When Spartacus first landed in 2010, it felt like somebody had taken a history textbook, thrown it into a blender with an energy drink, then somehow made one of the most entertaining TV shows of the decade. It was loud, ridiculous, violent, surprisingly emotional, and impossible to stop watching.
Somehow, beneath all the flying CGI blood and slow-motion shouting, the cast genuinely carried the show. More than a decade later, a lot of them are still everywhere. Others stepped away from the spotlight. A few have become the kind of actors where you spot them in something and immediately point at the screen like a slightly overexcited Roman senator.
With the Spartacus universe back in the headlines thanks to House of Ashur, here is where the main cast ended up in 2026.
Andy Whitfield (Spartacus)
Nobody was ever going to forget Andy Whitfield. He made Spartacus more than just a muscled bloke yelling about vengeance in the rain. There was something thoughtful and quietly intense about his performance that gave the series its heart.
Whitfield sadly passed away in 2011 after battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma, shortly after the success of Blood and Sand. He was only 39.
Even now, he remains the emotional centre of the series. Fans still talk about his version of Spartacus as the definitive one, which says quite a lot considering how beloved the later seasons became. The documentary Be Here Now remains one of the most moving pieces of television connected to the show. Fair warning, if you watch it expecting a casual evening, you are in for a deeply unfair amount of crying.
Liam McIntyre (Spartacus, Seasons 2–3)
Stepping into Andy Whitfield’s sandals was probably one of the least enviable jobs in television. Liam McIntyre had to continue the role while fans were still grieving, and somehow he pulled it off.
Rather than trying to imitate Whitfield, McIntyre made the character his own. His Spartacus felt more battle-worn, more exhausted, and increasingly like a man carrying the weight of several thousand angry rebels and approximately twelve impossible speeches per episode.
Since the series ended, McIntyre has kept busy in genre television and gaming. He appeared in The Flash as Weather Wizard, voiced characters in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Resistance and the Gears of War games, and has become a familiar face at conventions.
With House of Ashur reviving the franchise, fans have spent the past year wildly theorising about whether McIntyre could return in some form. Flashback? Dream sequence? Spirit of Spartacus appearing in a conveniently dramatic mist? Nothing has been confirmed, but nobody would complain.
Lucy Lawless (Lucretia)
Lucy Lawless arrived in Spartacus with the confidence of somebody who already knew she could dominate every scene in the room. Which, to be fair, she could.
As Lucretia, she somehow made a manipulative Roman aristocrat both terrifying and weirdly sympathetic. One minute she was plotting somebody’s downfall, the next she looked as though she might actually burst into tears. Then five minutes later she was plotting again. Truly the full emotional range.
Since Spartacus, Lawless has stayed incredibly busy. She starred in Salem, returned to cult TV with Ash vs Evil Dead, and has had a long-running lead role in My Life Is Murder. She has also remained outspoken on climate issues and social causes.
In one of the most pleasingly chaotic bits of TV news in recent years, Lawless returned as Lucretia in House of Ashur. Because apparently one Roman schemer getting resurrected by the franchise was not enough.
John Hannah (Batiatus)
John Hannah’s Batiatus was one of the great television performances of the 2010s. Every line sounded as if he had personally practised it in front of a mirror while holding a goblet.
His performance somehow turned a thoroughly awful man into the funniest character on the show. Batiatus could threaten somebody’s life, insult them, and deliver a dramatic speech about ambition, all in roughly the same sentence.
After Spartacus, Hannah continued to pop up in seemingly everything. He appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Trust Me, Transplant, and a string of British dramas. He has also continued to work in theatre, which makes sense because frankly he was born to stride around a stage making increasingly theatrical threats.
Manu Bennett (Crixus)
Crixus began as Spartacus’ rival and ended up becoming one of the most popular characters in the series. Mainly because Manu Bennett played him with exactly the right amount of swagger, stubbornness and occasional accidental comedy.
There is something very entertaining about a character whose solution to every problem is basically, “Have we tried fighting it?”
Since Spartacus, Bennett has appeared in Arrow as Slade Wilson, played Azog in The Hobbit trilogy, and continued to work steadily in film and television. He remains hugely popular with fans of fantasy and action series, largely because he has perfected the art of looking intimidating while somehow also seeming like the nicest bloke at a convention.
With the return of the Spartacus franchise, Bennett’s name has come up constantly. If there is one character fans would happily watch return for absolutely no logical reason whatsoever, it is probably Crixus.
