When in ROME...

IWAN RHEON and TOM HUGHES on plotting a path to power in a dramatic new gladiator epic

- SEAN MARLAND

THOSE ABOUT TO DIE

FROM FRIDAY 19 JULY, PRIME VIDEO DRAMA

Let the games begin as Prime Video whisks us back to Ancient Rome to explore the complex world of chariot racing and gladiatorial fights in new sword-and-sandal saga Those about to Die. Inspired by the 1958 book of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix, the 10-part drama is set in 79 AD and sees two-time Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) don white-and-gold robes to play Emperor Vespasian, who is rewarding his citizens with a new sporting arena, the Colosseum.

Behind the scenes, however, the formidable leader is all too aware that his two sons, tough Titus (played by Victoria’s Tom Hughes) and manipulative Domitian (Masters of the Air’s Jojo Macari), are jostling for power in the event of his death.

Muddying the waters further is ragsto-riches crime boss Tenax (Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon), who will go to any lengths to keep running his gambling operations in the Roman underworld.

Here, Tom and Iwan, both 39, tell TV Times why we should enter the arena…

What role do we see the gladiator games playing in the society of Ancient Rome?