Vitals
- Products: Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
- Genres: Drama
- Cast Members: Andy Whitfield, John Hannah, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennett, Peter Mensah
- Air Date: January 22, 2010
- Associated Luminaries: Sam Raimi
- Notable Characters: Spartacus
- Network: Starz
We're big fans of Starz' sword and shield epic, Spartacus:Blood and Sand, so news that the pride of Thrace, Andy Whitfield is battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma saddens us. Hearty fellow that he is, Whitfield assured the press today that he's in much better hands than his on-screen counterpart. "I'm receiving excellent care, and am feeling strong, positive and determined with an army of support behind me," said the thirty-five year-old Welsh actor in an official press release. And we're glad to hear it. Spartacus, which received a second season go-ahead before the pilot even aired, was set to go into production at the end of next month, but producers have pushed back the schedule to accomodate Whitfield's recovery.
Word of Whitfield's illness comes a month and a half after another cable TV star, Dexter's Michael C. Hall, went public about his fight with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Both Whitfield and Hall make a living slaying monsters on TV. If anyone can beat cancer, it's the serial killer-killer and the mighty Thracian warrior.
