“I didn’t feel objectified”: Aidan Turner on that photo

Actor Aidan Turner has spoken about a famed publicity shot for UK period drama Poldark, in which his ripped torso attracted plenty of attention.

According to Turner, it wasn’t meant to be a publicity shot at all, but snapped when a make-up artist was at work.

“I do remember the day. The first thing I think of when I see the photograph is that they airbrushed out the make-up artist who was covering a tattoo,” he said.

“I always think of Jacquie Fowler and how she didn’t make that photograph. She was right there, painting out a tattoo.”

On a question of being objectified he pondered, “Was it safer to make a big deal of this photograph because it was a young man?”

“Would it have been handled the same way in the press if it was a young woman? I don’t know. Possibly not. But I didn’t feel objectified.”

Poldark ran from 2015 – 2019 but there are no plans to revisit.

Turner said of his physique, “I figured in my preparation that, given Ross Poldark was a very active guy, and the sort of diet he’d be on, it just felt right to get myself into that.

“He’s a farmer, he’s working, he’s riding a horse all the time, he’s a soldier. So it made sense to be in shape, but it wasn’t something I focused on.”

Everybody else did….

Source: Radio Times