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23-year-old Jonathan Bailey has been acting since childhood, appearing in Doctors, Lewis and The Bill on television and Five Children And It and St Trinians on the big screen. He recently appeared as Danny in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three comedy Off The Hook.

What would we have seen you in before?

I actually started acting when I was a nipper so over the past 10 years I have been lucky enough to take part in a few things on stage, TV and film. Highlights include playing Cyril in the film adaptation of Five Children And It, doing three plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company and, most recently, playing Danny in ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three's comedy Off The Hook.

Are there any similarities between you and Leonardo?

It's hard to draw comparisons with a genius, but I can definitely relate to him in terms of identifying what I wanted to do creatively at a young age, ie acting, and then navigating that hobby through school and, "touch wood", into a career.

Also you can trace, mainly in his notebooks, his fascination with wildlife and animals which is definitely a shared one – although where animals inspired Leonardo to draw, they inspire me to take a photo!

How were you at school – anything like super-smart Leonardo?

Hmm, I worked hard at the subjects I enjoyed and was good at, so I did well later on in school when I could be more specific about what I studied. But I have always naturally been hugely curious about things I didn't understand (like Leonardo), so I was the guy at the back of the classroom asking questions constantly whether they were related to the subject in hand or not.

Were you any good at art?

I'm not going to lie, I draw a mean flower! But anything else non-floral, I really, really struggle with. I am in awe of friends who have the talent to translate an image they can see in their head, or one they can see in front of them, on to a page with correct perspective.

When I found out I had got the part of Leonardo da Vinci I ordered a painting-by-numbers edition of the Mona Lisa but when it arrived it was tiny, three inches by three inches, with only three colours to fill about 10 different blocks! Needless to say I completed it in record time and the famous "enigmatic smile" had become a fluorescent pink blob amidst a background of black and brown triangles... Leonardo would be turning in his grave!

Do you have to do any painting in the show – how was that?

It was brilliant, mostly because it was a huge challenge to put something into practice that I had never really studied before but also because all the paintings that I had to paint in the show were replicas of real da Vincis – that's surely the best way to learn!

The day after we arrived in South Africa, production had organised a painting workshop for all of us. It was hugely beneficial to find out all things arty; from the painting techniques Leonardo would have practised, to how he would have held his paintbrush, to specifics such as the chemicals in the paint and how different solutions affect the colour and texture.

So, when it came to scenes in which Leo had to paint I felt confident with the brush in hand plus Flora was usually around to give a tip or two, sharing her crafty tricks of the trade she had acquired studying art at school.

How much did you know about Leonardo da Vinci before you got the role?

Not a lot really. My first module of my degree with the Open University was a foundation in The Arts and so had a few chunky chapters on Art History, touching lightly on the Renaissance movement and Leonardo.

But through some kind of mental osmosis I must've acquired a basic knowledge of his life through my parents and teachers. I went on a family holiday through Italy in my early teens and so had the opportunity to spend time in Florence, visiting the Uffizi and Academia galleries and strolling through the piazzas soaking up the incredible architecture.

But I always felt quite removed from Leonardo da Vinci, he always seemed quite inaccessible, a figure not a person, but through research it became quite clear just how timeless his story is...

Did you do much research into him?

I had a mate studying in Italy so I booked a flight to Florence and spent a few days there. I loved it. It was the first time on my own in a foreign city so I felt I could fully immerse myself in all the incredible things Florence has to offer.

But the true gem I found was the Leonardo Museum which was a bit further out than the main tourist attractions. They have a fantastic collection of da Vinci's inventions – most of which have been realised from his designs for the first time.

To see them built and functioning was truly inspiring and I remember having a true fear moment of realisation that I was going to play this iconic man and the pressure began to dawn that I would somehow have to do him justice!

Describe the costumes.

There are some really modern influences, like trainers, that you wouldn't expect from a period piece... It was important to establish "our world" as relatable, vibrant and accessible to a modern family audience and with that in mind one of the big decisions was to put a modern twist on the period costumes.

Where did you film the series? Tell us about the sets.

Believe it or not we filmed in a disused car factory in Johannesburg South Africa – a far cry from Florence!

But Italy was recreated amazingly – there was a huge hangar that housed all the interior sets, notably Verrocchio's workshop and the insides of the Medici palace. Outside the art department constructed a huge, to-scale piazza with alleys and passages spouting from it.

It was a dream to film in such a diverse and vibrant city [Johannesburg] but also to work within an epic set just added to the magic! It was gutting to see it all knocked down at the end – it was our playground for four months!

What was the biggest challenge you faced during filming?

The South African heat was a bit unfriendly to say the least. By block two I think we had marginally got used to it, but some days the heat would be extreme (close to 40 degrees) and bizarrely it would almost always be followed by a torrential downpour – so we were kept on our toes. It was therefore a challenge for both us actors and the crew, always trying to predict the weather and prepare for all weathers!

Did you have to do any stunts during filming?

Yes, quite a few. It brought out the Boy Wonder in me. I pretty much tried to incorporate as many as possible. I may have occasionally asked the Art department to place a wheelbarrow in the way so that I just HAD to jump over it!

Filming the opening sequence (a combination of me and a stunt double) was a young lad's dream – I had one take being followed by the camera at speed, jumping over people/walls/chickens, and relished it. It was in the same vein as freerunning or "parkour".

I wouldn't want to say I put my stunt guy to shame, but there have been rumours...

Any favourite/funny memories from filming?

There are too many ace memories. Teasing Flora about her wig, Colin's trousers splitting at the groin mid-scene, trying to ride the wooden bike with Colin on the back without crashing into the extras (mighty tricky), filming in the catacombs with open flames and awesome props... It has all merged into a bizarre but phenomenal dream!

Hm in fact, I do remember handling the birds and them pooing on me during every take without fail – but that was definitely more funny for the rest of the cast and crew!