‘Spartacus: House of Ashur’: Meet the New Faces of Capua (PHOTOS)
Nick Tarabay‘s Ashur gets a second chance at life in Spartacus: House of Ashur. The latest spinoff in Steven S. DeKnight‘s epic, bloody gladiator world rewrites the script of the original Spartacus plot and imagines a world where the treacherous Ashur rose again and gained power from Rome. The other biggest change in this series is the introduction of the franchise’s first woman gladiator, called a gladiatrix. Achillia (Tenika Davis) makes her debut in the first of two episodes premiering on December 5 on Starz.
Set in Capua, this reimagined world thrusts viewers back into the brutality of Ancient Rome with the shocking resurrection of the once-defeated Ashur, who now returns as “Dominus,” the master of his own House. Fueled by vengeance and cunning ambition, Ashur rises from betrayal and bloodshed to seize power, gouging out a place for the House of Ashur in a new arena full of violence, desire, and twisted loyalty.
“Spartacus: House of Ashur is a thrilling, erotic, history-bending, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit. What if Ashur had lived, and the Romans rewarded his treachery with the gladiator school where he once bled?” Starz describes. “Welcome to the House of Ashur. No longer a slave, Ashur has clawed his way to power, owning the same ludus that once owned him. But ruling a band of merciless gladiators is child’s play compared to surviving the savage world of Roman politics — a cutthroat game in which betrayal isn’t a sin, it’s currency. He flips tradition on its head by unleashing Achillia, a fierce and powerful gladiatrix eager to prove herself worthy in a man’s world. Together, they ignite a new kind of spectacle that shocks, disrupts, and offends the elite with every drop of blood.”
House of Ashur stars Tarabay, Davis, Outlander‘s Graham McTavish, Jordi Webber, Jamaica Vaughan, Ivana Baquero, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith, Jaime Slater, Jackson Gallagher, Leigh Gill, and more. Lucy Lawless also guest stars in the series premiere as Lucretia.
A sneak peek from the opening scenes reveals that Lucretia appears in the afterlife after Ashur’s death and offers him a second chance at life in a “new reality uncoupled from history,” a world where Ashur was the one who “hurled fatal spear that claimed the life of Spartacus, and in the act saved Crassus, who rewards you with patronage and all that once belonged to my noble husband.”
Lucretia’s husband was Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (John Hannah). While Tarabay and Lawless return to their roles, there aren’t many returning faces in the 10-episode House of Ashur Season 1. Scroll through the gallery below to meet the new faces of the ludus and Capua, with official character descriptions from Starz.
Spartacus: House of Ashur, Series Premiere, Friday, December 5, Starz
Nick Tarabay as Ashur
Former gladiator and slave, Ashur is now the owner of his old master’s villa and ludus (gladiator school). He dreams of finally receiving the respect and power always denied to him, but those dreams won’t come easy.
Graham McTavish as Korris
Ashur’s doctore (gladiator trainer), Korris is a former gladiator who has won his freedom in the arena. An imposing man deeply entrenched in the ideals of honor and loyalty, Korris is thoughtful, yet deadly.
Tenkia Davis as Achillia
A gladiatrix (female gladiator), graceful and deadly, Achillia is consumed with the guilt of her mysterious past.
Jordi Webber as Tarchon
A gladiator of the House of Ashur and the son of fellow gladiator Celadus, Tarchon is brash and headstrong, with the skills to back it up. He is as deadly as he is charming.
Daniel Hamill as Celadus (front, right)
A gladiator of the House of Ashur and father to the brash, young upstart, Tarchon, Celadus is kind, thoughtful and deadly. Once a mighty warrior, he feels his chance at glory in the arena slipping away with each passing day.
Evander Brown as Ephesius (back, left)
A gladiator of the House of Ashur, Ephesius is a blunt object, but a deadly fighter.
Ivana Baquero as Messia, Jamaica Vaughan as Hilara
A house slave in Ashur’s villa, Messia is outwardly demure and obedient, but inwardly roiling with unrequited passion.
An elevated house slave in Ashur’s villa, Hilara is deeply in love with Ashur and will do anything to protect him. She’s a kind, compassionate soul struggling to remain so in a brutal world.
Jaime Slater as Cornelia, Jackson Gallagher as Julius Caesar
Wife to Julius Caesar, Cornelia is cunning and ruthless, with a sensual appetite rivaling her husband’s. She is one of the richest, most powerful women in Rome, due to her family name.
The man, the myth, the legend. Caesar is brash and arrogant, a force to be reckoned with.
Caesar was previously played by NCIS: Sydney‘s Todd Lasance in Spartacus. Scheduling conflicts prompted the character to be recast.
India Shaw-Smith as Viridia, Claudia Black as Cossutia, Andrew McFarlane as Gabinius
A privileged Roman, Cossutia is shrewd, wickedly intelligent and more than willing to get her hands dirty when needed. She is the wife of the powerful senator, Gabinius.
A pure, ethereal soul in a world of death and deception, Viridia is the daughter of the scheming Cossutia and Senator Gabinius.
Husband to Cossutia and father to Viridia, Gabinius is a senator deeply entrenched in the machinations of a republic on the brink of civil war. He is equal parts intimidating and disarming.
Leigh Gill as Satyrus
Satyrus is a gladiator from the House of Proculus, and the fearsome leader of the deadly Brothers Ferox. A hard-drinking, hard-loving ball of death and destruction, he’s also a man yearning for connection.
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