Haddock lands role in 'Da Vinci's Demons'

LOS ANGELES, March 27 (UPI) -- British actress Laura Haddock has landed a lead role in the upcoming drama series "Da Vinci's Demons," the project's producers announced Tuesday.

Haddock will play Lucrezia Donati, the mistress of Lorenzo Medici and lover of Leonardo da Vinci

in the series, said Starz Entertainment and BBC Worldwide Productions.

Tom Riley is to play da Vinci, the famous Renaissance artist and inventor.

Written by David S. Goyer, "Da Vinci's Demons" is billed by its producers as "a historical fantasy, following the 'untold' story of the world's greatest genius during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence."

Goyer, co-writer of "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," and writer of the upcoming "Man of Steel," is the "Da Vinci's Demons" show-runner.

Production on the 8-episode series is to begin this summer and it is expected to premiere in the United States on Starz in 2013. BBC Worldwide will distribute the series in most international territories.

Haddock has appeared in "The Inbetweeners Movie," "Honest," "Upstairs Downstairs," "Strikeback," "How Not to Live Your Life," "Monday Monday," "The Palace," "My Family," "The Color of Magic" and "Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye."