*Graham McTavish brings a new depth to the STARZ series “Spartacus: House of Ashur,” now streaming weekly on Fridays on the STARZ app and all STARZ on-demand platforms.
Created by Steven S. DeKnight, the show, which premiered December 5, imagines a world where Ashur survives and seizes control of the gladiator school that once enslaved him, building a house of power and peril in Roman politics. McTavish’s character, Korris, navigates this violent, seductive world alongside Ashur, offering both muscle and unexpected emotional complexity.
On Korris, McTavish explained, “He’s an ex-gladiator who won his freedom in the arena by essentially just surviving dozens of fights. He goes back into the world of gladiators by training them and allies himself with the character of Ashur to make their house the premier house in the city. That all sounds very straightforward. But there are many complications along the way.” McTavish emphasized that Korris and Ashur are not friends, “but they’re friendly. And they see in each other something that they both need.”
The actor also highlighted an unexpected side of Korris. “One of the delights for me in playing the part was that other than just being physical and fighting and being tough… I get to have a romance. That’s never happened to me before. On stage, yes, but never on screen. So it’s a really interesting side to Korris’ character that he is somebody who slowly reveals a tenderness within him, that he has kept repressed for a very long time.”
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When discussing the series’ connection to the original “Spartacus,” McTavish said, “Anybody that saw the original is not going to be looking at this thinking, God, this is nothing like that world at all. But from Korris’s point of view, I think it’s the character that he chooses to ally himself with that is particularly interesting.” The dynamic between Korris, Ashur, and Achillia, he notes, “is what really is very different about it.”
McTavish teased that the drama is relentless. “They find that in Korris’s case, the path of true love definitely doesn’t run smoothly. To put it mildly, there are all sorts of consequences to it.” He added that danger is constant: “Any character could die at any moment…there’s a lot of bodies at the bottom of that cliff. It’s a constantly surprising little recipe that Steven‘s come up with.”
“Spartacus: House of Ashur” expands the franchise’s signature blend of eroticism, brutality, and political intrigue. Fans of the original series, including “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” and its subsequent chapters, will recognize the world, while new viewers will encounter shocking alliances, unexpected romance, and the high stakes of gladiatorial survival.
Watch our conversation with Graham McTavish below. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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