Starz Entertainment and BBC Worldwide Productions announced today that British actor Tom Riley will play a young Leonardo da Vinci in the upcoming Starz original series, Da Vinci?s Demons. Riley?s casting is the first announced for the series.
Da Vinci’s Demons, written by David S. Goyer, is a historical fantasy, following the ?untold? story of the world’s greatest genius during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence.? Brilliant and passionate, the twenty five-year old da Vinci is an artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist.? As a free thinker, with intellect and talents that are almost superhuman, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time.? He begins to not only see the future, but invent it.
Tom Riley has received wide critical acclaim in the UK for his performances in theatre, film and on television. A regular at London’s Royal Court Theatre, Riley has starred in multiple productions since 2005 including ?The Vertical Hour? and ?The Woman Before.? On Broadway, he was nominated by the Drama Desk Awards for his performance as Septimus Hodge in ?Arcadia,? a 2011 Tony Award nominee for Best Revival of a Play. Most recently, Riley starred in the Stephen Poliakoff play, ?My City,? at London’s Almeida Theatre.? On television, he is best known for his role as Laurence Shepherd on ITV?s drama series ?Monroe,? as well as roles on??Bouquet of Barbed Wire? and ?Lost in Austen.? His lead?film roles include, “A Few Days In September,” “I Want Candy” and “Happy Ever Afters.”
