British actor Ben Barnes is all too familiar with this film adaptation pressure. He has previous played C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian in the Narnia film series, Oscar Wilde's Dorian Grey and John Whittaker in the 2008 film of Noël Coward's Easy Virtue.

Now Barnes is charged with embodying another great figure, although this one is far from fictional. In the upcoming mini series Sons of Liberty, Barnes will take the role of the charismatic Sam Adams, the Boston-born rebel who helped lead the beginnings of the American Revolution.

"I think with the historical [adaptations] there is probably even more of a responsibility to have at the least the spirit of what you're telling feel accurate," Barnes explains. "But things are always going to have a spin and a different bend depending on who's making them, who's telling the story."

Adams' actions have certainly inspired both praise and criticism, especially during the 1760s and 70s where his leadership helped undermine the authority of the British Empire and pave the way for American Revolution.

He was opposed to what was seen as unfair treatment and taxation of the American colonies and decried their lack of adequate political representation.

Adams organised secret political resistance and was instrumental in the formation of the Boston Tea Party, the political movement infamous for tossing hundreds of crates of imported tea into the Boston harbour.

Finding support in Dr Joseph Warren (Ryan Eggold), veteran Paul Revere (Michael Raymond-James) and the wealthiest man in Boston, John Hancock (Henry Thomas), these self-proclaimed "Sons of Liberty" forever changed the course of history.

"Their circumstances were not fair and they felt like colonists rather than citizens," Barnes says. "Each with different approaches, some more violent, some more cunning, some more political, some legal, they all try and instigate change."

Unlike other historical adaptations, Sons of Liberty focuses on the events leading up to the American War of Independence, rather than the war itself.

The six-part mini series adds to Barnes' diverse resume which includes several feature films, performing on the West End and almost representing the UK in Eurovision 2004 with boy band Hyrise.

Now in his mid-30s, Barnes is excited to be playing more complex characters. Describing himself as an obedient child, the role of the rebellious Sam Adams is a fantasy come true for the actor.

"A lot of the heroic roles I've played are much more ambivalent and the thing I like about Sam is he's much more of a leader and he knows what he wants, even if not quite how to get there."

In preparation for the role, Barnes read widely about this tumultuous, revolutionary period of US history. However once filming began his character research took a more hands on approach.

On a giant backlot in Bucharest, Romania, the Sons of Liberty crew recreated 18^th century Boston, complete with a looming clock tower, town square, colonial houses and trade ships floating in a man-made harbour.

Here in this elaborately constructed set, Barnes got acquainted with the everyday realities of his character by being taught how to shoot antique pistols, ride horses and drive carts.

It's all part of what Barnes describes as the true "rough and tumble" nature of history, "the gritty stuff that was left out in the paperwork".

"I think [Sons of Liberty] can still be shown in the classroom but it's got the cool, fun bits left in," Barnes says.

"It was a very dangerous time and [the revolutionaries] were heisting gun powder, they were plotting these schemes, but they were plotting and doing all this badass stuff in order to make things fairer for the future."

Sons of Liberty, SBS One, Thursday, 9.30pm