Aidan Turner will not be faking it when it comes to facial hair on Rivals any series soon for a very good reason.18:55, 27 May 2026Aidan Turner has insisted his moustache he grows for Rivals makes his voice sound different. The Poldark star bases his character of plays former journalist Declan O’Hara on his father, who also had a tache when the actor was growing up.‌And he ruled out any prospect of ever using a fake one in the hit Disney+ programme as he insists It would not feel or be the same. Aidan, 42, said: “This is a big tache! It's a personal thing, I can't speak for every person – for every tache in the world – but what I can tell you is it made me feel older.‌"I guess my relationship with my moustache is... I've sort of loosely based Declan in lots of ways, in some ways, on my dad. Through the 80s, and all the way nearly through the 90s, my dad did have a moustache quite similar to Declan's, so I see my dad when I feel the touch on my face, you know, and I feel more like him.‌“So I feel like I've grown up, that boy I was, you know, quite literally, you know, looking up to. I see that person, it just makes me feel different, makes me kind of sit different and walk different."I know that sounds insane, but I am kind of aware it's on my face, and I'm wearing it, and it just does something different, kind of makes my mouth move differently, makes the tone of my voice change, because I'm just aware of how it looks and everything. And then when I take it off, I'm like, ‘oh, who's that boy?’ you know.”‌Rivals began on-screen in 2024 but is actually set in 1986, when moustaches were a popular aesthetic, both on screen and in real life. Aidan was also quick to say he couldn’t imagine a fake furry top lip having the same effect or influence on him. He said: “They’re horrible and you can’t smile,” with regards to fake facial hair.Speaking on The Rivals podcast, Aidan also paid tribute to Jilly Cooper and told a cheeky story about her and how she thought life might be imitating art.He said: “I do remember she was getting a tour where all the trailers are and the actors hang out between takes and stuff like that.‌“She hadn’t seen me and I was watching her observing 20 of these trailers with everyone’s names on and she said ‘so who’s bonking who?’. She naturally couldn’t work out how we weren’t all having sex with each other, you know, given the proximity of all these beds and sofas next to each other in a secluded trailer park!“But anytime I met Jilly she was always so brilliant and funny and irreverent and just fun and filthy.”* The Rivals Season 2 continues on Disney+ with new episodes every Friday.Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .