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. 

Are you guys ever affected by the violent scenes you have to perform in? Are you ever surprised by them?

Lucy Lawless: Always surprised, but they look – we’re not affected because they never look that way in actuality. It’s all done in post, you know. Quite brilliant.

Viva Bianca: I think it was David Mamet who said, “An actor must always defend his character.” And so I think as an actor, you become very good at emphasizing a character, however evil or misguided the character is. Certain for Ilithyia or any of the villains on the show. You have to find a reason – or many reasons as to why a character is doing a scene. So like for instance in episode four, Ilithyia does very a brutal thing – I think that’s what you’re referring to.

You become the character, and the truth is for these Roman aristocratic people, they didn’t consider slaves, or people of that class, as people. And to really feel like, for instance, for Lucy and I to get ourselves into that mentality is quite an extreme step. But it is a step that an actor has to make in order to, you know, enter that ancient Roman society, and to play these kinds of women.

Liam this is your first year on this. Do you walk through those sets and see that stuff going on and think, “Wow!”

Liam McIntyre:  I mean I loved the show before, you know, before I got the call to be part of it. So I kind of knew what I was getting into. But that’s one of my greatest memories from the whole year, was watching our director from a distance in what was essentially the sign language version of the scene. So I got to watch him throw his hands around and do all the motions and actions as he described what he wanted to see as this camera panned through there. And that was one of the greatest memories I’ll ever take with me, because that was hilarious.

But I mean there is a moment where I have to attack a gentleman’s (money) making facility, and that was one of the most harrowing moments in my life. Because it’s kind of, you know, a sword, a small little protective kind of steel rig, and his gear, and a whole lot of hope, and so that was one of the very first days of shooting. And I’m like, “Oh god, what have I got myself into?”

Viva, you seem to really enjoy being the bad girl. Does it feel empowering to be that pure evil?

Viva Bianca: I’m a really nice person. You know what, I would so love to play a really virtuous, heroic person after Ilithyia. But Ilithyia’s a very satisfying role to play. And, you know, because she isn’t just pure bad. And the lovely thing in season two is the writers gave me a lovely range and complexity to explore. So I think the audience will get to see many different sides to Ilithyia. And of course there will still be that scheming, naughty girl, and then (almost) a lady now. But yes, I think maybe I see some vulnerability.

Lucy, we all know the show has a lot of nudity in it, is it kind of a source of inhibition when you know that maybe your husband is on set?

Lucy Lawless: No he’s not on the set. And it’s all inhibiting. But if you believe in it, it’s important to the scene.

Liam, you mentioned that you were trying to make the role of Spartacus your own. How did you try to do that?

Liam McIntyre: I guess just you work extremely hard and diligently. And it’s one of those things that early on, you go, well you just can’t – you have to use everything in your power to do the best job you can. And I mean I got trained really well by my first acting coach I hope, and that and you just put your tail between your legs and just work really hard until it’s all finished and cross your fingers. I don’t know, there’s no simple trick, or we’d all be doing it I suppose.

Liam, so this show has crazy, awesome action scenes that are on par with a lot of movies. How did you get in shape for that and what did you go through to handle a sword and all those acrobatic moves they have you doing?

Liam McIntyre: Well it’s a rare and lucky person who gets to be a 10-year-old for a whole year. It’s fantastic. But I mean getting into shape, well I – I mean early on when I started the process of testing for this role, I’d done another film where I was 45 pounds lighter or thereabouts. So I was going for that whole machinist look. And unfortunately I was succeeding. And so getting from that – well first of all, I thought there was no way I’d ever even be considered, but they did consider me.

And I got taught exactly how horrible training can be. In much the way that people say, “Do you get used to sex scenes?” And the answer’s generally “No.” “Do you get used to lifting ridiculous amounts of weights?” No really. I think the point is that you do it and it really hurts. But it’s one of the few things in life where you get to see tangible results. So I guess it’s worthwhile.

So you’re saying you gained 45 pounds of muscle for this role?

