Rome, 79 AD. The public is obsessed with sport, as long as there’s blood in it. Huge crowds turn out to watch high-speed chariot races and gladiators fighting each other – or wild animals – to the death.
New 10-part drama Those About To Die takes viewers into the world of ancient Roman sports, telling the stories of those who run them and those who risk their lives in them.
Welsh actor Iwan Rheon plays crime boss Tenax, who handles the sports’ lucrative gambling operation, but has plans of getting into chariot racing.
“He’s incredibly ambitious,” Iwan, 39, tells TV WEEK. “He can see that these patricians – essentially, a very small percentage of people – are the richest and run the show. He wants to have a go at it himself; he wants to be respected.”
For Iwan, who played Ramsay Bolton in cult fantasy drama Game Of Thrones, it was a joy to be cast as someone who wasn’t completely evil.
“With Tenax, there’s so much more there than just a baddie,” he explains. “He’s ruthless because he’s a product of his environment.”
Meanwhile, Death In Paradise star Sara Martins plays Cala, a Numidian trader whose children are taken captive and transported from Africa to Rome – Kwame (Moe Hashim) is to be sold as a gladiator, and Aura (Kyshan Wilson) and Jula (Alicia Edogamhe) as slaves.
Cala follows her children to Rome, hoping to rescue them.
“I think we all know a lot of women like Cala,” Sara, 46, says. “I have many examples of strong women fighting every day for the sake of their children.”
Those About To Die was directed by Roland Emmerich and filmed in Rome. To recreate the ancient interiors as faithfully as possible, the show’s production designers worked with museums, replicating everything from floors to furniture.
For the outside shots, a wall made up of panels of LEDs, eight metres high and more than 50 metres in circumference, surrounded the action, meaning the actors could see the ancient city around them.
“To work with the LED screen to see Rome and the detail of that always helps,” Iwan says. “You’re not just in front of a green screen.”
“And we enjoyed being in Rome too,” Sara adds. “Every day we were next to the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus.”
Iwan’s one disappointment in shooting Those About To Die was he didn’t get any scenes with Sir Anthony Hopkins. The 86-year-old acting legend plays Emperor Vespasian, father of Titus (Tom Hughes) and Domitian (Jojo Macari).
“As a Welsh actor, he’s a god – in Wales, and to me particularly,” Iwan says. “So it’s kind of devastating. But I lived vicariously through Jojo and Tom and they said he was wonderful.”
Stream Those About To Die on Prime Video from $6.58/mth, with a 30-day free trial.
