For the first time, Andy Whitfield didn't have to go back to being an engineer after completing an acting job.

The Australia native stars as the title character in "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," tonight at 10 on Starz.

"I only got into this (acting) business six or seven years ago. I had one of those epiphanies: 'You mean I don't have to do the thing I studied in college?' " Whitfield said in a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles.

"I've always had to act in my spare time and chip away at it and then go back to the day job. I guess I was sitting on the fence a little bit, mainly out of concern for feeding my family."

But after an international search, the father of two was cast as the slave who led the rebellion against the Romans. He finally was able to quit his day job. Sometimes he still can't believe it.

"It was so grueling, this job. It was really tough," he said. "When we were filming down in New Zealand, on the way home in the car, I'd go, 'Wow, this is a TV show. I'm going to be a lead.' I would just forget."

Click here to read the full interview.