Liam McIntyre: Something like that. I haven’t done the math, but a lot. Because, you know, I certainly look a lot more healthier than I did back then.

This question is directed at the ladies. Those sex scenes -can you talk about how approach getting ready to do that?

Lucy Lawless: You know what, it gets – I’ve done things again this season that I’ve never, ever done before and never seen on television before. And it was very heavy duty. There were days when I would just go home and have a – just have a quiet little melt-down and be, you know, just go to sleep. Because it was so demanding emotionally.

This does great things for the viewer’s sex life. Not so much for the participants. It’s like aversion therapy.

Viva Bianca: I think some people think it might turn us on.

Liam McIntyre: It’s difficult to have that conversation. “What did you do today honey?” “Well, long story….”

Lucy Lawless: Sometimes I do need a hug because it’s harrowing. It’s really harrowing.

Viva Bianca: Well I think as well what Lucy might be talking about is, you know, some of the sex scenes or storylines in Spartacus that involves sex are actually not in any way of a turn-on. They can be quite brutal. I mean the show is talking about exploitation of slaves and of women and a lot of the violence is actually talking about some very serious stuff. So it’s kind of far from a turn-on. And can be quite horrific, and as an actor to carry that, you know, it can be quite heavy on us.

Viva, you’ll be coming back to Vengeance after a short hiatus from this Spartacus world. And Liam, you come in for the first time. What have your processes been like for getting into these characters?

Viva Bianca: Well I mean like for me, a year had passed pretty much between shooting – wrapping on season one and starting on season two. And yet at the same time, I mean the reality of our show, it was only about eight weeks that had passed between the end of season one, beginning of Vengeance. So it was kind of quite challenging actually. Yes, it was really quite challenging to go back into the world and feel that level of acute – continuity that was required, and to find the character again. But it was actually so fun to go back into the character. I was really happy to do it.

Liam McIntyre: Yes. For me I guess it’s a unique situation. But I mean I watched the first season and Gods of the Arena, you know, countless lines. And so for me I guess it was unique in the way that, I mean I really felt like I was right there with all of (Eddie’s) performances. So I mean, I really felt like I got like Spartacus – I got Spartacus as he portrayed him. So to me more than anything, it was important to make sure that Spartacus as a character continued as that character and not just some totally different person who, you know, was inspired by different things.

And, you know, the world as a different place for him. So I guess I had a unique situation of trying to create a new Spartacus that felt like, you know, the same kind of guy that Andy’s Spartacus was. So, you know, I mean it was a fantastic and very unique process to go through. It must be a really sad thing to have to kind of even look at. But, you know, it was – I certainly will never – touch wood, never have to go through anything like that again in my life, I suppose.

Is it a clash to do what you do and then walk off the set and walk to cars, cell phones, computers, laptops, assistants. Like, does your brain just go what the hell is going on?

Peter Mensah: Your brain needs it because I don’t know if we could survive in that world?

Viva Bianca: We have slaves, we don’t need assistants.

Lucy Lawless: Actually, no, it’s really important to be able to walk away from the modern world, away from your family, away from your relationship and go into this, you know, this make-believe world of ancient Rome. It’s helpful to have that universe separate from your own.

Viva Bianca: I think that’s a lot of what makes actors actors. We love going into fantasy make-believe worlds and playing. So the fact that we get to go into a world that is so far from our own reality is part of the joy.

Lucy Lawless: It’s like having a second life. It’s like having a virtual life experience. And I just love it. I’ve had a really crazy ride as Lucretia this season. The most intense stuff I’ve ever ever shot. And I’m really grateful.

Liam McIntyre: As far as slipping back into the modern world, though, I think it’s not too challenging for some people I think there’s a photo somewhere of most of the rebels on their iPads/iPhones in a row. I think that was quite – that’s something I found really really…

Lucy Lawless: Is that right because that’s banned from our set.

Liam McIntyre: I know. And I think as a result it was banned from ours. But, yeah, there was one.

