Q & A: The Cast of ‘Spartacus: Vengeance’

Are you ready to return to the arena?

Then you’re in luck because Spartacus is back and this time, with a vengeance.

Spartacus: Vengeance picks up where Blood and Sand left off as the gladiator rebellion continues and they begin to strike fear into the heart of the Roman Empire.

Liam McIntyre takes over the lead role of Spartacus from Andy Whitfield who, before his untimely death, told the cast and crew that he wanted the show to continue. Whitfield even gave the thumbs up to McIntyre, saying that he wanted him to have the role. As McIntyre said in the conference call, “To know that the person who made it so wonderful was on your side, as it were, especially considering all the harrowing personal experience he had to survive at the time. That means more to an actor than you can possibly imagine.”

I talked to the cast – McIntyre, Lucy Lawless, Viva Bianca and Peter Mensah – about the upcoming season, the costumes (or lack thereof) and acting in the mud.

Spartacus: Vengeance airs on Fridays at 10pm on Starz

Liam, you played a character that was obviously played by Andy Whitfield. I was wondering, how did you manage to carry on the character that Andy had built, but also leave your own mark as an actor?

Liam McIntyre: Well, I mean I’m very lucky in that I – the writing team is absolutely sensational, and that Starz is really supportive. So Starz early on said, you know, make the character your own, treat it as your own character. You know, that they didn’t expect me to copy anything. I did watch all of Andy’s amazing work. And so I don’t know if any parts was osmosis or kind of like a kind of influenced me in any way. I can’t be sure, but I mean hopefully because he was sensational.

But I mean realistically I just tried to be true to the character which, you know, essentially stays the same. Because the writing is the same and all of that lovely humanity and those difficult choices and all that. Then that struggle that Spartacus goes through, it’s still there this season. So I didn’t get the honor of being able to treat that with respect and truth. And hopefully you have a character that feels the same as the great character that Andy portrayed.  Read more

The stars of ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’ spill the beans on their characters, casting, green screen and nudity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:43 — 10.1MB)

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a retelling of the classic story of a Roman Gladiator who eventually rises up to lead a massive slave rebellion. But this is not your Dad’s Spartacus. This is much cooler. Much, much cooler. I’ve seen the first 4 episodes and they rock.

In this exclusive interview, Andy Whitfield (Spartacus), Lucy Lawless (Lucretia) and Executive Producer Steven S. DeKnight talked to me

Spartacus: Blood and Sand premieres this Friday, January 22nd on Starz!

Side note: This was a much longer interview but about halfway during the call, I noticed my cat chewing the cord that I use to record the audio. I quickly replaced the cord but missed a lot of great questions. You can thank my cat for that. And if you listen to the audio of the call, you’ll be able to hear her “meowing” in the background. Ah… the pleasures of working at home.

Let’s pick up the action…

[My question was: How do you get mentally prepared for a long shoot like this?]
Andy:  stay present and go, what do I have to achieve today and collaborate with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever worked with.  It’s achievable.  It does take its toll at the end.  Everyone needs a big rest, but even on the last day, everyone was there, the crew were there, and you could just feel how proud and how excited and how exhilarated everyone was.  You almost could feel like they could have two weeks off and start again.

Do you guys both still get nervous before a big scene?
Andy:  Lucy?
Lucy:  If I’m naked, yeah probably (laughter).  I don’t know.  Now that there’s such a relationship of trust between the actors and you’ve got directors that are really just fantastic –
Andy:  Yeah, I think, I mean I think that is true.  I think, you know, from what we have achieved – that gives you a lot of confidence.  But I also am conscious that there is always a necessary amount of fear just to have everything sharp.  You know, it’s that thing, no pressure, no diamond.  And I think you just sort of get used to it and accept that it will always be there.

For example, if I had to audition for something tomorrow, I would be as nervous as I was before.  And I’d spent nine months doing the best training for acting I could possibly ever have.  And I think that’s appropriate.  I think that you just accept that that’s gonna be there.  And just trust it’s gonna go away it’ll go away the second you commit to what is there.

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