Starz is officially moving forward with a re-casting of the lead role in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. As previously reported (see here and here), the network plans to recast the role played by Andy Whitfield after it was announced that the actor had a cancer recurrence which made it impossible for him to return to production on the delayed second season:
According to the just-released casting notice, producers are searching for a Caucasian male in his mid to late 30s to play the “smart, intense, passionate” title role. Interested parties must have an authentic British accent and be prepared to sign a three-year contract.
Whitfield was forced to bow out of the show’s second season after doctors advised him to resume “aggressive treatment” for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Last week, exec producer Steven S. DeKnight told me that the production would either “close up shop or recast.” It looks like they’re moving forward with the latter.
Source: The Ausiello Files | EW
