Quote Originally Posted by groupie2686 View Post
I've got to admit, though, I'd have a hard time seeing anyone else as Cesare...Francois Arnaud is fantastic, why did he not have a big career after this???
At least he has a career - quite a few indie films and he's the lead in a tv series called "Midnight, Texas" - but I was expecting more. Of course, he has plenty of time as he's still early thirties. With young actors, it may be that the US pilot season is such a lottery. They have to pick, and be picked for, the right project. We see it with a lot of british actors who after becoming stars in the UK, head off to LA and struggle. Even Ioan Gruffydd (Hornblower) and David Tenant (Doctor Who) seemed to have a tough time.

Back to Borgia, and I'm about half way through the first episode. It seems odd that Rodrigo Borgia has an american accent and a delivery that is more conversational but I think I can buy it. What's tougher is the amount of exposition he has to deliver. While I appreciate having the politics and motivations laid out, it's still a bit heavy-handed. It's good that they acknowledge the older half-brother, Pedro Luis and explain why Juan must succeed him as the Duke of Gandia and husband of Maria (who is cousin to two Spanish monarchs) and I like that Cesare and Juan refer to Rodgrio as "uncle" (priests had "nephews" rather than acknowledged sons, although that will change). There's also a very young Medici being appointed a cardinal for political/financial reasons which shows that Cesare's appointment wasn't that much out of the ordinary. So far, I'm finding Cesare a little too wild-eyed and uncontrolled but he hasn't had much to do, so far.