Those About to Die: Why Anthony Hopkins Wanted to Star in Peacock's New Gladiator Series
Offer Anthony Hopkins a free trip to Italy and he'll happily star in your film or television series.
It didn't take much for director Roland Emmerich to convince Anthony Hopkins to play a Roman emperor in Those About to Die (all episodes are now streaming on Peacock).
Recently chatting with The New York Times, the two-time Academy Award recipient recalled how he came to join the prestigious gladiator series.
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"Well, my agent said, I’ve got a script for you: Those About to Die," the actor said. "I said, 'That’s Roman? Gladiatorial?' He said, 'Yes. I read it.' And I said, 'Yes, I’d like to do it.'"
Why It Was Easy for Anthony Hopkins to Say 'Yes' to Those About to Die
The fact that the project would be filming at the famous Cinecittà Studios in Rome — where Hopkins previously shot The Two Popes — was just the icing on the ancient Roman cake.
"I like Cinecittà. What I really admire so much is the craftsmanship that the Italian craftspeople put into their work," he continued. "The detail is extraordinary. Hand-carving, that’s an art in itself. All an actor has to do is show up and say, 'OK, where do you want me to stand?' And Roland Emmerich was a strong director. That makes it easy. Just absorb the atmosphere. It’s not a question of method, of being Stanislavskian or anything like that. It’s just showing up."
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In the show, Hopkins plays Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty and the man who handed down the green-light to begin construction on the Colosseum. Its purpose was to distract the public from their everyday problems, "because people were suffering," Hopkins explained. "You go crazy if you don’t have a distraction."
Who Stars in Those About to Die?
Aside from Sir Hopkins, the series also features the acting talents of Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones), Sara Martins (Citadel), Tom Hughes (Infinite), Jojo Macari (Morbius), Moe Hashim (Ted Lasso), Johannes Haukur Johannesson (Vikings: Valhalla), Rupert Penry-Jones (The Batman), Gabriella Pession (Crossing Lines), Dimitri Leonidas (Centurion), Emilio Sakraya (One Night Off), David Wurawa (Project 2030), Pepe Barroso (Gran Turismo), Gonçalo Almeida (Monte Clérigo), Eneko Sagardoy (Irati), and Romana Maggiora Vergano (Cabrini).
How to Watch Those About to Die
All 10 episodes of Those About to Die are now streaming exclusively on Peacock.
The NBCUniversal platform currently offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($7.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($13.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you're a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year!
