Ian Somerhalder Explores The World of Marco Polo

Since Boone Carlyle died toward the end of Season One of "Lost," Ian Somerhalder has been free to discover the world outside the island. And, exploring is exactly what he will be doing in the miniseries "Marco Polo" as he plays the 13th century Venetian explorer. The adventure story will center on Polo's travels to Mongolia and his experiences with Kublai Khan.

The Chinese emperor and grandson of Genghis Khan will be portrayed by Brian Dennehy ("The West Wing" and "Just Shoot Me!"). B.D. Wong ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Oz") will play Polo's servant and assistant. Mark Jax and Alan Shearman will appear as Polo's father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo in sequences showing the first voyages of the Polos to China for silk when Marco was just a boy. The script was written by Ron Hutchinson who also wrote the "Traffic" miniseries and "The Ten Commandments" miniseries.

Before "Lost" burst onto the scene to make every one of its stars instant hot commodities, Somerhalder was already building a solid bridge for himself from modeling to acting. He made his first notable mark upon television in "Young Americans," then landed a role in "Life as a House" starring Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, and a soon-to-be young Jedi named Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen. He appeared on episodes of "CSI" and "Law & Order: SVU," and co-starred in the superbly raw and gritty movie adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, "The Rules of Attraction."

Not long before he became part of TV's most intriguing ensemble on "Lost," Somerhalder landed a recurring role on "Smallville" that lasted six episodes of its third season, opening up the stage for his leap to "Lost." His character's sudden and unceremonious death on "Lost" was a disappointment to Somerhalder but he gained a lot of momentum from that one year on a critically acclaimed and tremendously popular television show. Now, he has a co-starring role in the upcoming horror flick "Pulse" opposite Kristin Bell ("Veronica Mars"), and his next big project will be R.H.I. Entertainment’s "Marco Polo."