Lorenzo Richelmy stars in the titular role in Netflix’s epic new series Marco Polo about the 13th century Italian merchant traveler.

Lorenzo Richelmy On Marco Polo

Richelmy, an Italian actor previously unknown to U.S. audiences, saw a chance for a breakthrough role and once in a lifetime opportunity when he heard about the Marco Polo casting from a friend. Without wasting any time, Richelmy got his agent on the phone and set to work on his audition tape.

“I called a friend of mine, a director friend of mine. I said, ‘Listen man, why don’t we do the best that we could. I don’t know if there’s gonna be another occasion like this for an Italian actor to play a big Italian character like this,'” Richelmy told uInterview exclusively. “So I did this audition, with a little bit of lights around the room and a little makeup, my girlfriend playing. I brought my very specific idea about Marco Polo, and I will say that is what has worked.”

Once Richelmy landed the part of Marco Polo was when the real work began. A self-professed smoker and drinker, Richelmy had to put in a lot of hours to get his fitness where it needed to be for the physically demanding role. Unaccustomed to the grueling training, Richelmy predictably felt the burn.

“I’m a smoker and I drink, I love to drink. So, it was tough. The first week was like body shocking and I had to dip myself in a bathtub full of salts, just otherwise I wouldn’t be able to wake up the next morning moving a finger,” Richelmy admitted. “It was pretty hard. It was six weeks training when we started shooting and we kept on training for 6 months. It was intense but wonderful.”

Check Out Lorenzo Richelmy’s uRant On Filming Nude Scenes HERE

Part of what made the training so wonderful was that the actor got the chance to learn some skills that were previously unknown to him – namely martial arts and the English language.

“We had this tent in the middle of the studios with Chinese guys teaching me Vishu and Kung Fu,” explained Richelmy. “And the Japanese guys teaching me sword fighting, archery and horseback riding. It was amazing. It was full. Everything was new for me, even English.”

Marco Polo‘s complete first season will premiere on Netflix Dec. 12.

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Q: Tell us, first off, how you were cast for the role as Marco Polo? -

It’s a nice story. I did cast myself, really, cause I heard about the project. A friend of mine did the audition with the casting director. I thought I could be good in it and I called my agent and he gave me the scenes for the audition. Then I called a friend of mine, a director friend of mine. I said listen man, why don’t we do the best that we could. I don’t know if there’s gonna be another occasion like this for an Italian actor to play a big Italian character like this. So I did this audition, with a little bit of lights around the room and a little makeup, my girlfriend playing. I brought my very specific idea about Marco Polo, and I will say that is what has worked.

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Q: Now, your role is very physical. You are doing a lot of fighting and various things in the series. How did you prepare? How did you train for the role? -

Well, I was like, I’m a smoker and I drink, I love to drink. So, it was tough. The first week was like body shocking and I had to dip myself in a bathtub full of salts, just otherwise I wouldn’t be able to wake up the next morning moving a finger, so, it was pretty hard. It was six weeks training when we started shooting and we kept on training for 6 months. It was intense but wonderful. John Fusco, the creator of the series, has such a passion for martial arts. So we had this tent in the middle of the studios with Chinese guys teaching me Vishu and Kung Fu, and the Japanese guys teaching me sword fighting, archery and horseback riding. It was amazing. It was full. Everything was new for me, even English. I didn’t know English before this. It was great training for those 6 weeks. It was like the Matrix; now you know Kung Fu.