Graham McTavish still has a hard time getting his head around how his career has taken off over the last 15 years. After appearing in The Hobbit film trilogy, the 64-year-old Scot was cast in Preacher, then Outlander, and most recently House of the Dragon. The day before talking to Luxury London, he was on set when an extra approached him and declared, “I was looking at your IMDB page. Very impressive.”

Even over Zoom, McTavish is clearly bashful as he recalls the moment. As someone who spent the first few decades of his career tirelessly working across stage, television, and film, he finds it surreal that he’s gained any level of fame.

“When you’re in the arts there is a constant fear that somebody will one day come up to you, tap you on the shoulder, and say, ‘I’m sorry. There’s been a terrible mistake. You’re awful.’ Then you’d be like, ‘Oh no. It’s fine. I understand. I knew this day would come.’”

After a string of bravado performances, often as physically intimidating characters in fantasy period shows, it’s safe to say McTavish won’t be getting slung into acting prison any time soon. In fact, quite the opposite. The strength of his performances frequently see him approached by some of the finest television creators working today and offered roles in hugely ambitious projects.

Case in point, Spartacus: House of Ashur. The sequel to creator Steven DeKnight’s Spartacus, which ran for four seasons between 2010 and 2013, House of Ashur is set in an alternative timeline in which Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) kills Spartacus and is rewarded by the Romans with his own gladiator school.

DeKnight picked McTavish specifically for the role of Korris, a former gladiator who won his freedom in the arena. McTavish was grateful to have the part offered to him but having already signed up to star as master spy Sigismund Dijkstra in The Witcher, assumed there wouldn’t be enough time to do both. So determined, however, was DeKnight for McTavish to appear in Spartacus: House of Ashur that he convinced Starz and Netflix to rejig their schedules.

While McTavish was delighted to get the opportunity to make both Spartacus and The Witcher, doing so back-to-back proved rather brutal. McTavish shot all his scenes for The Witcher in one block, went straight into gladiator training for Spartacus, and then immediately flew to New Zealand to begin filming. Despite the hectic workload, there was never any doubt in McTavish’s mind that he would do both roles. “I had to. I loved playing my character in The Witcher but Spartacus was just such a wonderful role for me. I was going to do anything to be a part of it.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, McTavish has previous for putting mind and body on the line for his work. Early in his career, he did two plays at the same time: a one-man show in Dublin, which he would rehearse during the day, before boarding a flight to London to perform on stage every evening. “It nearly killed me. It was awful and really stupid. But as an actor, you’re driven by fear. It’s a constant companion. You fear that people aren’t going to want you. It’s a terrible curse.”

Which makes it all the more surprising that McTavish had to be convinced to ever get up on stage in the first place. At school, he and his best friend would write comedy sketches to entertain themselves but, he says, “We didn’t have any desire to perform.” Their drama teacher would repeatedly ask the pair to get involved with school plays, but they’d always decline. “I don’t know why I didn’t want to do it. I suspect I was quite shy. I didn’t think I’d be any good at scripted acting. There was a healthy dose of laziness.”

When the drama teacher approached McTavish with a dilemma — an actor had dropped out just three days before the opening night of The Rivals — he finally buckled. Even now he’s not sure why (he speculates there may have been a girl he fancied in the cast) but he learned the role in three days, went on stage, got the required laughs for his comedic part, and was immediately hooked. After a year of amateur dramatics, he went to London’s Queen Mary University, where he performed in three Shakespeare plays every year. Studies complete, he set out on the meandering, often treacherous, occasionally exuberant life of a professional actor.

Success, however, was far from instant. McTavish spent years appearing in theatre, odd episodes of British dramas, and minor film roles. It wasn’t until the fantasy-period genre rose in popularity in the early 2010s that McTavish’s look and demeanour made him the go-to actor for these projects. “I must have carried a sword in another life,” he jokes. “It’s what people get used to. They see me in something and then want me for something similar. At the same time, I can’t really imagine constantly being on a mobile phone or shuffling papers in a role. Cloaks, candles, horses, and swords, those are my friends.”

And, while many actors would resist such typecasting, McTavish is more than happy to keep the trend going with Korris and Spartacus: House of Ashur. He describes Korris as loyal, ambitious, and hardened in the way only killing 130 people single-handedly in a gladiator arena can make you. “He’s somebody who was forged in the crucible of death so he finds it very difficult to open up to people. He doesn’t make friends – until he meets someone who opens his heart and emotions.”

While the emotional depth and complexities of Spartacus: House of Ashur’s characters will undoubtedly help keep viewers invested, McTavish is well aware that it will be judged on its action and excitement. “There’s no fat to this. You’re just propelled forward constantly. It’s breathtaking speed sometimes, with multiple storylines that intersect, all with different settings and characters. It’s very powerful.”

Spartacus: House of Ashur is available to stream now on MGM+ via Prime Video.

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