Spartacus: House of Ashur welcomes Graham McTavish, Claudia Black & more to the cast

Production on Spartacus: House of Ashur is currently underway in New Zealand, and the rest of the main cast for the upcoming Starz series has been revealed.

The series’ main cast will include Graham McTavish (The Witcher), Tenika Davis (Jupiter’s Legacy), Jamaica Vaughan (Home and Away), Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth), Jordi Webber (Choose Love), Claudia Black (Farscape), India Shaw-Smith (The Pines Still Whisper), and Leigh Gill (Joker). Of course, Nick Tarabay will be reprising the role of Ashur, a former gladiator who used his cunning to serve the house of Batiatus and later the Romans in the original series.

• Graham McTavish plays Korris, “a former gladiator who won his freedom in the arena and is now Ashur’s Doctore, training the gladiators in Ashur’s Ludus.“
• Tenika Davis plays Achillia, “a female gladiator driven to surpass her male counterparts.“
• Jamaica Vaughan plays Hilara, “a young, elevated house slave, deeply in love with Ashur.”
• Ivana Baquero plays Messia, “a house slave in love with Hilara.“
• Jordi Webber plays Tarchon, “a brash and headstrong gladiator.“
• Claudia Black plays Cossutia, “a politician determined to keep Ashur in his place and is constantly plotting his downfall.”
• India Shaw-Smith plays Viridia, “Cossutia’s daughter.“
• Leigh Gill plays Satyrus, “the leader of the Brothers Ferox, gladiators from a rival Ludus.“

If the original series is any indication, I’d wager that more than a few of these characters won’t survive the 10-episode series. House of Ashur is described as a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit. The series poses the question: what if Ashur, played by fan favorite Nick Tarabay, hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance? And what if he had been gifted the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus in return for aiding the Romans in killing Spartacus and putting an end to the slave rebellion?“

The first season of Spartacus, subtitled Blood and Sand, tells the story of the man who would become Spartacus as he’s sold into slavery and trained to become a gladiator. Filled to the brim with gruesome blood and sexual content, Spartacus was something to behold, particularly with its unique visual style and scripting. Tragically, Andy Whitfield, who played the title character, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and later died, but not before giving his blessing that the series should continue. Following a prequel series, Liam McIntyre took over the role for Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned.