Andy Whitfield

from Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Andy Whitfield died 11 September 2011 was a WelshAustralian actor and model He was best known for his leading role in the Starz television series Spartacus Blood and Sand during 2010 Career Whitfield was born in Amlwch Anglesey Wales He studied engineering at the University of Sheffield England and worked in Lidcombe New South Wales Australia as an engineer before settling in Sydney in 1999 He appeared in several Australian television series such as Opening Up All Saints The Strip Packed to the Rafters and McLeods Daughters Whitfield gained his first prominent role in the Australian supernatural film Gabriel He also starred in the 2010 television series Spartacus Blood and Sand which was filmed in New Zealand He portrays a version of the historical Spartacus although in this retelling he is a conscripted soldier condemned to death who defeats all four of his executioners and is thereby recycled as a gladiator The actual Spartacus like this fictional version was destined to lead a rebellion against the Romans the Third Servile War Whitfield also appeared in the Australian thriller The Clinic starring opposite Tabrett Bethell of Legend of the Seeker fame which was shot in Deniliquin In August 2010 Whitfield teamed up with Freddie Wong and created a 2minute YouTube video named Time Crisis based on the game Time Crisis Whitfield made a brief uncredited voiceonly appearance in the prequel miniseries Spartacus Gods of the Arena which premiered on 21 January 2011 Illness and death In March 2010 Whitfield was diagnosed with nonHodgkin lymphoma and began undergoing treatment immediately in New Zealand This delayed production of season two of Spartacus Vengeance While waiting for Whitfields treatment and expected recovery the network produced a sixpart prequel Spartacus Gods of the Arena with only a brief uncredited voiceover from the actor Although declared cancerfree only two months later he suffered a recurrence of the disease later in the year and was ultimately compelled to abandon the role Starz recast Australian actor Liam McIntyre as Whitfields successor Whitfield died of nonHodgkin lymphoma in Sydney Australia on 11 September 2011 18 months after his initial cancer diagnosis