The first season was largely centered on the House of Batiatus and the (Ludis) and with the second season it seems the story is definitely widening in scope. How did that affect how you approached the character or how they approached the situation?

Peter Mensah: I think what was great about it is with each episode we kind of have a little bit more information, a little bit more experience playing your character and I definitely feel like playing Oenomaus it was – it’s a sort of leaning, continuing learning curve always finding out the elements that help at one point, make him who he is and then exploring so the journey as it unfolds, he has to figure out, okay, there’s one structure in life that I was attached to, it’s all gone so now what do I do?

So it was sort of the expanding story. It was actually something I really embraced and I felt it was really useful in playing the character because it allowed for, you know, different platforms to react to. I think (unintelligible) and everybody meets Oenomaus in the first season as Doctore. He’s pretty impassive. He doesn’t’ really let on much.

And as the story unfolds you see a human person and the reasons why he was the way he was when you first meet him and I think in this season we really get to explore when all those structures are gone from him he’s incredibly vulnerable and for an actor it was just great to go to a higher range from being that dominant person to a person who really had to show every single emotion. So I loved doing it. It was a fantastic fantastic season to work.

Liam, how was it playing in the mud in the mine?

Liam McIntyre: That was when I went – you know funny enough, I remember watching Lord of the Rings and the special commentary on that and being told about how freezing cold that lake that Bilbo and – that, sorry, Frodo and Sam try to escape in and how they spent like 14 hour days in there and they were freezing to death. And I was like, “Oh, yes. Sure. I bet it’s really hard being an actor in a huge show.”

That mud was one of the toughest experiences I’ve ever had in my life, and I apologize to every actor that I’ve ever judged because I didn’t think they were tough enough.

Yes, that was sticky. Gross. Freezing. There were – I don’t – with all respect to the makeup team, I don’t have a lot good to say about the mud besides the fact that it looks amazing on screen. That was an experience that I – you know what? I asked specifically that the characters that weren’t involved in that particular episode on our side have an episode all of their own where they run off into the mines and do that just so they can know what it’s about.

Peter Mensah: So kind of you.

Liam, I know that Andy wanted the show to go on. And as Lucy said earlier, he was happy – or he wished that you would take over the role. So, how was it to have his support? How did that impact you?

Liam McIntyre: Things like that are more important than you can imagine. As you know, it’s – especially being a fan of the show, it’s the last thing you want to hear, but it is that – you know, the star of one of your favorite shows has been taken ill. And then it’s also a strange situation to then be told to try and you know keep that thing alive – that character alive.

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.

How did it actually feel for you when you stepped onto the set for the very first day of filming knowing that you were stepping onto a set that he was on earlier?

Liam McIntyre: Humbling is probably the most appropriate word. Very humbling. And a little daunting.

Peter Mensah: But all of us that were on set recognized the sheer amount of work that Liam had put in. He didn’t just show up and walk on. He was there for months – months ahead of time working. Really, he devoted an awful lot of effort to this. So I think all of us on set appreciated how much he had put into to be that character and to step in and take over and keep the role going.

So you know all of us that’d been there originally with Andy, certainly appreciate Liam.

Viva Bianca: That’s right. And he had to become our new leader. And, I think we all agreed that from the Day 1, he dealt with the situation with complete grace and humility.

Liam McIntyre: Whatever – I mean, I know that from my experience ever since the very first test in New Zealand where I had to work with you know, Manu Bennett and Brooke and Craig, and all those – you know, people that were just fantastic in their roles.

That – from the person that picked me up at the airport to the – you know Rob the Producer, it was like working with a family. And it was very hard to leave when I didn’t know if I had the role, because it really felt like I was in a special environment with a family and a bunch of people that really cared. And I was lucky enough to have that with all my cast and crew as I tried to take on this crazy task.

How did it feel for you when you actually said, “I am Spartacus,” for the first time?

Liam McIntyre: Oh, that’s – you know, and – oh, that’s – it’s so – such a big line, isn’t it?

