Series Stars... - Festival de télévision de Monte-Carlo

Series Stars...
Blood and Sand and...
Not sure what Kirk Douglas makes of it, but one of
the surprise hits of the television season has been
the Starz drama competition entry: “Spartacus:
Blood and Sand.” And sex.. Oh, and lots more sex.
Certain websites have been going crazy running clips
of the Welsh bodywork of the Thracian Sparty, Andy
Whitfield, and the ex-“Xena,” Kiwi Lucy Lawless as
Lucretia. No, not Borgia. That’s for next year. Maybe.
The show picks up from where HBO’s “Rome” left off
- and left out. It is produced by Lucy’s husband, Rob
Tappert, also responsible for “Xena” and its “Hercules”
predecessor. “Spartacus” is on holiday at the moment
as Andy undergoes treatment in New Zealand for Non-
Hodgkin lymphoma
His show has grabbed the public (as much as
webmasters) with some marvellous work from Scots
actor John Hannah as Lucretia’s husband, Batiatus -
social climbers, both, they own the ludus, or gladiator
school. “They’re a team like the Macbeths, “ says Lucy.
“He’s the brains and she shores up his confidence.”
She’ll continue to stand by her man in next year’s
prequel - a kind of “Pre-tacus”.
And just stand-out extraordinary is Peter Mensah as
Doctore. At 1.92 m. tall, he usually gets to play figures
of authority. For example, he met James Cameron in
a parking lot and The King of the World cast him, then
and there, as the Horse Clan Leader in “Avatar.”
Much the same happened with “Spartacus.” He was
hired without an audition. And he is clearly stealing the
show as the kick-ass retired gladiator, the high ranking
slave of the ludus owner. He trains “the beasts,” the
gladiators, the old (Spartacus and Crixus) and the new.
He’s not to be argued with. He knows the arena. He
actually survived his battle with the fearsome giant,
Theokoles, and has the scars to prove it.
“The Roman Empire was built on slavery,” says the
Ghana-born Mensah. “A privileged class versus on an
underclass. Nothing new... He understands the perilous
life of the slave warrior, tries to protect and prepare
his charges to the best of his ability. Doctore knows
the intimate and complex workings of the Ludus and
Batiatus and to some extent, The Roman Way, so he
walks the fine line of caring for people on both sides of
the class divide.”
Peter has been in to martial arts since six, when he was
growing up in England, before emigrating to Canada.
He kicked off in Hollywood and his roles rapidly
improved from Hunky Receptionist and Tall Gay Basher
to General Perry in the tele- “Terminator.”
Although “Xena: Warrior Princess” finished nine years
ago, Lucy Lawless remains a New Zealand icon of the
first order... despite her American work in “Battlestar
Galactica” and “The L Word.” “I’ve the most incredibly
loyal fans, incredibly supportive even though I go off
on wild tangents. They understand the difference
between Xena and Lucy and they love me.”
Lucy laughs off questions about the often full-frontal
nudity in “Spartacus.” “Everyone’s got a merkin - just
for fun. I haven’t had to break mine out yet. Next
season, maybe! They gave the men prosthetics. I’m not
sure if they’ve used them yet. Nobody’s telling!” TC
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