After graduating from drama school, Turner appeared in several theatre productions, including
The Plough and the Stars,
Romeo and Juliet, and
A Cry from Heaven. '' castmates
Lenora Crichlow and
Russell Tovey, and creator
Toby Whithouse (right) in 2009 Turner's television acting career began in 2007 with an uncredited appearance on the first episode of
The Tudors. In the same year he produced and starred in the film
Porcelain, directed by Gavin Cleland, which was shot in a convent in Dublin. However, only a trailer of the movie was released. Between 2008 and 2009, Turner had a
recurring role as Ruairí McGowan in eighteen episodes of
The Clinic. He followed
The Clinic with the BBC production
Desperate Romantics. He portrayed
Dante Gabriel Rossetti in all six episodes of the show, which aired in 2009. Turner's film career began with two
short films,
The Sound of People and
Matterhorn, both in 2007. He later played Mal in the
thriller feature film
Alarm (2008). Turner played the vampire
John Mitchell for the first three series of the supernatural drama programme
Being Human (2009 to 2011), for which he received widespread praise. His role on
Being Human brought Turner to the attention of
Sir Peter Jackson, who cast him as the dwarf
Kíli in
The Hobbit Trilogy (2012–2014). In 2014, he won the
Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer for the second film in the series,
The Desolation of Smaug. In the 2015 BBC TV miniseries
And Then There Were None, based on the
Agatha Christie novel, Turner played the cynical
mercenary Philip Lombard. Joining him in the ensemble cast were
Maeve Dermody,
Miranda Richardson,
Toby Stephens,
Charles Dance,
Anna Maxwell Martin,
Noah Taylor,
Douglas Booth,
Burn Gorman, and
Sam Neill. The miniseries was critically-acclaimed, with
Maureen Ryan (
Variety) and Mike Hale (
New York Times) among those applauding Turner's "standout" work. Turner performed the title role of
Ross Poldark in the
2015 revival of the
BBC series
Poldark. At the
National Television Awards in 2016, Turner received the NTA's inaugural Impact Award for his performance. In 2021, Turner led the Italian series
Leonardo, portraying the
titular artist. The following year saw him in the ITV police procedural
The Suspect, in which he played Dr Joseph O'Loughlin, a psychologist adjusting to his recent diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson's disease. Turner next played Glenn Lapthorne, a professional tennis coach accused of
sexually abusing his former underage protégé (portrayed by
Ella Lily Hyland), in the 2023 British television drama
Fifteen-Love. In 2024, Turner played TV journalist Declan O'Hara in the
Disney+ series
Rivals, an adaptation of
Jilly Cooper's
Rutshire Chronicles. He starred alongside
David Tennant,
Victoria Smurfit,
Alex Hassell,
Bella Maclean,
Nafessa Williams,
Katherine Parkinson, and
Danny Dyer. In December 2025, Disney+ confirmed the return of
Rivals with a second series to premiere in May 2026. == Personal life ==