And in this instance more so than any other time. I remember acutely Andy’s – Spartacus saying that in the arena at the top of his lungs, you know. And you know, going back into – you know, to the Stanley Kubrick Spartacus where everybody says they’re Spartacus. You know, it’s – I guess it’s kind of like saying you know, “I’m Bond – James Bond,” or something like that. It’s…

You know, I wanted to do like 100 takes and the director just had to sit down and say, “We’ve got it. Move one. We’ve got to film the show. Come on.” So I – you know, it’s – you just – again, try to be honest and truthful with your character and say it as he needed to say it in the script and hope that you don’t look like an idiot.

When you guys go to the set and you’re in jeans and t-shirts and normal everyday clothes. And when you get to your trailer you put on your wardrobe or I guess lack thereof. How does that help you get into character and I guess transport you into that – I guess the Spartacus world?

Lucy Lawless: It’s not a short process, so you’ve got a an hour and a half minimum every day to – for that character to sort of happen, and I think we just are so accustomed to it that we don’t even realize that’s such a part of our process you know.

Liam McIntyre: Yes. And when that first layer of spray tan goes on, I really start to absorb the character.

Yes. No, it’s – I don’t know. It is one of those things. I remember – again, going back as again an actor, start – that’s in some ways green in terms of experience, that first test where they take us to – you know, they took me and put me in the actual costume. You know, it’s amazing how much it adds to the work you’ve already done on your character.

It just – you know, they’re so – the craftsmen on that set from the set builders to the whole wardrobe department and the wardrobe they create by hand – you know, leather workers and that sort of thing add so much more to what, you know, is already a very interesting character. You know, in – certainly in my case, it’s just – it’s amazing how much more you feel like you’re in the time, in the place when you all the costume on.

Lucy Lawless: Yes. We have a huge workshop of leather craftsmen, jewelry, people dying, specialists. People who make things with rubber and resins and all – whatnot. And obviously, the costume sewing you know, people in design. They’re an incredible team.

Viva Bianca: And obviously Barbara Darragh continually just turned out episode after episode all of these very elegant dresses for the Roman ladies. And for Lucy and myself, you know every morning we would be in our trailers and be dressed in these corset dresses and they’re all very intricate and detailed. And it really helps as a lady to enter you know high society in a frock, and you know it informs every choice you make in your physicality, your breath, your gait, and even the way you use your voice. So it’s kind of impossible to enter that character without the gown really.

Lucy Lawless: And then when they embellish it all with this great confection of hair on your head, you know, the wig work is amazing. So we have a lot of genius designers working on us.

Liam McIntyre: I would love to see a great confection of hair placed on Peter’s head.

Peter Mensah: And for us slaves, not having clothes really gets you into character.

Liam McIntyre: I know. But you know it’s funny. It’s one of those things – as my wardrobe changed, occasionally I would be – you know, I’d be given something where I had more clothes on and it felt odd, and then I felt terrible – I felt weird, the feeling that that’s held on.

What would your advice to actors be?

Lucy Lawless: I’ve given up giving advice.

Pay attention, because it’s like your career is like a marriage. There are good years and bad years. And if you can’t be with the ones you love, love the ones you’re with. That was a big one.

Work breeds more work. Another good one.

Could you talk about some of the initial acting challenges found both stepping into your roles and finding your respective characters?

Viva Bianca: Well as I said earlier in this phone call, you know that there was quite a hiatus for me in terms of wrapping on Season 1 and starting this – last year on Vengeance. But really, I suppose the way I approached it was the way one would approach any new role, which is understanding the given circumstances in which this character is living.

And the great thing is because I’ve played the role before and had the history of Season 1 behind me, which is really only about eight weeks kind of earlier in the timeline of our show, there was so much to inform the choices that I’d make coming into Season 2.

So much of the research had been done for me, but still you know, I had to go through the process of reentering the very skin, heartbeat, and sort the cell of this woman.

