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Actors, Dan Hamill and Jordi Webber have already chosen fitness as a consistent part of their lifestyles but receiving the call to play a gladiator on STARZ latest series, Spartacus: House of Ashur<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0lit a fire that would prove to get them in the best shape of their careers. In an exclusive chat with M&F<\/em>, both men talked about the process of becoming gladiator-ready, both on and off set.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing naked on camera is terrifying,\u201d says Dan Hamill, \u201cSo you better get you butt and your abs, very toned,\u201d he jokes, laughing at the surrealness of it all. The Australian actor, who starred in \u201cNeighbours,\u201d (one of his country\u2019s most popular soaps) and the Canadian series Hard Rock Medical,<\/em> tells M&F<\/em> that he was amped to join the cast of Spartacus: House of Ashur as Celadus, a wise gladiator and formidable fighter. The urgency to up his game was shared by Jordi Webber, the actor and musician from New Zealand, who is no stranger to action sequences, having played the Gold Ranger in the Power Rangers Ninja Steel<\/em> series. Still, the challenge of making the transformation to the gladiator, Tarchon, (son to Hamill\u2019s character, Celadus) was a dream come true. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than getting paid to do something that\u2019s hard to do,\u201d says Webber.<\/p>\n Spartacus: House of Ashur<\/em> follows up the Spartacus story, and the shoot required its gladiators to perform with the same superhero level of combat as last seen in Spartacus: Vengeance. For Hamill, one of the biggest changes was to ramp up his cardio in order to build his stamina for battle. In the same vein, Webber shares that morning walks were essential in order to warm up his muscles before getting to set, a necessary part of dealing with long shoots. \u201cYou\u2019re in all these thick pieces of armour,\u201d explains Webber. \u201cThey restrict your movement, so you had to make sure you warmed up before you even got to set.\u201d Hamill also saw the value in warming up before donning his gladiator gear. \u201cOtherwise, you\u2019re going to get injured,\u201d he notes. \u201cWe wanted to get our bodies sorted before dropping in and chopping someone\u2019s head off!\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, the process of making muscle gains to become a gladiator began weeks before cameras even rolled. Hamill says that pullups and chin ups were a staple of his prep, helping to hone his arms, shoulders, chest, and lats for a buff upper body. \u201cJordan doesn\u2019t need any help with his pecs though,\u201d praises Hamill. \u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed, but they are quite nice.\u201d Webber quipped back that his superior pec presentation was a result of being shorter than the other actors. \u201cI\u2019ve got gravity on my side,\u201d he jokes. Still, one exercise that was no joke, occurred in bootcamp, when Webber was asked to work with a long sandbag. \u201cI hate the worm,\u201d he shares. \u201cThat thing sucks.\u201d Working with the worm involved getting underneath it and resting it on your shoulder before throwing it over the other side of his torso. \u201cIt\u2019s an arch nemesis now, if we ever go back for a season two,\u201d says Webber.<\/p>\n Training for Spartacus: House of Ashur required jiu-jitsu, sword play, knife work, and hand-to-hand combat training. To make the show as authentic as possible, striking had to be complemented by learning to roll and move in the correct way. \u201cBrother, that\u2019s not something you do in everyday life,\u201d reflects Webber. Hamill tells M&F that when it comes to<\/p>\n training, he\u2019s always preferred to do it solo, so he didn\u2019t relish the group work. \u201cI\u2019d train weights in the corner, which is kind of my character anyway,\u201d he shares. \u201cWe were learning wushu (a Chinese martial art integrating forms from various traditional and modern Chinese martial arts). For me, prepping for this role has definitely ignited a fire. Since making the show, I\u2019m the guy at the side of the gym with his stick doing flips and tricks, and I\u2019m obsessed with it now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you see on camera is a part of it, but when we weren\u2019t acting, we were stunt training,\u201d explains Webber of making the show. While exhausted physically, the actors would then be required to portray the emotions that the more tender scenes deserved. \u201cYou had to tap into the tears,\u201d explains Hamill, saying that becoming a gladiator was a workout for mind, body, and soul. Webber, conquers. \u201cYou\u2019re fighting every single day, half naked all the time. There was never an OFF button, we didn\u2019t have doubles for the stunts, I was showing up and performing stunts on wire rigs, same day. In the middle of a fight (the crew) would be like, cool, now we\u2019re gonna clip you in so that you can execute a big dropkick into a wall. Everything was so quick. One of the hardest challenges was protecting your body, and your energy,\u201d reflects Webber.<\/p>\n Fortunately, catering on set was split into a table for gladiators, and then a table for everyone else, so that the workers could load up on high protein foods<\/a> like chicken and steak. Lean vegetables like broccoli were made available for those who were going to be sans shirt. For a treat after filming, both men would mix cereal, milk, and protein powder to fuel up for the next day. \u201cIt was kind of a bonding thing that we did,\u201d shares Hamill, who still counted his macros on a daily basis to stay ripped.<\/p>\n Spartacus: House of Ashur also introduces Canadian actor and model, Tenika Davis, as Achillia, the first female gladiator in the series who is central to the plot. \u201cShe came in and hit the ground running,\u201d recalls Webber. \u201cI commend her so much for his role. More than just being a great actress, you have to be really, really physical, and strong, but the greatest strength of all is her mentality. You\u2019re just getting beaten up man, and it\u2019s sore, and it destroys your body. She did it with such grace. Many people would have broken, like ten times over.\u201d Hamill seconds Webber\u2019s assessment. \u201cShe\u2019s got a fighter\u2019s spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n To watch all of the fighting and all the spirit in Spartacus: House of Ashur, the show is streaming now on STARZ.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n To follow Dan Hamill on Instagram, click here.<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n To follow Jordi Webber on Instagram, click here.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDan Hamill and Jordi Webber trained hard to make gladiator worthy gains<\/h3>\n
\u2018Spartacus: House of Ashur\u2019 was Dan Hamill and Jordi Webber\u2019s most challenging project to date<\/h3>\n