The new Starz series, Spartacus: House of Ashur, has proven it’s leaning into the expectations of the series being a bloody entertaining affair. And while the show centers around the return of Nick E. Tarabay’s Ashur, we’re also meeting some new characters battling it out (literally and metaphorically) in ancient Rome.
One of those new characters is Graham McTavish’s Korris, a former slave who works with Ashur to bring their house to glory. It turns out that showrunner Steven S. DeKnight created the role just for the Outlander and Witcher actor. “It pretty much made it impossible for me to say no,” McTavish joked in a conversation with Reactor, adding that working on the series “was a delight.”
Read on for the full discussion with McTavish, including the actor sharing how a development in the show’s third episode became his most memorable moment from the season, and how Korris and Ashur are like “some bickering old married couple.”
This interview was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
I would love to hear about how this role was presented to you—what was the pitch or the description?
I was contacted by [showrunner Steven S. DeKnight]. He’d actually written this character for me, which was obviously extremely flattering, and it pretty much made it impossible for me to say no. It was a delight. And of course, I was a huge fan of Steven’s writing in this unique style. He has a semi-Shakespearean cadence that he gives things.
I was a big fan of the previous shows. I’d seen them all when they came out. And I’m a huge fan of ancient Rome. People used to ask me on Outlander, if you could travel back in time, where would you go? And I would always say Rome. But only for a day! I wouldn’t go longer than a day. And I think in some ways—hopefully, this is what the show will show—is that we have more in common with ancient Rome than you think. It’s closer to us than we could possibly imagine, and that there’s a little bit of a Roman inside all of us. There are characters in the show that we will definitely be able to recognize in our own world, in our own lives, and we just happen to be wearing different costumes and carrying swords.
You mentioned the writing. Did you have any favorite lines that you had to practice?
It’s hard to remember lines. However, in terms of scenes, some of the most memorable were the ones with Opiter [played by Arlo Gibson], because they gave me the chance to explore a tender, romantic side to a character, which I’d really not had the chance to do before, on screen. On stage, yes, but not on screen. In Outlander, I’ve got a chair smashed over my head, which is hardly the most romantic moment ever. But this meant that as an actor, I was able to explore that, and I was also able to give that to the character and to the audience. That was probably the most memorable, because other than that, a lot of it was familiar ground: fights, politics, a straight kind of drama. But this was different. This was showing a vulnerable side to a character that was really interesting to explore.
Your character has an interesting relationship with Ashur [played once again by Nick E. Tarabay]. Can you talk about how your character feels about Ashur?
They’re like some bickering old married couple, really. They can’t live without each other, but they can’t live with each other, and they also recognize the value of one another to their joint enterprise. I don’t think they’re friends. I don’t think at the end of the evening, they’re cracking open a bottle of wine together and sitting down talking about the day. But they are friendly, and they have a shared purpose, a shared ambition for their house. And they recognize in each other that they’ll be able to help each other achieve that. On their own, it would be pretty much impossible. But together, they make a formidable team. And when they add to that Achillia, then they become really, really unbeatable.
New episodes of House of Ashur premiere on Starz on Fridays.
