Aidan Turner

Aidan Turner
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) is an Irish actor. He began his career in the RTÉ medical drama The Clinic (2008–2009), and the BBC series Desperate Romantics (2009) and later gained attention for starring in Being Human (2009–2011). He starred as the titular 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).

Early life

Turner was born at home in Clondalkin, a suburban town of Dublin. The family moved later to Walkinstown. 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."

Before becoming an actor, Turner was a successful ballroom dancer, once obtaining third place in the adult section of the Irish National Championships. 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. He graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting in 2004.

Career

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

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. 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. Between 2008 and 2009, he appeared in a recurring role on The Clinic. Appearing in 18 episodes as Ruairí McGowan, he followed The Clinic with a BBC production, Desperate Romantics. He portrayed Dante Gabriel Rossetti in all six episodes of the show, which aired in 2009. 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.

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).

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). 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. In 2013, he also played shadowhunter-turned-werewolf Luke Garroway in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.

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

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

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. The couple married in August 2020, and FitzGerald gave birth to their child in January 2022.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Sound of People Father Short film
2007 Matterhorn Theodoro Short film
2007 Porcelain Kevin Unreleased
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
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

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
2023 Fifteen-Love Glenn Lapthorne Lead role
TBA Rivals Declan O'Hara Lead role

Theatre

Year Title 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
2023 Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Oliver Harold Pinter Theatre London, England

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2011 SFX Awards Best Sci-Fi Actor Being Human Nominated
Sexiest Male Nominated
2012 Online Film & Television Association Best Original Song Shared with cast The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Nominated
SFX Awards Best Sci-Fi Actor Being Human Nominated
Sexiest Male Nominated
2013 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Nominated
2014 Empire Awards Best Male Newcomer Won
2015 Radio Times Champion Drama Champion Poldark Won
TV Choice Awards Best Actor Nominated
2016 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Breakthrough Award PoldarkAnd Then There Were None Won
GQ Men of the Year Best TV Actor Poldark Won
Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in Lead Role Nominated
Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor in a TV Series-Drama Nominated
National Television Awards Impact Award Won
Drama Performance Nominated
Radio Times Champion Drama Champion Won
2017 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in Lead Role Nominated
2018 Stage Debut Awards Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award The Lieutenant of Inishmore Won

This page was last updated at 2023-12-16 07:08 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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