John Hannah defends nudity and sex in Spartacus- Guardian UK Newspaper 16 May 2010
The actor, who stars in 'the most explicit, violent series' ever made, says his only concern was the language
Three minutes into my interview with actor John Hannah, and he is crouching in front of me – half-hovering, half- kneeling – mimicking a sex act. Actually, he is mimicking the mimicking of a sex act. I'm trying to look at him head on, without laughing nervously or grimacing, but my hands keep rising, involuntarily, to cover my eyes.
Hannah's mime is not entirely inappropriate. Actually, in any other circumstance, it would be utterly, bizarrely inappropriate – but in discussing his new TV drama, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, it's pretty much par for the course. The show arrives on Bravo later this month, amid a fanfare of hype and controversy – it was originally commissioned and shown by the US cable network Starz, and has been called "the most explicit, violent series" ever made.
