Sad stuff. The original Spartacus, Andy Whitfield died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma on Sunday in Sydney, Australia.
The actor's wife Vashti said in a statement that the "beautiful young warrior" died on a "sunny Sydney morning" in the "arms of his loving wife," the Associated Press reports.
The 39-year-old actor played the main character in Starz hit series Spartacus. The Whales native was diagnosed with Cancer 18 months ago while preparing for the second season of the show. Though he was relatively unknown actor when the show first began, his performance was so great that production decided to put filming on that season on hold & instead shot a prequal, Gods of the Arena in an attempt to give Whitefield time to recouperate.
Whitfield was briefly cleared to start work on season 2 of the show, even making an appearance at last year's Comic-Con but soon relapsed. With the actors approval production made the decision to recast his role instead of cancelling the series. They hired on newcomer Liam McIntyre to take over the Spartacus role and he can be seen in the 3rd season of the show which will air in early 2012.
Whitfield's co-stars had nothing but great things to say about him:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield,” said Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht. “We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in Spartacus and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life. Andy was an inspiration to all of us as he faced this very personal battle with courage, strength and grace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. He will live on in the hearts of his family, friends and fans.”
Whitfield’s Spartacus co-star Lucy Lawless also paid tribute to him in a statement to EW:
“Obviously, Andy Whitfield left an indelible mark on all of us in the Spartacus family. He was a gentle man who never said a bad word about anyone, a gifted photographer, engineer (no really!) and a brilliant actor. Andy’s incandescent film presence made men want to be him and women want to marry him. Andy’s two babies will always know that their Daddy cherished them and their mother, Vashti, above all things. How lucky we were to have him grace all our lives. Godspeed, Andy!”
Andy Whitfield and his wife, Vashti have 2 children together.
0 comments:
Post a Comment