ross is a character full of contradictions and, according to Damien Timmer, Executive Producer for Mammoth Screen, there was only one person for the part. Damien says, "Ross Poldark is an iconic role - we needed an actor with the right combination of striking looks, youthful rebelliousness, emotional complexity and maturity of presence which hints at the man he becomes across the saga. In our minds there was only one candidate. Happily he said yes!"

Aidan says, "I'm very excited to play Ross Poldark for the BBC and it's obviously a huge challenge to honour the extraordinary character Winston Graham created and who Debbie Horsfield has brought new life to. But there's a terrific team coming together and the scripts are superb, so I can't wait to get started."

Poldark is produced by Mammoth Screen. Filming begins in mid-April and will be based in Cornwall and Bristol. Poldark is expected to air on BBC TV next year in eight one-hour episodes.


Footnote 1 March 2017:

Some nice Poldark trivia here: Producers Mammoth Screen have just told us that the publicity pics of #AidanTurner, used to announce his role as Ross, were taken on Hampstead Heath near Kenwood House.
https://twitter.com/mammothscreen/status/836906188746940419




12 comments:

  1. Oooh. What a lovely blog xx

    This has the potential to be a Very Good Thing.

    All best wishes to the cast and the creative team - who, by the way, seem like a really great bunch!

    Eve x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. Running a blog is something new for me so it's lovely to get such a welcoming comment. x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you are doing this blog! I hope we will be able to see the show in the US. I may have to buy a region-free DVD player! :)
    --SmallTeethingBeastie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I'm pretty sure it will be available in the US because it will almost certainly be a high profile drama in the UK. Fingers crossed all the same!

      Delete
    2. I recommend creating a Tumblr account and following Aidan Turner blogs. Someone will post a link where you can watch it. :)

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the advice. Will do!

      Delete
  4. Gr8 idea to set this up Evie...look fd to hearing all up to date news and info on the filming especially

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a terrific idea and red is Aidan's color. :) Since you are starting when things are moving pretty slowly you should have a handle on it by the time it hits the big time. I love it that Aidan is finally getting recognition for more than his looks. I'm hoping that Poldark is a hit and our Aidan has his pick of roles.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad I found your blog- I'm a big fan of the original series- read all the books, have the DVDs. I'm also a Richard Armitage and Hobbit fan, so whilst I am one of those who originally hoped to see a different actor play Ross, I was amazed when I read the news that day that the part had gone to another actor I knew well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well it's good to have you here. As you may know, I have strong links to The Hobbit (and Richard) so know where you're coming from! Like you, I love the Poldark books and have high hopes for the new series.

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.