Peter Mensah: Yes. And very similarly, I think that the great thing about this is this – a lot of the underlying story to Oenomaus had been laid out previously by Steven and his writers. But – and in terms of stepping into the character, a couple of things do help.

I mean obviously the story lines themselves are sort of really, really vivid. The sets and the makeup and all the – sort of the support structures are so clearly transformative that by the time you step on set, you very much have entered that world of despair and hardship that Oenomaus lives in. So unlike, you know, real life that every time I’d go to work it was definitely a case of stepping into another world.

Now the story lines themselves take such trajectories that it’s very hard to prepare yourself for them. You sort of have to react to situations as they show up.

Viva Bianca: Which is a great thing, because acting is reacting.

Peter Mensah: Yes, there it is. And there’s plenty to react to in this.

So yes, it was a great challenge, and hopefully we sort of, you know, keep the story tight enough for everybody to enjoy the journey along with us. But, it was certainly fantastic fun doing it.

Viva Bianca: Yes. And just to add to that as well, I think for me coming back into Season 2 was – it was particularly useful having Lucy – Lucy Lawless and Craig Parker being – Ilithyia has kind of two key relationships in the show. And you know, it’s really the relationships your character has that informs who they are and reminds you of, you know, where they sit in the world.

So you know, it was those two actors that kind of kept me rooted in the show and reminded me of my place in the world of Spartacus.

Liam, what sort of prep and research did you do for this role once you booked it?

Liam McIntyre: Well, just I guess – I used to play computer games about the Roman Legions and that sort of thing every since I was a little kid, so I always interested in the world. So I came in there knowing a fair amount – I mean a fair bit about the Republic and the Empire that followed just out of a personal interest sake.

But then I was lucky enough to be lent an entire library from one of the producers, Chloe Smith, which I got to ingest and go through. And then you know, really explore what was known of Spartacus and that time in history and his – you know, his position in history and what he did or was taught – was said to have done.

And you know – and it was fascinating trying to piece that together and then seeing what Steven DeKnight and his team did in terms of the story they wanted to tell, and trying to really connect those dots. And then from those sort of outlines, fill it in with an actual emotion that I could understand.

It was – I love history and I love that kind of – I especially love that sort of epoch of history, so it was great to go through that in more detail for more purpose than just, you know, general curiosity.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

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.

Do you guys have any advice to aspiring actors?
Andy:  I would just say… know what you know and know what you don’t know.  Control the things you can.  Don’t be attached to the outcome, because if you’re attached to the outcome, it’s going to tear you apart.  You just go in there and attack everything with commitment and joy.  And if it’s right, it’s right.  And you will get that part.

Stephen, I have a question for you.  You mentioned earlier about finding Andy and obviously, Lucy, and Erin.  But how do you go about finding the other actors for the show, somebody like Peter Mensah.
Stephen:  You know we cast a wide net.  We auditioned in Los Angeles, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain.  So there was a lot of auditions tapes, a lot of discussion.  Peter was a little different.  Peter was actually a personal friend of one of our staff writers, Miranda Kwok.  And she suggested in the room one day, hey what about Peter Mensah.  And Rob and I, both lit up and said, oh that’s great.  You think we can get him?  And then of course it went around and around with casting directors telling us, “There’s no way you’ll get Peter Mensah!”  I’ve got to say, that’s one of the cases where Miranda Kwok basically just asked Peter, “Hey, this is a great project.  I think you should take a look at it.”  And he is fantastic in the role, and my God, so magnetic.

And with the rest of the actors, you know, one of the most delightful things about this show for me is finding new talent.  And we really wanted to find as many fresh faces as possible that have not been seen.  And Andy Whitfield obviously being the defining example.  And also you know, actors like Jai Courtney and Viva Bianca and Lesley-Ann Brandt and Manu Bennett.  Names that people may not know, but I think are gonna be thrilled to see they’re just fantastic performance.

