Comic-Con: SPARTACUS Interview with Steven S. DeKnight, Liam McIntyre, Manu Bennett, Cythia Addai-Robinson Tales of Epic Endings, Loves and Tributes
by Nico Posted:July 13th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Ive been watching
Spartacus since day two. I somehow missed day one. Spartacus is much more than sex and gore, its about heart. Its about the growth of these characters from slaves to freedom fighters. So getting a chance to sit down with
Steven S. DeKnight (executive producer),
Liam McIntyre (Spartacus),
Manu Bennett (Crixus) and
Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) was a big treat. Theyd flown straight from set in New Zealand to talk about the series. For what they had to say about the final season
Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013, read on after the break.
Liam McIntyre (Spartacus)
On where theyre at in production, When I go back, I will be shooting the last couple of days of episode five, so weve just gone past halfway. Shot five scenes on Thursday and got on plane. This years crazy. Some of the best writing Ive seen for the whole series.
On boot camp, They just make it harder. Youd think its the last season, take it easy. The guys got on a military vibe, which was a nightmare. Its great, it means you do the work and feel good about yourself when you do those love scenes. Its one of the best ways to get a cast together, put them in an environment where failures not an option, but thats what theyre trying to get you to do. You work together, you fight together, it feels like the war that youre about to go through in the story.
Andy Whitfields advice over email to Liam, Its a big family. Look after yourself. Its a tough show, but its one of the best experiences ever.
On this seasons story, They skipped ahead to the meat of the story, theyve chopped out all of the fat. They built a whole city. Its going to wrap it up in an exciting and still unexpected way, because you can Wikipedia Spartacus and find out what happens. Its one of those lucky histories, all the details are a bit vague so you can fill it with all the interesting plot points you want. People die at all different times. People go on to exciting adventures that you dont expect. Every script that Ive read has given me something that surprised me so far.
On wheres his character is at, Hes very much business now. Hes closed a bit of the chapter on his personal pain. Hes tried to embrace that for the masses, for freedom thing. Thats been a challenge because everything in acting is about relationships so you cant just play some general of people whos just out to win the war even though thats his story now. There are thousands of people dying. It actually weighs heavier on him. But he has to close all of that out so he can be the warrior general so that everyone else has the confidence that they can win this thing which is for all intents and purposes seemingly impossible against the richest man and the strongest nation in the world at that time.
On playing himself in a video game, That **** is the bomb! (P.S. He used to run a video game store.)
Manu Bennett (Crixus)
On the relationship between Crixus and Naevia, Right from the very start until what were filming right now, theres still a determination between Spartacus and Crixus behind what the meaning behind freedom is. Whether youre doing it for yourself or doing it for others. What are the things to protect if youre trying to gain freedom. For Crixus, once he met Naevia and that love story began, its been about finding that window that she opened up for him. We begin season three with the idea that the two of them are in their zenith of their relationship. Theyve found everything theyve ever been looking for, except being beyond the borders of Rome. Everything takes a slide towards the worst.
On the scope of this season, This is the season about Rome bringing all its might and all its power in to squash this group that dared to defy them. It starts out with the group feeling quite confident in themselves, because they managed to beat one small legion and hold a city for a while. Now, here comes the might of Rome. Anybody who researches the history of it knows it doesnt end well. The epic nature of the War of the Damned is the epic battles that do take place. Were saying goodbye to each other slowly as the end nears
On the relationship between Crixus and Spartacus, Crixus and Spartacus have a huge power struggle this season. Spartacus has the concept that everybody deserves freedom, including the Romans when it comes to some circumstances. When he starts defending the enemy, Crixus thinks, Are we in a war here? Can you afford to care for these people, to feed these people, when we barely have rations for ourselves? And theyre the enemy, theyre the people who have done this to us. Whats the statement youre trying to make, Spartacus? That really starts hinging on the drama of the rebel force who start to divide itself based on whether they believe that this concept of Spartacuss should be for everybody, including the Romans. That is the heart of this season the difference of opinion in that equality of freedom for all.
On
Be Here Now, the Kickstarter documentary about Andy Whitfield, (Points to the Be Here Now emblazoning his shirt) This is Andys tattoo which he put on his arm during his treatment phase for cancer. Be Here Now is a documentary that was shot during Andys treatment phase and they shot right up until a few days before Andy passed away. Theres a trailer for it on YouTube. I believe they just finalized getting all the funding they need to produce the documentary and finish it off. If youre a fan of the show and you want to know just more about that man behind our first series, that brilliant actor, that wonderful father, that caring husband which he was, make sure you watch Be Here Now when it comes out. Its about living the moment and being aware of the gift of life. For Andy, being a family man and having children, its just been so sad for all of us to have lost him. If its this message about cancer that helps awareness and speeds up finding a cure, thats what Andy wouldve wanted from this documentary.
Steven S. DeKnight (Executive Producer)
On the inevitability of history, You know, the thing about the ending is, its kind of like the sinking of the Titanic, you know the Titanic sank, but still James Camerons movie made a billion dollars back in the day. Its not about what happened, its not about the ship sinking, its not about the Romans winning, its about how did we get there. Its the human story. The great thing about the history of Spartacus is, if you read it, its all written from the Romans side, so from an artistic standpoint, theres nothing about the people. Theres nothing about why. Thats something we get to explore. The trickiest thing about the ending is, you dont want to have the complete downbeat ending. Everybody died, they lost. Its the great thing in the Kirk Douglas version, theres that ray of hope. Even though he was crucified, his son was going to live free. Were not doing that, obviously, but I think we found a way to have a message of victory in the face of defeat.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia)
On Naevias relationship with Crixus, I think that the response to that storyline, people are obviously really invested. At the end of the day, myself and Manu (Bennett) were really passionate about honoring what that storyline means to people, that epic love of loves. This man has gone to hell and back to find this woman. Who doesnt want that level of love? Its really amazing.
On getting the role, When I got the role, I was put on tape in Los Angeles and didnt hear anything and I thought, Oh, that went away and then all of the sudden, I get a call that Steven DeKnight would like to meet with you. How would you like to go to New Zealand and swing around a sword? Okay Once I found that out, I had a week to pack up my life and go to New Zealand. Ive been on this crazy ride ever since. Its been a dream come true, getting to travel to this location and meet all these amazing people and play a role that, I really dont think theres a role like this on television right now
Any female that gets to kick ass at this level, you feel pretty lucky.
On how shed like it to end, I dont know. Maybe come back as a zombie
