Da Vinci's Demons Twitter Q&A June 7th 2013

@ManuFanDeKaty What do you think is the worst feature of Da Vinci?
@thisisTomRiley His disregard for other people.

@corellianjedi2 Will you ever have time to come back to Broadway? Would you want to?
@thisisTomRiley In a mayfly’s heartbeat.

@xRebeccaFOXx In playing your character, are you improvising at any part? :) as it all seems rather natural!It seems you clicked instantly
@thisisTomRiley No. It’s all scripted, but David and I made a decision to make him seem as modern and throwaway as possible.

@natasha_hc favourite place you visited on the Demons press tour?
@thisisTomRiley The house where DV’s mother supposedly lives, which is now a restaurant. I ate so much pasta I’m now part wheat

@natasha_hc did you know any of your cast members before the project? you all have great chemistry together.
@thisisTomRiley I did. They are honestly the greatest group of people I’ve ever worked with, alongside a show called Lost In Austen.

@DarshNemane Leo's such a lad, but can the beard go please? It's getting bigger everyday
@thisisTomRiley My make up artist and her strict electric clipper levels would disagree with you.

@BashkaMay biggest embarrassment on set?
@thisisTomRiley I’ve seen the gag reel. It’s great. It’ll be on the DVD. The DVD of dVD.

@HeyDakota who has the greatest fashion sense? leo or riario? i know leo is such a renaissance rock star but still
@thisisTomRiley Riario cares about his appearance, & probably spends time on it. Leo doesn’t. Though he’s jealous of Riario’s shades.

@RosiePedder How did you feel about the artistic licence the show afforded you?
@thisisTomRiley It’s liberating. Especially once everyone got over the initial WTF and climbed onboard with it.

@LilianaAra if you could play any other character in 'Demons', what would it be?
@thisisTomRiley The bird seller. He gets to eat apples in very scene. I bloody love apples, me.

@KikiAbir since ur deeply envolved into the character of Leo, did this affected your real personal character?
@thisisTomRiley I took some of the harder scenes home with me, yes. I love Leonardo.

@rjlackie Do you play sexual tension w any of Leo's male castmates on purpose? (Or is that a secret?)
@thisisTomRiley The sexual tension with my male cast mates is at its peak in the lunch queue.

@Schematicist it's quite awesome to see so many DaVinci fans. how close to real facts can we expect the next seasons to be?
@thisisTomRiley As close as the first. History is our foundation, but the fantastical is our guiding principle.

@LeonorNer Favourite track from @DaVincis_Starz soundtrack by the amazing @bearmccreary?!
@thisisTomRiley @bearmccreary. Easter Mass. It’s a monster.

@cubbie866 What was your favorite episode? I’m hoping the Dracula one. That was loony.
@thisisTomRiley I think the series flies from episode 5 onwards. Hope you’re well! x

@ASparklyTouch on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being very, how comfortable are those awesome trousers u wear when playing Leo?
@thisisTomRiley They fit round my buttocks like a cashmere scarf around two apples.

@SassySueN Any idea where I can get Da Vinci’s badass leather jacket, preferably with you in it?
@thisisTomRiley My trailer, lunchtime, during a nap.

@selnari Any da Vinci inventions you'd like to see in the show? Also heard you were a comics fan, reading anything good?
@thisisTomRiley I wouldn’t mind Google popping up. That would solve a lot of the episodes earlier so DV could head home for a sleep.

@Fantasy_Fallacy is swordplay as fun as it looks? (no pun intended)
@thisisTomRiley It’s great. Although it is a shame that so many stuntmen get stabbed.

@mvshaan is there any similarities of Leo character and your personalty in real life? exp: the reckless behaviour
@thisisTomRiley I’m out of control. Just this morning I left the teabag in the cup for AGES.

@ricardokvothe With no spoilers, how do you describe this new season?
@thisisTomRiley Bigger, better, with lessons learned from the first.

@iidaaii I think that Riario had a crush on Leo, that's why he hate him. What do you think about it?
@thisisTomRiley I think Blake has a crush on Tom and it’s feeding into his performance.

@hanko9 What Season 2 episode are you guys currently filming?
@thisisTomRiley Episodes 2 and 3, simultaneously.

