Andy Whitfield(Spartacus): A Fighter Gone Too Soon

Andy Whitfield, the chiseled and charismatic hero of Starz’s Spartacus: Blood and Sand series, died Sunday after fighting an 18-month battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 39.

It was the tragic culmination of a life and career filled with enormous promise. Whitfield, a Welsh actor virtually unknown in America before landing the titular role of Starz’s Spartacus reboot 2 years ago, quickly captivated audiences with his gutsy portrayal of a slave-turned-gladiator in ancient Rome.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield,” said Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht. “We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in Spartacus and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life. Andy was an inspiration to all of us as he faced this very personal battle with courage, strength and grace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. He will live on in the hearts of his family, friends and fans.”
While Whitfield propelled Spartacus to record ratings for Starz in 2010, behind the scenes, the actor worked tirelessly to flesh out his character—and his frame. While it’s easy to assume that an actor has far more time for exercise than the average guy, Whitfield’s schedule demanded intense dedication to the show and equal devotion to his young family at home.
“For Spartacus, we’ve committed 100 percent of our production time to creating great scenes. So all the training I do is on my own time. And that’s pretty limited,” Whitfield told Men’s Health last year. (Read Lift to Lose for Andy’s grueling but time-efficient workout.)

Men’s Health was so inspired by Whitfield and the show that we created the now-legendary Spartacus Workout (and its two sequels, Spartacus 2.0 and Spartacus 3.0, available at Men’s Health Personal Trainer.) Each plan is a high-intensity circuit routine designed to be as fierce as the actor’s commitment to sculpting a lean body.
Though Whitfield the warrior won countless battles wielding his sword on Spartacus, his off-screen bout with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an insidious cancer that affects the disease-fighting cells of the immune system, proved tougher to defeat.

Diagnosed in March 2010, Whitfield immediately underwent treatment for the cancer in New Zealand as Starz delayed filming on season 2 of Spartacus. The actor announced that he was in remission several months later—and even made a triumphant appearance at Comic-Con that summer—but the cancer reportedly returned last fall, and Whitfield had no choice but to permanently step away from Spartacus. (Actor Liam McIntyre was recast in the lead role earlier this year.)
We’ll remember Whitfield as an enigmatic screen presence gone far too soon. Over the course of only 13 episodes of television, the actor demonstrated many of life’s core values—living a life of nobility, persevering through adversity, and supporting his friends and family under dire circumstances—and made it look effortless.
And through his pain, sickness and untimely death, Whitfield taught us the most important life lesson of all: Fight on until the very end.