Aidan Turner hopes his beard shifts focus beyond his looks
Aidan Turner says he is weary of being repeatedly described as “sexy” or as someone who “smoulders”, despite roles that have helped make him a pin-up. Now 43 and a father, he has grown a beard partly in the hope of being seen as more ordinary, while recognising that attention to his looks has also helped his career.
His fame grew sharply through the BBC’s 2015 adaptation of *Poldark*, where his role as Ross Poldark became closely associated with a scythe-swinging image. He later took the moustached role of faithful journalist Declan O’Hara in the bawdy television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s *Rivals*. Turner says the moustache was his idea, after rejecting a stick-on beard that could fall off or leave him eating hairs on set.
In short
- Turner is tired of being labelled a pin-up.
- His beard was an attempt to look more like a dad.
- He chose Declan O’Hara’s moustache for *Rivals*.
Explained simply
Aidan Turner is an Irish actor whose television roles have made him widely recognised. He became especially well known as Ross Poldark in the BBC’s 2015 adaptation of the historical novels, a part that helped establish his image as a leading man.
Turner later played journalist Declan O’Hara in the television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel Rivals. He has said that the attention to his appearance can overshadow discussion of his acting, although he recognises that his looks have also helped his career.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “‘The sexy stuff has got to be coming to an end, right?’: Rivals star Aidan Turner on beards, ballroom dancing and putting Poldark to bed”.