Meet Lorenzo Richelmy, TV’s Brand-New Marco Polo

You know how they say America is the land of opportunity? The Italian-born actor Lorenzo Richelmy, 24, knows it to be true. He had just landed in the U.S. for the very first time when he learned that he won the lead in Netflix’s drama Marco Polo, premiering this December: “I was in the Philadelphia airport, and the moment I switched my phone on, my agent called with the good news,” he says.

So what did that good news mean, exactly? Starring in battle scenes with up to 300 extras, dressing in a wardrobe for which every garment was entirely hand-stitched; training in archery, kung fu, horseback riding, and sword fighting; and leading a show with such high production values that there were 400 people in the construction crew alone. Frankly put: “Everything is on my shoulders,” Richelmy says of the series. No pressure.

But Richelmy had to get more than just body-ready to play Polo—”I didn’t know English six months ago,” he says. “I was given a dialect coach, and I’ve been working really hard.” Want to know a little more, before everyone you know starts talking about that new TV guy they’re obsessed with? Here’s a quick cheat sheet of things we “discovered” about your Marco Polo.

He’s very driven (take job-hunt notes!): “The casting director originally said I wasn’t right for the role, but I still submitted audition footage. I didn’t hear anything for two months, but then I was told I had to fly to Malaysia the next day for an audition. I studied my lines the entire 18-hour flight! You don’t have to accept the way things are—you can change them.”

He won’t be caught in sweats: “I’m really Italian so I’m a total old-school guy. Classics, black suits, and the less-is-more philosophy.”

His roots are humble: “Before I came to New York City, I had never been in a building that was higher than 10 floors. Italy is flat, but here I stayed on the 22nd floor of my hotel!”

He knows how to bond with a woman: “I love road trips and driving women around. When you’re moving, everything comes easier. We’ll talk and won’t even need music. If I’m interested in a person, I don’t need any distractions.”

He’s in love: “My girlfriend and I Skyped every day while I was filming around the world. It was beautiful to understand that two people can be together without living together every day. It’s much better than a relationship where one person lives for the other.”

__Marco Polo premieres on Neflix on December 12. __