Peter Mensah (Oenomaus)
Peter Mensah gave Oenomaus a kind of dignity that most of the other characters sorely lacked. While everyone else was betraying each other, shouting, or making catastrophic decisions, Oenomaus generally seemed like the only adult in the room.
Since leaving the show, Mensah has continued to appear in major genre projects. He has had roles in Sleepy Hollow, Midnight, Texas, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. He has also continued voice work and convention appearances.
He still has one of those instantly recognisable voices that sounds as though it should either be narrating an ancient prophecy or politely informing you that you are about to lose a battle.
Dustin Clare (Gannicus)
Gannicus was basically what happened if somebody took every reckless gladiator cliché and somehow made it charming. Dustin Clare played him with so much charisma that audiences instantly forgave the fact he appeared to treat basic survival as more of a vague suggestion.
After Spartacus, Clare appeared in Australian dramas including McLeod’s Daughters and Wolf Creek. He has also continued to work in independent film and television.
Even now, Gannicus remains one of the show’s most beloved characters. Which is not bad for a man who spent half the series looking as though he had wandered into battle by accident after leaving a Roman pub.
Katrina Law (Mira)
Katrina Law’s Mira quietly became one of the emotional anchors of the series. In a show packed with dramatic speeches and enormous personalities, Mira often felt more grounded and real.
After Spartacus, Law’s career really took off. She became well known for playing Nyssa al Ghul in Arrow, appeared in Hawaii Five-0, and later joined NCIS.
At this point, if a TV show needs somebody who can look cool, fight people, and make the entire internet immediately decide they are the best character, Katrina Law is usually somewhere near the top of the casting list.
Viva Bianca (Ilithyia)
There are villains you enjoy watching because they are interesting. Then there is Ilithyia, who was so gloriously awful that every scene felt like watching a Roman reality show with slightly more murder.
Viva Bianca made the character impossible to look away from. Ilithyia was manipulative, selfish, dramatic, and somehow still endlessly entertaining.
Since Spartacus, Bianca has worked in film, theatre and smaller television projects, while also spending more time outside the spotlight. She has occasionally reunited with the cast at fan conventions, where fans are still weirdly delighted to see the woman who caused about ninety per cent of the show’s chaos.
Nick E. Tarabay (Ashur)
Ashur was the human equivalent of finding a snake in your shoe. Every time you thought he could not possibly become more slippery, somehow he managed it.
Nick E. Tarabay played him brilliantly, creating one of the show’s best villains. Ashur always seemed to survive by pure nerve, several lies, and the fact everybody else kept making the mistake of trusting him.
Tarabay later appeared in Arrow, The Expanse, and The Wheel of Time. In a rather fitting twist, he returned to the Spartacus world as the lead of House of Ashur, the sequel series that imagines what might have happened if Ashur had survived.
Honestly, it is the most Ashur thing imaginable.
Where the Spartacus Cast Are Now in 2026
The cast of Spartacus have aged remarkably well, which is mildly annoying for the rest of us. Some became major television stars. Some moved into voice acting, conventions, or smaller projects. A few stepped back from the spotlight altogether.
What has not changed is how much affection fans still have for the show. More than ten years later, people are still rewatching it, quoting Batiatus, arguing about whether Gannicus or Crixus was cooler, and pretending they definitely saw all the plot twists coming.
They did not.
The return of the franchise in 2025 and 2026 has only made people more nostalgic. Watching these actors now feels a bit like catching up with old friends, if your old friends happened to spend several years covered in fake blood and shouting at Romans.
The Spartacus Cast, Then and Now at a Glance
| Actor | Character | Where They Are in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Whitfield | Spartacus | Remembered through his legacy and the documentary Be Here Now |
| Liam McIntyre | Spartacus | Active in TV, voice acting and fan conventions |
| Lucy Lawless | Lucretia | Starring in My Life Is Murder and returning to House of Ashur |
| John Hannah | Batiatus | Still appearing in British and international television |
| Manu Bennett | Crixus | Working in fantasy and action projects, fan favourite at conventions |
| Peter Mensah | Oenomaus | Appearing in major TV and voice roles |
| Dustin Clare | Gannicus | Working in Australian film and television |
| Katrina Law | Mira | Continuing her TV career after Arrow and NCIS |
| Viva Bianca | Ilithyia | Working selectively in film and theatre |
| Nick E. Tarabay | Ashur | Leading the new sequel series House of Ashur |