@dazzer111 how's it feel to be a global heartthrob knowing millions of men and woman just want to get in your pants me included
@thisisTomRiley It makes me feel like I need to get bigger pants.

@angdevwriter How were you inspired to move your fingers in a piano playing motion when your character is thinking?
@thisisTomRiley I was inspired by an exceptional young autistic relative.

@House_Borgia What's the most intense\psychologically challenging scene you have had so far?
@thisisTomRiley Any of Leonardo’s visions can be quite exhausting. Or the trial episode.

@julismyname showing your chest it's your thing? or Leonardo's?
@thisisTomRiley It’s the costume designer’s.

@MartaSpringe Bet ya' hundred bucks @thisisTomRiley , that when Da Vinci finds "the Book of Leaves" it'll be close to 'Voynich manuscript'
@thisisTomRiley I’ll take the bet. I think it will be closer to 50 Shades of Grey.

@Deirdre2_borgia Did public reaction to the show surprise you, or did you realise while filming how big it would be?
@thisisTomRiley The show felt massive when we were filming, but nothing prepared us for how well it would be received.

@NishyRxo Where was the majority of the filming done for @DaVincis_Starz ?
@thisisTomRiley Swansea, in Wales, UK. In the rain.

@MerlinEmrys9 How do you film the sex scenes in the show?
@thisisTomRiley With a good sense of humour and my fingers crossed.

@KarenVu13 If they made a game based off of your DaVinci, would you volunteer to do motion capture to get into the game?
@thisisTomRiley Absolutely. Grease me up and get me in that leotard ASAP.

@spiritcoda If you did actually get to meet Davinci.. what would be your question to the greatest artist?
@thisisTomRiley Did you ever achieve contentment?

@hupes1982 I just wonder what has been your favourite scene to shoot. Thanks!
@thisisTomRiley The final confrontation with Lucrezia, which was even longer than the cut that made it into the show.

@Heyhey_Candra did you really kissed Botticelli? O_O
@thisisTomRiley No. I kissed Jacopo. And he tasted like cinnamon and pop tarts.

@Jhonatan_GonzPS what was your biggest challenge as an actor during season 1?
@thisisTomRiley Bringing a historical character to life in a way I knew might jar with the audience initially.

@_loverslove what would @thisisTomRiley do? would you forgive Lucrezia even though she betrayed you and the city you love?
@thisisTomRiley I would. But I know more than you do.

@Vane_Smile93 did you read what Freud write about Leo ?
@thisisTomRiley I did. I’m also aware he was working from what is now recognised as a flawed translation.

@Messington Are you still on the rabbit food dust diet! :(
@thisisTomRiley I’m so hungry my eyes ache.

@GlamQueen_Diana having studied ur character well, do u believe Da Vinci was autistic? U do portray him in that sense :)
@thisisTomRiley I believe he’d have been diagnosed as somewhere on the spectrum. You can decide if my performance reflects that.

@_fuckthegods Which was the most difficult thing about playing Leonardo?
@thisisTomRiley The public’s preconceptions. And the tight leather pants.

@Nirosta How long did it take you to crawl into character and where did you get your inspiration from for portraying him?
@thisisTomRiley It took a while. My inspiration came from his work, and David’s scripts. And the cool leather jacket.

@LockhartSuicide whats the most difficult thing you've had to do since you started recording Da Vinci's?
@thisisTomRiley The lines. Everyday so many lines. Pouring out my brain, face & arse. Trying to not slow filming by forgetting.

@_mayechelon What's it like to play the great Da Vinci?
@thisisTomRiley An honour and a privilege. And also quite tough on the lower back.

@rcknrollgoddess the whole mad genius thing.. amazingly sexy! tell me it's your fav part of playing DaVinci. you do it so so well
@thisisTomRiley Thank you. I enjoy that part, and the chocolate the crew get handed on Naughty Friday.

@KarenVu13 In your opinion, what was the most epic scene from season one?
@thisisTomRiley Great question. I’m going to go with the Prisoner revelation, for the sheer number of puzzle pieces slotting together.

@daedalus_wolf if you could take a souvenir (prop) from set, which one would you chose?
@thisisTomRiley Leonardo’s notebook, on the belt round my waist, is genuinely full of his sketches and mine. That’s what I’d want.