Actor Graham McTavish, who is known to fans for his role in Outlander, has spoken about his hair transformation for the upcoming Spartacus: House of Ashur series.
The new Spartacus sequel imagines an alternate future for Nick E. Tarabay’s character, Ashur, asking the questions: “What if Ashur hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance? What if he had been given the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus for helping the Romans kill Spartacus and end the slave rebellion?”
McTavish plays Korris, a former gladiator who earned his freedom in the arena and is now Ashur’s Doctore, training gladiators at Ashur’s Ludus.
Speaking openly about his hair transformation for the role, the actor told People: “I had a [long-haired] wig. I’m constantly tossing my head. They had to tell me to stop.”
In addition to this, he also provided some more details on Korris, describing him as a “decent man” who is “fair and loyal”.
“So he’s not duplicitous and manipulative and any of that sort of thing, but he’s not shy of a fight,” he added. “Yes, he gets into a few scraps, but it was great fun.”
Spartacus first premiered on Starz in 2010 with its inaugural season, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. This was followed by the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena in 2011, and later seasons Spartacus: Vengeance in 2012 and Spartacus: War of the Damned in 2013.
As well as McTavish and Tarabay, House of Ashur features actors from Home and Away such as Jamaica Vaughan and Jordi Webber, as well as Ivana Baquero, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith, Leigh Gill, and Tenika Davis.
The original show’s creator, Steven S. DeKnight, returns as the showrunner and executive producer.
Spartacus: House of Ashur doesn’t have an official release date yet, but Starz has announced it will debut in the fall of 2025 in the United States.
UK fans may have to wait a bit longer, as the network’s streaming service Lionsgate+ (formerly StarzPlay) has shut down in the region. This means another platform or broadcaster will need to secure the rights to House of Ashur, but there’s no information yet on which service, if any, will pick it up.