AN ANGLESEY actor is set for the big time as the star of American TV’s latest sword and sandals adventure.
Amlwch-born Andy Whitfield plays the title role in the controversial Spartacus: Blood and Sand alongside John Hannah and Xena star Lucy Lawless.
“This is my dream role - the fighting, the sandals, the blood, the legend,” he said.
“It’s the greatest script I’ve ever read.”
The 36-year-old plays the legendary soldier, who is forced into becoming a gladiator after defying his general’s orders.
Andy left Anglesey to study at Sheffield University, before moving to Australia in 1997 to study drama in Sydney and work as a diagnostic engineer.
He found work as a model before becoming a regular on Australian screens in recent years, appearing on the drama MacLoed’s Daughters and medical Show Out of the Blue.
The show debuted on American channel Starz TV has attracted a lot of attention for its brutal fights and adult scene, and was given a TV-MA (17) rating by censors.
Andy said that the viewers will identify with Spartacus’ characters and its combination of action, suspense and romance.
“You go through this whole journey - the characters are just put through hell. It’s a unique combination of real hard edge, heart, passion and power,” he said.
Executive producers are Spiderman director Sam Raimi and Stephen Deknight, who said that Andy was the perfect choice for the all-action role.
“We needed somebody who was an undiscovered star, somebody who after the experience on Spartacus could step into the role of James Bond or any other major picture,” he said.
“As soon as he was in his gear on set we thought, ‘why did we ever even consider anybody else?’ because he is Spartacus.”