Premiering on Peacock on July 18, Those About to Die is an epic drama centered around the Roman Empire’s gladiatorial competitions. The series serves as a work of fiction, despite being inspired by Daniel Mannix’s 1958 non-fiction book of the same name. Stars such as Anthony Hopkins, Game of Thrones‘ Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins, Tom Hughes, Jojo Macari, Moe Hashim, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Rupert Penry-Jones, Gabriella Pession, and Dimitri Leonidas make up the ensemble cast.

Those About to Die explores the bloody truth behind the Roman games and examines the monetary roots of the sports industry. Pession’s Antonia represents the patricians, while Leonidas portrays Scorpus, a real-life charioteer. Although both characters play different roles in the competition, they each significantly impact the Colosseum’s overall operation.

Screen Rant chats with Gabriella Pession and Dimitri Leonidas about the history behind their characters in the new Peacock show and training to drive a chariot in Those About to Die.

Those About To Die Characters Combine Fact And Fiction

Screen Rant: We know this show takes place during the Roman Empire, but what can you tell us about your characters?

Gabriella Pession: Antonia is a patrician. She did not really exist in real history. She is a mixture of amazing female presence that really existed in the Roman Empire. She’s a super fun role to play. She’s a woman in a man’s world with a very advanced and brave and visionary mind. She wants to pursue power, she’s hungry for power, she doesn’t know any limit, any boundaries, she will do anything it takes to get to where she wants to go, which is really gain more power. It’s a role that brings such a strength, I hope, in the story, because she knows no fear, really.

When you play a role with no fear, it’s nice because you can really expand your creativity into areas that you haven’t explored before. Also, because as an actress, I felt very safe being directed by Roland Emmerich, so you can be very creative, and you can really improvise things that comes naturally to you when you’re shooting, knowing that you have a guide who knows exactly what he wants from the character. It’s basically a very strong woman in a man’s world fighting misogyny.

Dimitri Leonidas: Scorpus was a real person. There’s not a whole lot documented about him, but he had such a wild reputation that we can find enough to know that he was this exceptional chariot racer. This is sort of bringing him to life in a way that is Roland and Rodat’s interpretation. When we meet him in the show, he’s at peak fame. He has a sort of wild and fervent fan base that are the equivalent, I guess, of how people behave today with musicians and rock stars and sports stars. He is an excellent chariot racer, and the show examines the world of sports, and the underbelly, and the nature of the people that manage the teams and the events themselves.

Expanding on that, chariot driving isn’t exactly common knowledge. Was there anything on that front you had to learn when you took this role?

Dimitri Leonidas: Yeah, and horses in general. The whole element of the races was something you’re starting from scratch. As you say, it’s not something you might have a little bit of info from in some random experience in your life. I knew nothing about it. Myself and the other actors that are part of the charioteer contingent of the show, we had to go through training, which was a mixture of dealing with horses themselves, and then we graduated to riding carriages and eventually ended up riding four-horse chariots. That was just a wild and amazing experience.

Antonia And Marsus Are A Bold And Sadistic Couple In Those About To Die

Gabriella, what you can tell us about your character’s relationship with her husband? It definitely seems like she has a lot of power in that marriage.

Gabriella Pession: Yes, she does. She marries him because she loves him in the first place. He’s not a patrician and patricians were supposed to marry patricians, but she falls in love with Marsus. It was great to work with Rupert because we really wanted to build a bit of a bold couple. They’re a bit sadistic, but they probably still have their own sexual lives and stuff, but they have an open marriage, and it’s fun for them, and they’re a bit evil.

But I think he doesn’t understand how dangerous she can become when she wants to seek power. So she takes the bat, and she takes the battle and the goal to the next level. She pushes her husband. She’s the one who puts tips of things he needs to do in his ear by whispering very sensually something in a light way, and then she puts the seeds of this in his ear. She’s clever. She’s manipulative, but very, very strong. He doesn’t know he is, but he’s driven by her.

About Those About To Die

THOSE ABOUT TO DIE is an epic drama set in the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition, exploring a side of ancient Rome never before told — the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most…blood and sport. The series introduces an ensemble of characters from all corners of the Roman Empire who collide at the explosive intersection of sports, politics, and dynasties.

Check back soon for our other interviews with the cast of Those About to Die:

• Roland Emmerich
• Moe Hashim & Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson
• Jojo Macari & Tom Hughes
• Iwan Rheon & Sara Martins

Source: Screen Rant Plus