Renaissance Man

Sean Bean stars in a story of power, passion and bitter rivalry in 15th-century Italy.

- Judy Ewens, Sean Marland

Having starred in Game of Thrones, Sean Bean knows all about noble families violently vying for power in historical times. This week, the 59-year-old actor is back wielding a sword again in Netflix’s gripping Renaissance drama, Medici: The Magnificent.

The Yorkshire-born actor plays Jacopo de’ Pazzi, the power-hungry head of the Pazzi banking family in 15th-century Florence, who wants to wrest control of the city from his bitter rivals, the Medicis.

Set in 1469, 20 years after the events of 2016’s Medici: Masters of Florence, the new series tells the story of Lorenzo de’ Medici (Daniel Sharman), the first-born son of Piero de’ Medici (Julian Sands), the head of the powerful Medici banking family.

BLOOD FEUD

The animosity between the Medici and Pazzi clans has grown over two decades because the Pazzis were almost certainly behind the assassination of Lorenzo’s great uncle.