The following was published in The Australian 21 July 2010

AUSTRALIAN actor Dustin Clare has nabbed the big US role he’s always promised to get. He will star as the lead in the prequel to the American minsieries (yet to be seen here) Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. The sandals and swords series grabbed quite a following in the US recently for, let’s say, its graphic nature. Clare will play Gannicus, the champion gladiator in the House of Batiatus before Spartacus.

Australian actor and model Andy Whitfield, who features in upcoming Aussie film The Clinic, will rejoin the cast, months after passing a cancer scare, as Spartacus.

Viva Bianca, the Melbourne daughter of film composer, Cezary Skubiszewski, starred in the first series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand.