Getting cast to play the lead role in the Starz series "Spartacus: Vengeance" has been bittersweet for Aussie actor Liam McIntyre.
He was excited to get the starring spot in a cable series, but he felt a great sense of responsibility because he took over the role originated by Andy Whitfield, who had to withdraw from the series after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Whitfield died in 2011 at the age of 39.
"I've never seen a sadder person than the producer that had to come down and actually pass that news on to what is really a family," McIntrye says of hearing of Whitfield's passing. "Part of the triumph of the team was coming together after a little bit of down time to say, 'We owe Andy the respect to do this job as best we can. Let's come together, and let's do the best damn show we can.' We pulled ourselves together and we did excellent work until the end of the season. What else can you do?"
That work can be seen in the season which picked up after the bloody escape from the House of Batiatus that concluded "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Gaius Claudius Glaber and his Roman troops go to Capua to stop the rebellion by the freed slaves being led by Spartacus.
McIntyre has worked in theater, television and film. He made his U.S. debut as Bell Captain Lew in HBO's "The Pacific."
That he got cast as the muscled Spartacus surprised McIntyre because he had lost 45 pounds for a previous role.
Once he landed the part, the real work started.
"I got a military trainer and they just kept upping the stakes and seeing what they could do to me. It was everything from just lift really heavy weights to run and lift heavy weights a lot, and it went for three or four months, and then they finally put me out of my misery and then said, 'Keep training,' " he says. "Every moment through that process was really exciting because it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before."
Once he finally got to the script, it became obvious to McIntyre that this season would have all the blood and battles of the first but also present a new chapter in the life of Spartacus. The character will put aside his personal pain to become a natural leader.
The fun part of the job started once he got on set. McIntyre couldn't stop smiling because he got paid to run around fighting with swords. He calls it one of the most exciting things he could imagine, "let alone have the privilege of doing."
He wants to do his best to honor Whitfield.
