Portrayals in media In the 1981 BBC mini-series, The Borgias, Giovanni was played by British Actor Mark Buffery. In this adaptation, Giovanni is depicted as very timid and meek. In the 2011 Showtime series The Borgias, Giovanni was played by British actor Ronan Vibert. In this series, Giovanni is portrayed as being very brutish and cruel. In fact, he actually rapes Lucrezia on their wedding night and continues to sexually abuse her until she engineers an accident in which he breaks his leg. After his marriage is annulled, he is humiliated, and eventually is killed by Lucrezia's brother Cesare. In the 2011 French-German series Borgia, Giovanni was played by Austrian actor Manuel Rubey. This series' Giovanni is portrayed in a very similar manner to the Giovanni portrayed in the BBC miniseries, although he is not as meek and was for the most part very friendly towards Lucrezia. He even attempts to defy the Pope's orders against consummating his marriage to Lucrezia, but when he and Lucrezia finally have a chance to sleep together, he has difficulty performing, which leads to Lucrezia wanting an annulment from her father. Giovanni appears again briefly in the second season, where he and Lucrezia's future third husband Alfonso d'Este are shown marrying Ginevra Gonzaga (who is actually a composite character of Giovanni's first wife Maddalena Gonzaga and his third wife Ginevra Tiepolo) and Annamaria Sforza respectively in a double wedding ceremony. Afterwards, he unsuccessfully tries to woo Lucrezia for her love again, but she rebuffs him and orders him to go back to his wife. References External links Page at condottieridiventura.it Bibliography Francesco Ambrogiani. Vita di Giovanni Sforza: (1466–1510). // Società pesarese di studi storici, 2009 – Pesaro (Italy) – 437 pages 1466 births 1510 deaths Giovanni House of Borgia Lords of Pesaro People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino 15th-century condottieri 16th-century condottieri