I'm passionate about being an actor, but I'm definitely not passionate about being a sex symbol.

New Zealand is a pretty no-nonsense place to work like Australia. I mean it doesn't falter to anyone. There's a nice sense of reality on the set and it's really enjoyable. There's a good camaraderie and a good banter between the obviously New Zealand and Australian rivalry.

We have researchers involved with the show [Spartacus] and they pointed me in a pretty great direction, in terms of what to read, and what to look at or look for, and they also provided me with some material.

I think I made some mistakes, in different areas, but it's great to be working in a show again now, many years down the track. I have worked in many other different shows in Australia and I've been able to learn from my mistakes. I'm lucky that I made those mistakes early on in Australia, and I definitely won't make them again in the States, but you've got to learn that stuff.

There's always a project around, but you have to pick and choose.

Being the new guy's always great because you get to go in fresh with your own choices and you get to bring new life and breath and a new energy into something that's already established.

I think there's always pieces of yourself that bleed into your character. That's inevitable.