# Aidan Turner

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). He later gained attention for co-starring as one of the main leads in the popular BBC Three series Being Human (2009–2011), and for playing the dwarf Kíli in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), before starring as the eponymous character in the BBC adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark (2015–2019).

## Early life and education

Aidan Turner was born at home in Clondalkin, a suburban town of Dublin, on 19 June 1983. 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, where, he said, he "probably wasn't a great student".
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'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.
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).
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 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.
In 2013, Turner also portrayed shadowhunter-turned-werewolf Luke Garroway in the film adpation of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments fantasy series. He acted opposite of Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lena Headey, Robert Sheehan, and Jonathan Rhys.
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.
In 2021, Turner led the Italian series Leonardo, portraying the titular artist. He also had a role in the ITV police procedural The Suspect as Dr Joseph O'Loughlin.
Turner took on the role of Glenn Lapthorne, a professional tennis coach accused of sexually abusing his former underage protege (portrayed by Ella Lily Hyland), in the 2023 British drama Fifteen-Love.
In 2024, Turner had the leading role of Declan O'Hara in Disney+'s Rivals, an adaption of Jilly Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles. He starred alongside David Tennant, Victoria Smurfit, Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean, Nafessa Williams, Katherine Parkinson, and Danny Dyer.

## 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; they have a child together, born in January 2022.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |

### 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 Last Planet † | Saint Andrew | Post-production |
| TBA | Grendel † | Unferth | Pre-production |

### 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 |
| 2024 | 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 |
| 2011 | SFX Awards | Best Sci-Fi or Fantasy Actor | Being Human | Nominated |
| 2011 | SFX Awards | Sexiest Male | Being Human | Nominated |
| 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 |
| 2012 | SFX Awards | Sexiest Male | Being Human | Nominated |
| 2013 | SFX Awards | Sexiest Male | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated |
| 2014 | Empire Awards | Best Male Newcomer | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Won |
| 2014 | CinEuphoria Awards | Best Ensemble | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated |
| 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 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actor | Poldark / And Then There Were None | Nominated |
| 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 | TV Times Awards | Favourite Actor | Poldark | Nominated |
| 2017 | TV Choice Awards | Best Actor | Poldark | Nominated |
| 2018 | TV Choice Awards | Best Actor | Poldark | Nominated |
| 2018 | Stage Debut Awards | Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Won |
| 2019 | TV Choice Awards | Best Actor | Poldark | Nominated |
| 2023 | Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Actor inn a Lead Role - Drama | The Suspect | Nominated |
| 2023 | Sichuan TV Festival | Best Actor in a Leading Role for a Television Series | Leonardo | Nominated |