And I gotta say, one of the hardest parts besides Spartacus, which of course we tortured ourselves over, because it’s called Spartacus, was the role of Batiatus.  It was literally a nail-biter.  It was like the last thing we cast, and you know, literally we hired John Hannah, and he had to hop on a 36-hour flight to get there in time to get wardrobe and start shooting.  But when we landed on John Hannah, I think it was perhaps one of our most brilliant moments.  Because I think he is going to absolutely shock and amaze people at how fantastic his performance.

Lucy – ancient Greece or ancient Rome. Which do you prefer?
Lucy: Rome. Not so much the place, I think.  Doing Xena was awesome but that was a product of its time. It was the 90s.  We were young and foolish and laughed our asses off through six seasons and had a great time.  And now everybody’s all grown up.  And working with a lot of the same crew and everybody’s up-skilled tremendously.  They’ve been off, they’ve shot Lord of the Rings, and they’ve shot Avatar and whatnot.  And they’re so happy and they’re so proud to be producing this show with their hands and their sweat.  So, this is very, very satisfying to be part of my most grown-up role.

Could you speak to working with the delightful John Hannah, who has shown himself capable of very dark things?
Lucy:  Very dark.  And you ain’t seen nothing yet.  I mean, he takes incredible subtlety, his characters an orator, so he can do very wild things.  But he’s a consummate actor, he’s a really charming, even gassy, human being.  And he just kept us all laughing through the rain, through the cold.  Through the long winter.  And he was summer to us.

Andy, with [the film] Gabriel, you had a background already in working with green screen.  How does that compare to what you’re doing now?  And how does working with green screen work for you personally?
Andy:  You’re right, on Gabriel there was a fair amount of green screen.  That actually was my first experience with it.  I don’t really have a problem apart from the fact that I don’t really like the green that it is.  It’s a bit like a fluorescent light in an office block.  It’s not a comfortable, calm thing to be around.

But in terms of your acting, your performance, you just – it’s not there.  It’s really not there.  There are a million other things to focus on in that moment.  So, yeah, I really don’t mind it.  Only one of the sets that I really worked on, which was the arena, which obviously had to be a green screen because of the scale, the rest of them we built sets, solidly made and beautiful craftsmanship and that does make it easier.  But you just get around it.  It’s just part of the job to ignore that green screen.

Does that mean that when you’re working in the arena, you’re focused more on the other actor, and so there’s less distraction?
Andy:  I’d say, obviously, your antenna is up for whatever focus you can have in that moment.  It just forces you to focus more into the work.  Yeah in that way it does sharpen.

For Lucy, this kind of Lady MacBeth role was different than anything we’ve seen you do before.  What really attracted you to this role, and what challenges did it present?
Lucy:  Well, obviously, having to do anything naked is new and challenging.  But what attracted me to the role, I just knew this was going to be a new kind of television.  I had never read a script before I accepted the job, but I knew from the way Rob [Tapert] talked about it and from the team that he was putting together that this was not a project that I could afford to walk away from.

Andy, stepping into this role that was made iconic by Kirk Douglas, has that affected your performance, and what are your feelings on that?
Andy:  First of all, I’d just like to quickly acknowledge Lucy, I probably haven’t told you this so I’ll do it now, on the phone. I think you are brilliant in this, and I remember a time where there was me, and I had five of the hottest Roman women with cleavage and big hair.  And those were the days where I really, really did need to focus on what the hell I was saying.  And to go back to your question –
Lucy:  And then they were rubbing you down with gold paint or something.
Andy:  Hang on, hang on.  Ok, I’m back. So the question was… yeah, I mean obviously it’s hard.  The last thing any actor wants to do is to mimic or try and recreate someone else’s performance, particularly someone being so iconic as Spartacus, the movie.

I just love – the thing I took most from it was that he didn’t assume leadership, this guy.  He wasn’t, “You must follow me.”  He was presented that leadership by the people who were inspired by him.  He modeled his dignity and his unwavering commitment to righting a few wrongs and so that was kind of the tone I wanted to take on.  And they have similarities our Spartacus to that Spartacus, but the story is vastly different, so it’s not too hard to stay away from, you know, treading on someone else’s toes.

