Monday, January 17, 2011

Liam McIntyre Is the New Spartacus

After an exhaustive search, Starz has officially tapped Aussie actor Liam McIntyre (HBO’s The Pacific) to replace the ailing Andy Whitfield as the new star of Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

The news comes a week after TVLine reported that McIntyre was the odds-on favorite to score the plum role.

“Since no one can really replace Andy, we realized that we should instead find an actor who can truly lead Spartacus forward,” said Starz CEO Chris Albrecht in a statement. “It was important to us to have Andy endorse the idea of recasting this part, which he did in the same heroic manner that he’s dealt with his whole ordeal. And that, coupled with our fortune in finding a young actor with the gladiator credentials and the acting ability of Liam, makes it easier for us to keep this hit franchise going.”