Aidan Turner has said he is “glad” that a new historical drama about Leonardo da Vinci will reflect the artist’s sexuality.
The TV series Leonardo stars the Poldark actor as the Renaissance polymath, who is depicted in the Amazon Prime production as having male lovers.
Some historians have argued that da Vinci was gay.
Turner told Leonardo: The Official Podcast: “It’s such a huge part of who he was and his motivation for doing so much and for feeling … I mean, you’re right, you’re looking at his paintings slightly differently.
“You know that there’s something almost tortured in some of it.
“You can see something else and feel something else, something more visceral about it.
“Once you realise the sexuality is such a huge part of any person, you know, to even contemplate not discussing the sexuality of a person is just mind-boggling.
“So I’m glad that’s something that, even from the early drafts of the scripts .. that that was present in our story.”
Turner said he knew “significantly less than you would imagine” about the artist before taking on the role.
“I had a loose grasp, I suppose,” he added.
The eight-part series, which is available on Amazon from Friday, explores what made the Renaissance painter, architect and inventor famous.
It also features Giancarlo Giannini as Leonardo’s master, Andrea del Verrocchio, and The Undoing star Matilda De Angelis as his muse, Caterina of Cremona.
Each episode focuses on a different Da Vinci painting, and reveals the story behind it, with the series also exploring Da Vinci’s unorthodox upbringing with his grandparents, as well as his relationships with men.
– Leonardo: The Official Podcast is available on all major podcast providers.
