Spartacus: To The Bitter End When the Starz Network announced Aussie actor Liam McIntyre would be taking over the role of Spartacus from Andy Whitfield, fans reacted with mixed emotions. Whitfield, who had left the series after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, had amassed a legion of admirers in one short season of Spartacus. Some felt that the sword and sandals epic would have a difficult time continuing without the actor who had become synonymous with the show a feeling that only worsened after Whitfield passed away.
However, McIntyre overcame tremendous odds to win the hearts of the show s fans, not by attempting to duplicate Whitfield s interpretation of the character, but by respecting the actor enough to take Spartacus in a new direction and help the popular show soldier on. Now a seasoned veteran, McIntyre took a break from filming the epic final season of this fan-favorite series to speak with Gay.net about the intense physical training the cast endures each season (which culminates in a month-long boot camp ), how playing Spartacus has changed his life, and why the series finale will be a heartbreaker. Gay.net: How has playing Spartacus impacted your life as an actor?
Liam McIntyre: This whole experience has been utterly life-shaping for so many reasons. First, coming into it the way that I did was heartbreaking what happened to Andy (Whitfield) was heartbreaking. It s awful to step into a role at the expense of another actor, but at the same time you can t change that.
You ve got a job to do and you ve got to try and make the most of it. I ve improved so much as an actor from working on Spartacus . I ve learned how large-scale sets work; how the American system of filmmaking works; how to interact with people at crazy, big press events, and the art of keeping spoilers quiet.
Did you ever get to meet Andy Whitfield? I was never lucky enough to actually meet Andy, but we did get to talk over email. He gave me a lot of friendly advice and told me that although it was a tough show, the cast was like a big family and I should get ready to have one of the best experiences ever.
What s it like for you this season? Last season I was untested, I was new to anything even close to the scale of this show. But this season I feel like I m a little bit more settled and it s a different feeling now.
It s a cool feeling. It s such a big series and a crazy big story this year. They ve skipped ahead to the meat of it and chopped out all of the fat.
I don t know how they re going to film it all. They ve even built a whole city on set, which is insane. It s funny because one day in boot camp we were told we were going to be running up and down on one of the new sets they built, and it was a whole city!
It boggles the mind what they can do. How has boot camp been going this year? They just make it harder.
You d think because it s the last season they d let us take it easy, but no. Al Poppleton and his stunt department have gotten on this trip about Marine-style military training, so they ve got us doing things like running with bags that were meant to be ammunition cases while shouting, Drop and give me 20! It s been a nightmare, but at the same time it s great because you feel good about yourself when you do all that work.
The more I do it, the more I enjoy it which makes me think maybe I m a bit damaged now. (Laughs) 1 2 Last Page Continue reading →
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