#Who played spartacus season 1 series#

I suspect that McIntyre didnвЂ™t have to try very hard to imagine what that must have felt like. If a bounty hunter isnвЂ™t trying to kill him, heвЂ™s having to fend off challenges to his authority.

In tonightвЂ™s premiere, one gets the sense that the character feels trapped or hunted even in repose. The character is a political and military leader now, somebody who has to worry about governing and coalition-building within his small but determined group. TheyвЂ™re roaming the land and spending much of their time and energy trying not to get killed. Spartacus: Vengeance picks up after Spartacus and his fellow gladiators have killed their master Batiatus and fled his gladiatorial training school. He doesnвЂ™t have WhitfieldвЂ™s odd sweetness and Joseph Gordon-Levitt eyes, and he has a somewhat more square, old-movie presence (except for the fussed-over eyebrows), but heвЂ™s a good actor, and his Tom CruiseвЂ“like relentlessness suits the story. This would be a tough situation for any performer, and IвЂ™m sure some fans will feel that the show canвЂ™t or shouldnвЂ™t continue with a different star no matter who he is. Starz approached McIntyre as a contingency McIntyre says he had some contact with Whitfield near the end, though they never actually met, and took over with WhitfieldвЂ™s blessing. Production of the mothership show was supposed to resume after Whitfield was declared cancer-free, but the actor relapsed and died September 11 of last year. Starz delayed the second season to accommodate his treatment, then plugged the long hiatus with the six-episode prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which was pretty good for a period piece thrown together in a hurry.

#Who played spartacus season 1 series#

Whitfield, whose sinewy torso and sweaty earnestness helped turn the original series into StarzвЂ™s biggest ratings hit, was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma after the first season wrapped. Liam McIntyre takes over the title role, replacing Andy Whitfield, who died of cancer last year. The latest edition, Spartacus: Vengeance, picks up where the original 2010 hit Spartacus: Blood and Sand left off, with the title character and his lusty band of former slaves afflicting their former Roman masters, and the Romans trying to contain the rebellion. For the most part, the reincarnation works, in large part because this cable franchise doesnвЂ™t have a pedigree to sully. Both the new actor and the revamped series take some getting used to. Photo: Matt Klitscher/Starz Entertainment