Andy Whitfield Biography

Andy Whitfield (born c. 1972 in Amlwch, Wales, † 11 September 2011 in Sydney, New South Wales) was a British-Australian actor and model. He gained fame mainly through his participation in the American television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010), in which he played the leading role.

About Andy Whitfield

Whitfield was born as the only son of Robert and Pat Whitfield on the Welsh island of Anglesey, where he grew up and attended Ysgol Sir Thomas Jones (Sir Thomas Jones School) Amlwch, Anglesey. His two year older sister Laura works as a nurse in Cardiff. After school he studied civil engineering at the University of Sheffield, and after that he worked for five years in the London construction industry. In 1999 he moved with his future wife Vashti to Sydney in Australia. Whitfield worked as an consulting engineer and building inspector for a consulting agency. A year after his arrival in Australia he was discovered on the beach in Sydney by a photographer and worked, inspired by his wife, part-time as a model. As a model, he appeared in 40 campaigns in Europe and Asia. Later, he began taking acting classes and working as a photographer. He attended Screenwise Film & TV School for Actors, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

His debut was a guest role in hospital drama All Saints in 2004 at age 30. The acting and the auditions was difficult at the beginning: “For the modeling you just have to appear” said Whitfield in 2003 during an interview with Sydney’s daily newspaper. Other roles followed in short films. After the birth of his first child, Whitfield decided to give up his acting career. In 2007, he got to his surprise, the title role in the Australian film “Gabriel – Vengeance is mine”. In this action-drama Whitfield was seen as the last remaining archangel who stands against the forces of darkness to purgatory, to save the limbo between heaven and hell.

After his film debut the dark-haired actor has some other roles in 2008 with guest roles in the Australian series “The Strip Packed to the Rafters” and “McLeod’s Daughters”. End of March 2009 it was announced that Whitfield got the title role in the television series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (2010). A New Zealand television production starring Lucy Lawless and John Hannah was designed in the style of comic book movies like 300 or Sin City and freely takes on the story of the Roman “Slaves and Gladiators”. Also known from Massimo Girotti (Spartacus, the rebel of Rome, 1953), Kirk Douglas (Spartacus, 1960) and Goran Visnjic (Spartacus, 2004). The pay-TV broadcast broadcast of the 13-part series on Starz started at 22 January 2010 in the U.S. Also in 2009, Whitfield ended the shooting of the Australian horror film “The Clinic”. In 2010 he was honored for his performance in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” and nominated for the “Best Actor Award” of the “Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo”.

Whitfield was married to his former girlfriend Vashti, who runs a company for training personnel. Whitfield lived in Paddington in Sydney with two children (born in 2005 and 2007) and his wife. In 2007 he got the Australian citizenship.

In March 2010, Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and began undergoing treatment in New Zealand immediately. This delayed the production of season two of “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”. While waiting for Whitfield’s treatment and expected recovery, the network produced a six-part prequel “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” with only a voice over from Whitfield. Whitfield was declared cancer-free but only two months later, he suffered a recurrence of the disease later and was forced to leave the season two role. Starz presented the Australian actor Liam McIntyre as Spartacus.

After the recent deterioration in his health Whitfield died on 11 September 2011 at the age of 39 years in a hospital in Sydney, New South Wales of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Andy Whitfield Filmography

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011, prequel, TV series)
Role: Voiceover Spartacus (uncredited)
Episode 06: The Bitter End

Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010, season 1, TV series)
Role: Spartacus (lead role)
Episode 01: The Red Serpent
Episode 02: Sacramentum Gladiatorum
Episode 03: Legends
Episode 04: The Thing in the Pit
Episode 05: Shadow Games
Episode 06: Delicate Things
Episode 07: Great and Unfortunate Things
Episode 08: Mark of the Brotherhood
Episode 09: Whore
Episode 10: Party Favors
Episode 11: Old Wounds
Episode 12: Revelations
Episode 13: Kill Them All

The Clinic (2010, Movie)
Role: Cameron

McLeod’s Daughters (2008, season 8, TV series)
Role: Brett Samuels
Episode 04: Nowhere to Hide

Packed to the Rafters (2008, season 1, TV series)
Role: Nick Leigh
Episode 10: All in the Planning

The Strip (2008 season 1, TV series)
Role: Charlie Palmer
Episode 02: #1.2
Episode 07: #1.7

Gabriel (2007, movie)
Role: Gabriel (lead role)

All Saints (2004, season 2, TV series)
Role: Matthew Parkes
Episode 07: Opening Up

 

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Andy Whitfield Image Gallery

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Andy Whitfield Video Gallery