The historical aspect of this all, for Steve, how was that for you to find someone to look for these small details?
Steven:  There’s so many little details that I don’t think people will even pick up on  that are story play accurate.  It’s little things like originally we had written the gladiators are in the bath, and they said well no, actually, they get oiled up and scraped down.  And I thought well that’s great, I haven’t seen that.  Let’s do that.  Stuff about what kind of wine people drank.

The whole thing in the pilot with Mythrodotes and Coda, all of these details, which is not to say anybody should write a term paper based on this because at the end of the day we’re not making a documentary, we’re making a piece of entertainment.  And we try to stay as historically authentic as possible.  But at the end of the day, we also realize that sometimes story must trump history.  And we always like to say we will bend history, we will try never to actually break it.

Andy, how was it to follow that detail?  I mean, down to your costume, no less?
Andy:  My costume is not the biggest costume (laughter).  There are certain practical considerations – that look awesome.  I’m sure, Stephen, you were delighted when you came to set.  But then, the practicalities are that you’re rolling around on a hard floor with rocks gouging troughs in your skin and stuff like that.  So, I guess it made it real.  You know, there was no getting around the fact that we were gonna be fighting every day and there were no, particularly for the slaves, there were no creature comforts…
Lucy:  For the gladiators, you know you think the gladiators enjoy some pleasures – no way man.  They were in these horrible little cells.  That’s all historically accurate, right?  Their bedrooms were just cells.
Steven:  Yeah.  Andy, you’ll be pleased to know, one concession we made to history was that gladiators actually fought barefoot, but we gave all you guys –
Andy:  Those shoes were killing me (laughter).
Steven:  Oh, were they killing you?
Andy:  I’m joking.

Peter is starring in two great upcoming projects, James Cameron‘s Avatar and Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

In my exclusive interview I did at this summers Comic-Con, we talk about his Spartacus character (Doctore), working with green screens and he even offers up some advice to actors.

Is this your first Comic Con?
This is my first Comic Con. I’ve done some sci-fi fantasy. I did 300, etc., but I’ve not really attended, usually because I’m working somewhere else at the time.  This time around Rob [Tapert - Executive Producer of Spartacus] and the guys actually flew me back for this.

Tell me about your character.
I get to play a character called Doctore on Spartacus, and Doctore is the gladiator trainer.  And it’s his job fundamentally to bring up the up and coming new gladiators and also to prepare sort of the well-schooled gladiators for each and every fight.  And you know what’s fascinating about doing this is you sort of get to see how Roman society worked way back when, I think 73 B.C.  And the fact that these stadiums could house 80,000 people, would come in and watch these fights.  Physically.  They didn’t have pay-per-view.  They had to show up.

I think you guys shot in New Zealand, right?
Yeah and we still are.  This is halfway.

Kind of on a little break?
Yeah, we do sort of little breaks where we come and introduce the show to everybody.  And we’re in Auckland and we have a crew that is really familiar with big feature work.  Head of makeup, Jenna Kens, has done a number of things, The Grudge. She did Zena of course way back when.  Done a number of quite successful shows.  Similarly for wardrobe and the stunts.  Our stunts are really phenomenal.  I think they do Narnia, you know, some of the guys worked on Lord of the Rings, so these are really good blood and sandals guys.

How do you get mentally and physically prepared because this is a long shoot, right?
Yeah, it is a long shoot.  It’s a change entirely of your year when you’re away for 8 months working.  But it’s the job I love to do.  And it’s a great environment to do it in.  So, yes, I’m not at home, but I’m exploring the world.  I’m in New Zealand, which is just beautiful.

Have you gotten a chance to jump off that tower?
I’ve watched many people do it, but thank God – (laughter) I think our producers would be – I think they have enough with us rolling around on the ground and all the stunts that we do, that they probably not going to let us do any jumping.

