Poldark Star Aidan Turner: 10 Things You Might Not Know

Sunday nights have been taken over by the dark and brooding Aidan Turner, who plays the lead role in new BBC drama ‘Poldark’.

Every time the show is on Twitter breaks out into a frenzy over the 31-year-old leading man, but how much do you know about his life before Poldark?

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Here’s 10 things you might not know about Aidan Turner…

His TV Debut Was In Another Sexy Period Drama

Turner’s first TV role was playing Bedoli in ‘The Tudors’ - but he only had 52-seconds of screentime! He’s in the very first episode if you fancy trying to find him.

His First Acting Gig Was Flogging Eggs

When he was just 18, Turner was in an advert for Bord Bia - AKA The Irish Food Board - who promote sales of produce in the country. In the advert, a barely recognisable Turner played a young man who finds love amongst the aisles.

He Knew How To Makes Sparks Fly Before Poldark

Before becoming an actor, Turner worked alongside his father as an apprentice electrician. In an interview with The Independent he said, “There were a lot of things I didn’t want to do,” he says. “I wasn’t very academic so I didn’t want to go to college and study anything. I worked as an apprentice with my dad [an electrician] and knew manual labour wasn’t where it was at either.”

You Can Buy An Aidan Turner Handbook

Turner has his own fan-run wiki page, which has followed him throughout his career. On the site you can buy items his film and TV characters have worn (including Kili’s necklace ‘The Hobbit’ franchise), a LEGO figurine of the star, magazine covers he has been on and even an Aidan Turner handbook, which provides everything people need to know about him.

He’s An Award Winning Actor

In 2014 Turner won the Best Male Newcomer prize at the Empire Awards for his role in ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’, beating the likes of Will Poulter and Oscar Isaac. In his winning speech, Turner said: “I had no idea there was that kind of support out there. It’s very exciting and deeply humbling.”

No Pasties For Poldark

During filming of the show in Cornwall Turner was banned from eating Cornish Pasties by producers in case they ruined his six-pack. He said: “I wasn’t allowed any Cornish pasties, ‘cos I’d get fat - and I have to take my top off so much!”

Sorry ladies, he’s in a relationship

Turner’s love life is a lot more settled than Poldark's – he’s been dating Irish actress and singer Sarah Greene for several years. The couple have kept a low profile outside of their work, but there were rumours that Turner proposed before Christmas. Greene starred in ‘The Guard’, ‘Vikings’ and most recently ‘Penny Dreadful’.

He LOVES Sport

Apparently Turner is a fan of (deep breathe) badminton, football, pool, shooting, snooker, squash, stage combat, swimming and tennis. He’s also a trained dancer after having lessons in Latin American dancing and Ballroom. Is there anything he’s not good at?

He Didn’t Read The Hobbit Before His Audition

Turner’s star-making role in ‘The Hobbit’ nearly didn’t happen after he admitted to director Peter Jackson that he never bothered to read the book. He said about his audition: “I’ve f****** nailed it. It’s there. It’s in the bag.” Then [Jackson] said: “So have you read the book?” And I went, “ah s***, I haven’t read it.” Thankfully for fans of sexy dwarves he was given the role anyway.

He Was Propositioned By Fans During A Recent Twitter Q&A

After the most recent episode of ‘Poldark’, the stars and creators did a Twitter Q&A for fans. Cue a deluge of strange questions, including: ‘How do I refrain from licking my flatscreen TV?’, ‘Can you scythe my lawn topless?’ and simply “Will you actually marry me?”.

‘Poldark’ continues on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday nights.

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Image credit: BBC One/Rex Features/Warner Bros./Showtime/YouTube/Bord Bia