The actor discusses his character’s emotional journey, the most challenging boot camp of his career, and rooting for an unlikely hero
Graham McTavish brings depth and physicality to “Spartacus: House of Ashur” as Korris, a gladiator who has learned through bitter experience to keep his emotional distance. The veteran actor, known for his work in “The Hobbit” and “Outlander,” found himself pushed to new limits in boot camp training that prepared him to portray a believable gladiator. McTavish explores how his character navigates a world of sudden death while slowly breaking down the walls he’s built around himself.
The original “Spartacus” was known for its brutal honesty about violence and power. How does “House of Ashur” build on that legacy?
I think from a personal point of view, in terms of my character, what it builds on is this notion of letting people into your emotional space. Korris is somebody who has learned through bitter experience not to get too close to people because they live in a world of sudden death. Quite literally, somebody that you could become a friend with is dead the next day, so he avoids that to a great degree.
But the character arc and what is particularly interesting in this show is that you see that slowly break down. He lets people in more and more as the show progresses. I have an intimate relationship in the show. I’ve become closer to Achillia as the show progresses, Ashur as well. It’s interesting, it’s great drama that’s pure and simple. It’s the building blocks of great drama, conflict, resolution.
There is violence, there is sex and all those things, but they’re necessary tools to propel the story forward. That’s what I’ve always enjoyed about the earlier portrayals in “Spartacus” and our own.
Walking in this world means lots of practical effects, blood and intense physical scenes. What’s the most challenging part of bringing Korris to life?
The physical stuff was tough. We did boot camp, and I’ve done these before. I did it for “The Hobbit,” I did it for “Outlander” and this, but this was by far the most challenging and tough because you really had to train to be believable gladiators. Whatever they taught in actual gladiator school is what they taught us.
You’re fighting with, admittedly, wooden weapons to start with, but nevertheless you are really fighting. That’s great. It’s like every boy’s dream and every girl’s dream, frankly, to be able to do that. It’s like revisiting your childhood but doing it on a grand scale, so no complaints.
What can fans of the original series expect from this new chapter, especially in terms of the gladiator culture?
I think certainly they’ll recognize the world instantly, but what we’ve managed to achieve over the last, I guess, 10 or 11 years since the original first aired is just an increase in technology apart from anything. The visual effects, what we’re able to achieve in terms of the fights is so much greater. I think Steven has given himself an interesting problem that he’s solved very successfully, which is taking a character that existed in the previous world and turning him into a hero.
He’s a cunning, manipulative, deceptive individual, but we still root for him. That’s what is different. In the original, Spartacus was just a really great guy. How could you not root for him? But this requires much more delicate writing from Steven and I think he’s really achieved it, partly through Nick’s performance and Steven’s writing, but also in his relationships that he has with other people. Me, the other female characters in the show, those all help to show the character of Ashur in a really new, unique way. I think that’s one of the main differences that people will enjoy.
“Spartacus: House of Ashur” debuts with a two episode premiere on Friday, December 5 on STARZ. New episodes will stream weekly on Fridays on the STARZ app and all STARZ streaming and on demand platforms.