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Aidan Turner has a very high-profile role coming up: he's playing Leonardo da Vinci in Leonardo, a biographical miniseries premiering Tuesday (August 16) on The CW. To whet your appetite, we're taking a look back at seven previous roles that have made the Irish actor so in demand. 
1. Desperate Romantics (2009)
Sadly short-lived, this BBC historical series dramatized the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an influential group of painters, poets, and art critics founded in London in 1848. Starring opposite Rafe Spall and Samuel Barnett, Turner was well cast as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a poet/painter who definitely isn't lacking in swagger and self-confidence. 

2. Being Human (2009-2011)
Turner's breakthrough role came in BBC America's cult comedy-drama series about a vampire, ghost, and werewolf sharing an apartment in Bristol. He starred in the first three seasons as John Mitchell, the vampire, who has plenty of charm but struggles to keep his bloodthirsty urges under control. John's friendship with werewolf George (Russell Tovey) is especially touching. 

3. Hattie (2011)
Turner brings his suave charm to this BBC biopic of British comedy actress Hattie Jacques (played by Ruth Jones). He portrays John Schofield, Jacques' driver and lodger, who soon becomes her lover. The only problem is the fact both of them are still living in the same house as Jacques' husband, actor John Le Mesurier (Robert Bathurst), who has no choice but to accept their affair. It's an interesting portrait of an unconventional living arrangement. 

4. The Hobbit (2012-2014)
Turner appears in all three of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movies as Kíli, a dwarf who's a traveling companion of Martin Freeman's Bilbo Baggins. Turner was digitally shrunk for the role, which gave him the trilogy's only real love story, a flirtation between Kíli and Evangeline Lilly's elf character, Tauriel.

5. Poldark (2015-2019)
Turner is probably most closely associated with his lead role in this BBC/PBS historical drama series. He stars in all five seasons as Ross Poldark, a proud Cornishman who returns to his home village after three years spent fighting in the American War of Independence. His Poldark is very much a flawed hero, but one we root for as he tries to rebuild his life and get over the fact that childhood sweetheart Elizabeth (Heida Reed) is now engaged to someone else.

6. And Then There Were None (2015)
Turner starred opposite Anna Maxwell Martin, Sam Neill, and Charles Dance in this three-part Agatha Christie adaptation commissioned by the BBC. The plot follows a motley crew of strangers who are mysteriously invited to a remote Devon island where a series of shocking murders take place. Turner's character, Philip Lombard, is a former military man who has no problems owning up to his dark past. Could he be a killer, though?

7. Love Is Blind (2019)
This American indie film has a unique premise: Shannon Tarbet stars as a young woman with selective ocular perception, a rare condition that means she cannot see certain people including her own mother. Using an impressive American accent, Turner co-stars as a man with mental health issues whom she bonds with, despite not being able to see him either. It's definitely an interesting watch.

Do you have a favorite Aidan Turner role to date?