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Liam McIntyre becomes new Spartacus

“Every actor dreams of getting a big break," says Aussie actor Liam McIntyre, as he prepares for the title role in Spartacus.

Little-known Australian actor Liam McIntyre has been catapulted into the spotlight as the new Spartacus for the US Starz Network.

He replaces Andy Whitfield who was forced to withdraw to address non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

“It’s been the toughest thing,” he told the New York Times. “Every actor dreams of getting a big break, a big opportunity. Andy’s such a wonderful actor. I don’t want to follow that guy, and everybody hurts that he’s had to give up the role, myself included.

“As an actor, you never try to be someone else,” McIntyre said. “You can’t. I honestly think the reason I’ve got this far and now have got the role – I’d like to think I have the same soul as Spartacus, that Andy brought to it. But I guess it remains to be seen.”

“Beyond that, Andy’s Spartacus is always going to be Andy’s Spartacus, and I would never try and emulate that. Or try to be him. I think that should stand alone as his legacy.”

Steven S. DeKnight, the creator and producer spoke about the selection of McIntyre.

“We needed someone that not only had that gravity and that manliness that the hero requires,” he said, “but he also had to have a sympathy and a compassion that just radiates.”

“The way he delivered everything was spot on but he looked like Christian Bale from The Fighter.”

McIntyre’s TV credits include Neighbours, The Pacific, Rush and Sudden Impact and he features in the upcoming movie Frozen Moments.

Source: NY Times

6 Responses

  1. Great! looking forward to second series and also to Liam new Thriller movie Frozen Moments which sounds pretty cool from what I have read about the synopsis!

  2. The reason this should work is, that season one really was a first chapter and it concluded.

    Season 2 will be quite different by virtue of the story and what happened next. So despite the conflicts with Crixus, the story is not retreading the same ground. It’s moved on from where it started. It will be fascinating how they pull off the reason of the story. Thankfully the network seems behind the show for the long haul.

    All the best to Andy and his treatment! Any work on how he’s doing?

  3. I have had the pleasure of working alongside Liam in an amateur theatre production here in Melbourne. He is a great talent. Focussed, compassionate and a real nice guy too. Am sure he will do very well. Good luck to him – this is much more than the break he was looking for.

  4. Great news! He was definitely my top pick of the rumoured actors for the role of Spartacus!

    I’m looking forward to the prequel with lots of Batiatus and Lucretia goodness and season 2 with the Spartacus on the run from Rome.

  5. yay – looks hot for the role. Now they can continue with the production of series 2. A different face could be handled well, in that Spartacus as a person has changed since the events of the last series. Can’t wait 🙂

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