STARZ Da Vinci’s Demons Selects Leo

Starz has been searching high and low for the right actor to play the lead in it’s upcoming fictional series based on the life of Leonardo Da Vinci, called Da Vinci’s Demons. The series reimagines Da Vinci as a young superhero-type character in Florence during the Renaissance. Finding an actor capable of playing such a strange role (don’t pretend it’s not a little odd) isn’t an easy task, but a decision has been made and at first glance it’s not a bad choice.

The lucky is man, according to EW.com, is Tom Riley. If you’re like me, you aren’t familiar with the name. If you dig a little bit you’ll discover Riley is prominently a stage actor, though he has a decent amount of experience in television. His most well known TV roll is Dr. Laurence Shepherd in the ITV series, Monroe. For some reasons I feel like his stage experience will help him play the role of a Renaissance man. Is that weird of me?

The series comes from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight scribe David S. Goyer. Production is set to begin early this year with the series set to air in 2013. The series won’t be incredibly long, with only eight episodes. The concept is a very interesting one and fits well with Starz’s other original programs in that it’s not set in modern times. While 2013 is still a ways away (we just started 2012!), I’m already excited to see what Da Vinci’s Demons has to offer.