Posted in: Starz, TV | Tagged: Spartacus, Spartacus: House of Ashur

Spartacus: House of Ashur: Claudia Black Talks Playing Against Type

Claudia Black (Farscape) spoke with us about Spartacus: House of Ashur creator Steven DeKnight, playing against type, co-stars, and more.

Claudia Black is used to being the "wildcard" in a series or franchise, because she brings the "lottery element," like her memorable turn as Vala Mal Doran in Stargate SG-1, joining in the sci-fi series' final seasons. While the original Starz series Spartacus ran from 2010-2013, along with the prequel season Gods of the Arena, the actress is on board in the revival revisionist series Spartacus: House of Ashur as Cossutia, a Roman of strong influence in an alternate story where Nick E. Tarabay's Ashur survives the events of the original Steven S. Knight series. Black spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with DeKnight, having a close ear to him creatively, how Cossutia is unlike her atypical tomboy roles, and enjoying the little moments on set.

Spartacus: House of Ashur Star Claudia Black on Steven DeKnight, Cossutia, India Shaw-Smith, Nick Tarabay & More

What did you like working with Steven as a creative, and how do you compare him to the other creators you worked with before?

Great question. This is a challenging world to create, and I don't know what Steven's process is, but he makes it look effortless. It's very clear he's done his due diligence, and they consulted with archaic language specialists and experts. He wanted to make sure he was creating an authentic cadence and rhythm. He's always kept his door open to me. He's a fan of my work and always has been gracious in that respect, not to mention supportive. He would see a rough cut of an episode, he would text me and say, "Oh my God! I just saw episode three, four, or whatever. Holy moly! Thank you so much for bringing her alive! I'm so grateful! I'm so happy!"

Then I would go, "Oh, thank God," because this was a lot. It was a big challenge to arrive just from a technical standpoint, physically, to arrive and drop into a world that had already been established in some ways by a lot of people beforehand. They were already a sort of oiled machine. A lot of the heads of departments had returned. (Director) Rick Jacobson was very conscientious about it. He very much wanted to get the team back together again, so I was trying…it's like a relay race. They were already running with the baton, and I was just trying to run to keep up, and Steven made sure that he was always very gracious and certainly allayed a lot of my concerns in that regard.

What was playing Cossutia allow you to do that you don't usually do in your other roles?

I've played a lot of tomboys. I don't know if I've played a lady for decades [laughs]. I had to remind myself posture-wise of that high-status aspect, all the elocution she would have had, how presentational she is, and how she never lets her guard down. I'm working in the opposite of that polarity-wise. I've spent many years being masked and trying to be appropriate when I'm in public, doing interviews. It's really exhausting, and it can really take you into burnout. Now, I'm allowing more of my real mess to come through. Personally, Cossutia is always very much aware, and I think quite hyper vigilant, like a duck, seems to be serene on the surface, but peddling for her life underneath the surface of the water.

That energetic imprint of thinking about that big cat was helpful, because it helped me think about the way she stalks her prey and that predatory aspect to her, which is not a natural part of my nature [laughs]. Becoming a mother, I would think I never would have wanted to take a human life before, and still don't want to, but for my children, if I had to protect them. I might behave in a way that would surprise even me, but could be justified in terms of Mother Bear or whatever that archetype is that wants to protect my "young" or "cubs," as I call them.

Cossutia's corseted, too. Our extraordinary costume designer, Barbara Darragh, created these beautiful, draped costumes. They were ornate, extraordinary, and it's rare for me to embody a character that you know I could eat a very full lunch, sit down, and look at all the male members of the crew who are lifting heavy machinery. I would have more food piled up on my plate playing these other characters, and with Cossutia, I ended up on a liquid diet, because I literally only had 15 minutes to eat, then get back to set, and there was no way my body could digest food at that rate, or solids at least. I ended up on a liquid diet for most of the shoot, just to try and keep my body sort of functioning.

Obviously, you're not involved as much physically as your gladiator counterparts' co-stars out there. What did you like about working with India Shaw-Smith, Andrew McFarlane, Nick E. Tarabay, and Tenika Davis?

Nick said something, which was great, as much as he wants to get along with everyone, he's not there initially to make friends. He's there to work, get it done, and do a good job. I realized I sort of feel the same way. I mean, I also do want to have that emotional, relational safety of feeling like I can trust my scene partners, but you can't force that rapport.

It was really beautiful when I realized, "Oh, these are great people who I would choose as friends any day of the week, but it organically unfolded." I was a little in awe of Andrew McFarlane, who plays my husband, because he's in Australia. I would say this: he's considered to be Australian Hollywood royalty in my book, I grew up watching him and my sister and my mother, and I were like, "Oh my God, Andrew McFarlane! He's such a hunk," so, to have him there and be like, "Oh my God, I'm working with him!" I thought, "Claudia, don't think about that too much. You won't be able to get a word out. You won't be able do your job. Just do your thing, and things will unfold."

[Andrew] burrowed his way into my heart so deeply. I can't imagine the world without him or my life without him, the same with India and Tenika. They're in there, they're not leaving, and India, and I had this moment where we had to fulfill this rigorous emotional arc in I think episode four, and we were focused and didn't have time to chat or socialize. Once we worked on these scenes together, Indy and I realized somehow that we have a similar sense of humor. I guess we'd been so focused and serious that we'd had no time for that kind of discovery. Once we realised we have a similar sense of humor, it really changed our working dynamic, because we knew we had a similar workflow: Focus really hard, get this done, but then have a really bloody good giggle.

That made the workplace so much lighter for me. There was this playmate with whom I could have a cheeky giggle, and then there was one night where we were so overtired, and Nick, India and I were leaving the makeup trailer. It was the end of the week, and we started, India started, and you know how laughter can be really infectious? India started laughing and couldn't stop. I was infected by that and started giggling too. We got to a point where we didn't know what we were laughing about anymore. Nick was watching us, very much wanting to join us, but just scratching his head, trying to understand us as humans, because he's like, "What?! Why are they laughing? I don't get the joke," and we were like, "We don't either."

It was this funny release of being overtired, and then we went outside to our cars, and there was a native New Zealand bird that made this utterly insane noise, like a weird noise through the fence in the dark, and it sounded like an alien creature, which set us off again. It was about an hour of uncontrollable laughter, which we obviously needed, and it's those moments where you realise, "Oh my gosh! I'm so glad I'm going through this challenging experience with people that I can have this level of play wit,h and I'm coming out of shock." We made the show. It's been a year. People are finally going to get to see it in December and to be able to talk about it, watch my colleagues and friends work, and be able to ring them and say, "Oh my gosh! I just saw your scenes. You made me cry. You make me laugh. You're so amazing, and I'm so proud of you." It's a lovely team, and we've become a family.

Spartacus: House of Ashur, which also stars Graham McTavish, Ivana Baquero, Jamaica Vaughn, Jordi Webber, Cameron Rhodes, Leigh Gill, and Lucy Lawless, premieres with its first two episodes on December 5th on Starz.

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