In 1997, actor Ioan Gruffudd played a minor ship officer in one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, “Titanic.” Oddly enough, in the United Kingdom, he was on his way to becoming one of the most recognized sea officers on the small screen. With a boyish, but sturdy appearance, Gruffudd inhabited the persona of the young, fictional naval officer “Horatio Hornblower“ in a series of stand-alone television episodes. It was an experience that would serve him well in future portrayals of other iconic real-life and fictional figures. After subsequent flirtations with projects that could deliver a