TheTelevixen.com had the opportunity to sit in on conference calls with Spartacus: Vengeance creator Steven S. DeKnight and atar Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) where they talked about the upcoming season. The following are some highlights from the two calls.
The biggest news involving the Spartacus universe was the untimely illness and passing of Andy Whitfield, the man who played Spartacus during Season 1, and how the role was re-cast with Liam McIntyre. DeKnight and McIntyre both shared their thoughts on the decision to have someone new take over the character.
When McIntyre’s performance was addressed, DeKnight replied:
What drew us to Liam is that we didn’t want to try to duplicate (Andy). I mean, that will never happen. He was such a singular, amazing talent. But we wanted to find somebody that had the same base qualities of compassion. And I told all the actors when they auditioned that even though Spartacus may fly into a rage now and then, he never comes from a place of anger, it’s always from a place of a wounded heart. And we really felt like Liam captured that essence.
And when Liam was asked about the challenge of taking over the role of Spartacus, he shared:
I’m very lucky in that … 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. 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 influenced me in any way. I can’t be sure, but I mean hopefully because he was sensational. Realistically I just tried to be true to the character which 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.
McIntyre’s also aware that there may be resistance to him being Spartacus, and when asked whether fans will respond to him, he replied:
That’s all right because I would demand the scrutiny of fans in that sense. I hope they come asking difficult questions because frankly I would if I was in the reverse situation. I’m not trying to pretend that I am Andy or that I’m going to be matching Andy in any particular way. I just hope that I do the character justice and that with time I hope that they can like my Spartacus in a way that keeps him a compelling character in a way that they loved Andy’s. I guess time will be the judge of that question.
Since DeKnight has ties to Joss Whedon, every season needs a Big Bad, and Spartacus: Vengeance is no different. With Batiatus no longer in the picture, the field was wide open, but someone was there to fill the void according to DeKnight:
Yes. Glaber, who we only saw in two episodes back in Season 1, he is a major player this season. He is the big bad of our season. Historically he’s the next guy that was sent after Spartacus and we follow that history here, so that he’s going to be Spartacus’ arch nemesis nipping at his heels for the entire season.
While Spartacus is known for his sex and violence, it’s the relationships between the characters that are truly at the show’s core, and one of the primary relationships is between Lucretia and Ilithyia, which hit some snags but will be vital to Season 2. According to DeKnight:
Without giving anything away, Ilithyia and Lucretia, which are two of my favorite characters to write especially when they’re with each other, they continue their frenemy dance in a very convoluted, unexpected way. What happens between those two is not what you would think is actually going to happen, especially based on where we left them at the end of Season 1. They are in fine form totally. They really continue that storyline in an amazing kind of way.
Another relationship that was a driving force during Season 1 was Spartacus’ bond with his wife who died towards the end of the first run, but a new woman (Mira) emerged as a challenger for the gladiator’s affections, which was interesting since he’s so motivated by his love for his wife. When asked about the coupling of Spartacus and Mira, DeKnight responded:
With Mira, as we left her in Season 1, she really responded to Spartacus and was falling in love with Spartacus and Spartacus had compassion towards her, but I wouldn’t call it love. Where we move with them, they have moved into a quasi-relationship, but it’s a relationship that’s very bumpy and rocky and may or may not work out in the end.
As for Liam’s take on the Spartacus/Mira relationship:
Well I guess who doesn’t need love deep down? You know, I think that’s very true of everybody. So that was a great thing to get to play with all year because in Season One, Sura said you will never love another person. And that’s kind of like a truism for Spartacus’s existence. So he now has the problem – which is a real problem for everybody that falls into those horrible circumstances – can you ever love again? And he certainly wants to. I think Spartacus certainly wants to, and he’s going to try. But it’s a very, very difficult thing for him to try and not only move on, but move into any relationship. So it’s a constant struggle throughout the season.
From the sound of it, Spartacus: Vengeance has the chance to be an admirable follow-up to Blood and Sand, and I cannot wait to see how everything unfolds. Spartacus: Vengeance premieres tonight at 10/9c on Starz, and on January 29th on TMN & Movie Central in Canada.
Photo Courtesy of Starz
Marcos is a TV junkie whose gateway show was Chuck, and has added shows like Castle, Leverage, Glee & The Vampire Diaries to his must-watch list. While he does not have formal ties to the entertainment industry, Marcos has been blogging about TV and movies for fun since 2008. Check out other recaps at
