The actor and showrunner discuss resurrecting a villain, finding his sensitive side, and why discomfort makes great television
Nick Tarabay and Steven DeKnight reunite for “Spartacus: House of Ashur,” a bold new chapter that asks a provocative question. What if Ashur, the cunning character killed off in the original series, had survived? Tarabay returns to embody the former slave turned ludus owner, while DeKnight, the creator and showrunner, crafts a redemption story that explores whether a man who has done terrible things can ever truly change. Their creative partnership brings depth to a character viewers once loved to hate.
Nick, you were killed off in the original series, but now you’re the center of this new show. What’s it like playing a character who literally clawed his way back from the dead to power?
Nick Tarabay: It is something else, coming back from the dead. It’s quite an experience, I’ll tell you that much. Getting your head back on feels amazing. It’s quite a delight. It’s delicious. The new season carries a lot of the feeling of the old ones and a lot of the new elements that Steven so brilliantly added to it. It’s just such a fun world to go back to. The sex, the violence, the drama, the backstabbing, the maneuvering. It’s just a delicious role and delicious world with sugar on top. I think one time I said Spartacus is like cocaine with sugar on top.
Steven, the original “Spartacus” was a massive hit. What made you decide that Ashur was the right character to build a new series around?
Steven DeKnight: I wanted something different from the original show. I love the idea of a Walter White, a Tony Soprano, a guy who’s done some very bad things trying to be a better person. There’s a touch of Carlito’s Way where he admits that he’s done horrible things, but he’s really trying to be a better man. But society and the Roman elites keep dragging him back down and forcing him to go back into his old bag of crafty tricks.
For me, that was just such fertile ground and to see a different side of this character that we get a little bit in “Gods of the Arena” and the original. You understand why he’s the way he is. He’s a guy that’s always wanted acceptance and love but never got it, so it hardened him. Now I think in this iteration, in “House of Ashur,” you see how he can start to soften and get in touch with his more sensitive side.
Nick Tarabay: He gets a sensitive side. It’s in there.
Nick, you spoke about so many things you loved about going back to the series. What was the most exciting part about stepping into this universe?
Nick Tarabay: Ultimately, honestly, working with Steven again. Stephen is a brilliant writer and he really puts you in very uncomfortable places, which is a great thing for an actor. It becomes an extreme challenge. “Can I do this?” This is the ultimate challenge that I have when I get the scripts. “Am I able to do this? Am I able to carry this? Am I able to say these words and do justice?” He puts me in a very uncomfortable seat, which I absolutely love as an actor and as a person, to be honest with you.
I always want to challenge myself. I always want to get uncomfortable. The only way for me to grow is to get uncomfortable. This show does this and then some. It does it a lot. Going back and then the storyline, the storyline is just so nice. It’s just brilliant. I get to use a lot of parts of myself, the aggressive, the evil, the good, the loving, the soft, the vulnerability, all of this. I mean, I really couldn’t ask for a better role. To me, this is one of those once in a lifetime roles. I will gladly do it until I cannot do it anymore.
Steven DeKnight: I couldn’t ask for a better actor to write for. Cheers, brother.
We know “Spartacus” is nothing without the blood and the gore and the fight scenes. Steven, how is it pushing those action sequences even further in “House of Ashur”?
Steven DeKnight: It’s always interesting trying to come up with a new way to murder somebody. But ultimately, the important part of those scenes is who wants what? What’s the stakes? Because without that, it really doesn’t work. We map out basically the broad strokes of the fight and then we hand it over to our brilliant stunt coordinator, Al Poppleton, and our team, who just come up with some amazing stuff. I’m always just shocked and so grateful for the hard work that they do.
Nick Tarabay: Allan is quite brilliant. Just in general, all the New Zealand crew, they’re just quite brilliant. We couldn’t shoot it anywhere else. No way.
“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.
