Spartacus: Blood and Sand

[starz_mktg]

Friday, July 23^rd 5:30pm PST – live video chat from San Diego Comic-Con

http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/SpartacusLive/Pages/SpartacusLive.aspx

We’re soliciting excellent advance questions for Andy Whitfield (Spartacus), Lucy Lawless (Lucretia), John Hannah (Batiatus), Viva Bianca (Ilithyia) and Steven S. DeKnight (Executive Producer / Head Writer). Please post questions in reply to this board post. The best questions will be chosen and answered live. Deadline to submit questions is Monday, July 19^th 5pm MST.

If you see a question already posted that you like, give it kudos. We'll be paying attention. Thanks!

[BigDealMike]

What are we going to look forward in Season 2 of Spartacus any new cast??

[Crixus]

1. Andy Whitfield, all of us here in the Starz Spartacus forums and all over the world are happy to have you back, how does it feel to be back in the mantle as the greatest Thracian who ever lived?

2. Lucy Lawless, reports have surfaced that you will be back for season 2, along with the prequel, can you give us a hint as to what we can expect from your character Lucretia, will she be more feisty and will she get her ultimate revenge on any of our beloved heroes and foes?

3. John Hannah, so glad to have you back for the prequel! By far the best performance of Batiatus I've ever seen and I'm sure I'm not alone. Can you tell us what it feels like to be coming back on set? Looking forward to another outstanding performance, can we expect the prequel version of Batiatus to be just as devious as he was in season 1 or even more so?

4. Viva Bianca, despite your character Illythia doing away with our beloved Varro, not to mention the great deal of pain your character brought to our beloved hero Spartacus, a lot of people still voted you as most "erotic", how does it feel to have your villainous character beloved by so many?

5. Steven S. DeKnight, kudos for the outstanding job you and your team managed to pull for season 1. Thank you so much for giving us the prequel next year and future seasons of Spartacus (hopefully many). A lot of people feel that you were robbed at the Emmy's this year, is there anything the fans can do to prove that politics aside, Spartacus is by far the #1 show out there?

[lilitu63]

Hi! Want to start out by thanking you for a great first season. Really loved it!

I have a question for Steven. Just wondering if it's actually possible to repeat the drama and action of the first series. The foundation of the story was so solid and the Heroes and Villains so colorful and believable. I guess the question would be; just how challenging did you find doing season two? What did you consider to be your biggest pitfalls?

Cheers, Leila

[Lucretia77]

My question is for Lucy:

First of all I am very happy to see you back on set.

I would like to know how much of yourself you put in the Lucretia charachter. Do you like playing her? Is it difficult to play a charachter that is a Lady Macbeth like? Did you have to prepare yourself for that role and analysing her a lot or you played her by instinct and in the moment?

Sorry for too many questions, but I hope you'll answer to one of them at least.

Thanks for this opportunity Lucy.

[P-A]

Andy Whitfield: It is awesome to see you back on your feet as many of us were praying and thinking good thoughts for you to have a speedy recovery. You're our hero not only as an actor but in real life as well. My question for you is, with everything you went through with the health issue, how has it effected your thinking (mind set now) as an actor and in real life. We all love you Andy and will be patiently waiting for your next series. Your fan, P-A (Mike)

[Ad Astra]

I've read bits here and there on the web about the upcoming Prequel; that Lucy's been working out to try to look five years younger; that Andy will be appearing in two of the episodes. What can you tell us about what to expect in the Prequel's six episodes? Will they be snapshots of time over a period of years in the ludus leading up to Spartacus' arrival, or a series of consecutive events? Will the episodes focus on Batiatus and Lucretia, or on the gladiator champions, or both?

[pauladivello]

First, our household is praying for Andy's speedy recovery!

We're curious whether the actors studied historical accounts of their characters, and how that affected playing the roles?

[Banshee]

Andy:  You said that you love to play action roles, and you're really confortable in Spartacus's shoes. But, there are any action role that you'd love to play? or there are any movie that you would have loved to participate in?

Lucy:  I think you're used to dress in ancient inspired clothing (Xena is a great evidence, haha) and I also know that you like to design clothes. Did you participate in your screen costumes or in you screen mates ones?

Viva:  You play an extreme evil character on the series. Did you get some inspiration from any character/person?

And this is a question to all the cast:  When you see your workmates acting, have you ever felt that you're falling in love with his/her character? I mean, have you ever felt attracted to someone exclusively because of his/her acting skills?

That's all guys! Sorry for my mediocre English, I hope you understand what I wrote up there. Cheers from Spain!!

Ju

PS.: Andy, I wish you all the best and I'm so happy to hear that you feel good! I'd love to ask you (the whole cast) some more questions but I think there will be more people that would also like to ask you anything, so this is my little contribution!

[LordNikonX]

First of all I'd like to thank everyone involved for making such an entertaining, breathtaking, awesome show!  I was able to gather a bunch of my friends at my small apartment just to watch episodes of the first season and we had a blast!  The first season was so full of drama, treachery, deceit, love, sex, anger, repentance, and all the emotions that make a show great!

My questions are for Viva Bianca (Ilythia):  (Answering either part is fine)

Being the only character who escaped from the ludus at the end of the first season, how does it feel to be one of the main antagonists for season 2, now that Lucretia and Batiatus are dead?  

John Hannah seemed to really enjoy playing his role as a generally evil, or at least conceited, character; having acting in plays myself, do you like the rush of embracing a darker side of yourself to become your character?

P.S. Thank you Andy Whitfield, sincerely.  My girlfriend officially calls great sex as "gettin' it like Spartacus" because of the masked scene w/ Spartacus and Ilythia. xD