Het afgelopen weekeinde is de 39 jarige Spartacus Blood and Sand acteur Andy Whitfield in Sydney overleden aan de gevolgen van lymfeklierkanker. Deze Amerikaanse TV serie was ook erg populair hier in Nederland omdat het een hele apart comic achtige vibe had. In afwachting op het herstel van de acteur bracht HBO nog een prequel serie uit, maar later werd bekend dat Andy definitief meer zou terug keren voor het tweede seizoen.

Nearly 18 months after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" star Andy Whitfield has passed away at age of 39. His manager Sam Maydew confirmed the actor's demise with the following statement via his wife, Vashti.

"On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18 month battle with lymphoma cancer," Whitfield's wife Vashti said in a statement. "He passed peacefully surrounded by love. Thank you to all his fans whose love and support have help carry him to this point. He will be remembered as the inspiring, courageous and gentle man, father and husband he was."

Andy Whitfield - who was born in Wales and moved to Australia in 1999 - was a virtual unknown when he was cast as the legendary Thracian slave in "Spartacus," a role made famous by Kirk Douglas in the 1960 Stanley Kubrick film.