Now are you doing your own stunts or you try to as much as you can?
Yeah, at this point.  You know in my particular character’s case, yes I do everything myself.  As I say, they’re so talented, they’ve actually designed things that we can actually do that are really exciting and sort of visually impressive, so yeah.

Going into this did you have any sort of say in your character, the look of your character, what your character says?
I was very fortunate.  This was a project that Steve DeKnight and Rob Tapert picked me for.

Oh wow, that’s gotta be great.  You just kind of walk to the mailbox and see the script.
Well, your managers call you and say here’s what we want.  And hey, by the way, it’s Rob Tapert, who let’s face it is one of the more successful guys you could want to work for.

Hard to say no.
Absolutely.  It’s do this or do a cop show.  What would you prefer?  And this is just so brilliant.  So there’s that.  So what it meant was that there was already some pre-thought to what the character would be like, and so I don’t, there wasn’t any real need to collaborate on the look or any of that.  They had that really well-designed.  I think as you see from the clip and when you see the picture it’s so beautifully shot.

It looks amazing.
People are gonna get a movie every week.  And there’s beautiful phantom moments where there’s several thousand frames per second and you’ll see and it’s brilliantly choreographed.

Oh I’m sure (laughter).  Are you guys shooting a lot of green screen?
Yeah, the set managers have built most of the environment surrounded by green screen to create the atmosphere and on occasion of course with special effects definitely on green screen.  So it’s a combination of built set and green screen.  Very graphic novel-esque.  And also vividly colorful in the fact that it’s really taking everybody on a ride to a whole different time period.

Now you’ve obviously done green screen before.  Now does it get easier?
I think the familiarity allows you to sort of not think about it, but I do really, really think that you know it’s kind of part of the job to just enter your story and go for it.  We’ve got brilliant DPs and sort of camera people who capture the work, so I tend not to notice.  I really don’t notice.  It’s sort of you know, we’ve got a story to do.  Your other character’s in front of you, you interact, and that’s what we do.  And so the environment often doesn’t really impact.  If anything, because they’ve built some of the set, this is actually one of the more fun ones to work on because it’s sort of you stand in the gladiator arena, and it just, you feel it.  You’re in the sand, and you’re going oh my goodness, I mean, it’s pretty cool.  I really like doing this.

Do you still get nerves on the first day of shooting?
Absolutely!   I mean, and it’s also part of the fun of it is the butterflies that you always get just before action.  And you sort of, you’re prepped, you’re ready to go, you know the arc, you know where you’re going, and you’re in costume and there’s still a sense of like (takes deep breath) OKAY.  But I’m working with Andy Whitfield, the lead, who’s brilliant.  And John Hannah, who’s just a fantastic guy to work with.  And Lucy [Lawless] keeps us all loose, and you know, it’s a great environment to be working in.

When you’re not working, are you training acting-wise, or what’s your downtime like?
Well, truthfully, there’s not a lot of downtime.  There hasn’t been a lot on this particular environment.  One of the greatest experiences for an actor I think is working.  The truth of it is being so fortunate to get to perform I really appreciate the fact that I’m actually getting to do this thing on a day-to-day basis.  And for the past four months I’ve done it 5 days a week.  And so, the downtime is often in the sort of prepping and getting ready and then in studying the choreography for the next you know, and so there’s always work.  And when all that is completed, then I get a chance to get into a car and explore New Zealand a bit.  And that’s how I’ve been living (laughter).

Do you have any advice for actors?
Honestly I think that if, I don’t know if it’s advice as much as a learning, I think it’s really important to love what you do.  And ultimately in every step, I find myself checking and realizing, one, of course I’m so grateful to work, but just realizing I’m working at something I really enjoy doing.  And I think if anything just keep that joy.  Keep the joy of acting.  It’s more useful than learning the business or getting very clever, I think just love acting.

Check out my interview with his Spartacus: Blood and Sand co-star Erin Cummins!