British actor Laurie Davidson is hoping to kick-start his career playing The Bard himself no less in TNT's new drama series Will.

The LAMDA trained newcomer, who starred in the 2013 film Vampire Academy and has also appeared in roles on the stage, will play a young version of William Shakespeare as he arrives in London to make a name for himself. Craig Pearce, the longtime writing partner of filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, has written the pilot which is described as a 'hot, contemporary, dangerous version of Shakespeare's life' played to a modern soundtrack.