LEONARDO DA VINCI

On a break from starring in The Good Doctor, Freddie Highmore, 30, steps into the Renaissance. He explores the secrets—and drama— behind the genius of Leonardo da Vinci (Aidan Turner) in Leonardo (Aug. 16 on the CW), portraying Stefano Giraldi, an ambitious officer of the Duchy of Milan, who enters da Vinci’s life in 1506 when the artist and inventor is accused of murder. “Leonardo is a real enigma,” says Highmore. “He was very much an outsider for his time. He was an illegitimate child. He was a gay man. Even if he wasn’t necessarily struggling with his identity himself, he was struggling with how to best present that more widely.”