TO PLAY A gladiator, you’ve got to train like one, reckons Dan Hamill, who faced the challenge of building a combat-hardened body for the role of Celadus in SPARTACUS: House of Ashur.
“It was a holistic process,” Hamill tells Men’s Health. “He’s a champion. He is the most experienced gladiator in the pen. So, I really studied the mentality of lethal guys. Like, what’s their energy? Are they loud? Are they big?”
What Hamill found might surprise you. “Often, they’re the most powerful person in the room but – chatting with some pretty deadly guys – they’re quiet and actually lovely. So they’ve got a ‘surprise’ behind their punch.”
Recently turned 40, Hamill believes he’s in the best shape of his life thanks to the arduous training he’s put into playing this role. The actor, who previously appeared in City Homicide, Neighbours, The Broken Shore, The Dr Blake Mysteries and Canadian series Hard Rock Medical, found moving between choregraphed action sequences and dramatic scenes thrilling, if challenging.
“You’re training like crazy,” he says. “In between shooting dramatic scenes where you’re shedding a tear, you’re off to stunt work. You’re learning these fights in the day and the cool part is the stunt team are so incredible. They got us to the point where we could learn a fight that morning, then you go straight into a scene. It was pretty incredible. I feel like I may have peaked in this show with my fitness.”
Use Hamill’s routine to get a body worthy of the colosseum.
Dan Hamill’s workout routine
- Kettlebell shrugs – 3 x12
- Dumbbell lateral raises – 3 x 12
- Dumbbell chest flys – 3 x 12
- Chin-ups – until failure
- Hip thrusts – until failure
- Bulgarian split squats – 2 x 10 per leg
- Barbell squats – 3 x 12
- Oblique crunches – 15 each side
