Is Lucy Lawless picking up her sword again?
The former “Xena: Warrior Princess” star has been cast in
Starz’ new action series, “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” the
network announced today. The “Spartacus” series is set in 73
B.C. Spartacus was a slave who led a revolt against the
Roman Republic.
Lawless, most recently starred in “Battlestar Galactica,”
plays Lucretia, who with her husband Batiatus own a
gladiator camp called the Ludus. They also own the
soldier-turned-slave Spartacus. According to the network,
“the couple has fallen on hard times financially and has
bought Spartacus hoping his fighting prowess will help them
regain their status in the brutal world of gladiatorial
contests.”
British actor Andy Whitfield has been cast as Spartacus
after what the network describes as “an exhaustive worldwide
search.” He has starred in many Australian drama series,
including “McLeod’s Daughters,” “Packed to the Rafters,”
“The Strip” and “Out of the Blue.”
The series begins production April 1 in New Zealand and
is slated to premiere on Starz in January 2010. “Xena”
producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, along with Joshua Donen,
are exec producing the series.
Other cast members include:
Erin Cummings (“Dollhouse”) as Thracian priestess Sura,
Spartacus’ wife;
Peter Mensah (“300,” “Avatar”) as Doctore, Batiatus’
most loyal and trusted slave;
Manu Bennett (“30 Days of Night,” “The Condemned”) as
Crixus, the top gladiator at Batiatus’ Ludus;
Antonio Te Maioha (“Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Legend of
the Seeker”) as Barca, a big, hulking brute of a man who is
Batiatus’ bodyguard and hit man;
Craig Parker (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Legend
of the Seeker”) as Glaber, a Roman Legate, who blames
Spartacus for his failed military campaign;
Nick E. Tarabay (“Crash,” “The Sopranos”) as Ashur, a
former gladiator who is now the Ludus’ resident bookie.
For more about
Spartacus: Blood and Sand Visit the AUSXIP Spartacus: Blood and
Sand Site
