Sunday, September 18, 2011

The late Andy Whitfield.

Last year when Spartacus Blood and Sand premiered I was all over it. I watched all the trailers, and I was hooked. It was like Gladiator and 300 had a hot sexy baby. Every episode I fell more and more in love with Spartacus. He was brutal and savage, and full of so much heart you couldn't help but want him to win, to get his wife back, and kill them all.

It probably didn't hurt that Andy Whitfield was gorgeous, with defined abs and intense eyes, no the eye candy factor was there big time. But truthfully it was something more, it was the actor himself, doing his craft, being Spartacus. For a girl who doesn't tear up often, especially during bloody television shows, when his wife died I cried with him. Man that show had me so in tuned with what was going on. And I'm a girl, maybe not the typical girl (my love of all things serial killer, and scary), but damn did I love the fighting and the blood.

So when Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, I might have yelled and cried a little. Alright if we're going to be really honest I did, and it was not a normal response for me. I loved that show, loved it so much I couldn't even watch the prequel Spartacus Gods of the Arena because it didn't have him, it didn't have Spartacus.

A week ago, the super talented Andy Whitfield passed away. I cried, not just because someone so talented was lost, not because the show would never be the same without him, but because another human being, a man on the brink of a great career lost his life to cancer, and left two children behind.

Sometimes life is crazy. Last night, feeling a wee bit sad, and a little nostalgic I went on Blockbuster.com and got my hands on a movie Andy was in before he was Spartacus. The Australian movie Gabriel.



Like I expected it was pretty good, which just made me sadder. I was looking forward to seeing this guy in more movies. Sure there are a couple more out there, and I'll watch every last one of them. But I don't think I can watch Spartacus Vengeance, it just won't be the same.

So RIP Andy Whitfield, you were an incredible actor, and you died too young, you burned bright and you burned fast but you won't be forgotten.

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