New Zealand is a pretty no-nonsense place to work, like Australia. I mean it doesn't falter to anyone.

I had wanted to be a fish farmer, to be honest with you. I wanted to be an agriculturist. I wanted to have my own fish farm. I was also contemplating surfboard building.

I hadn't been there [Comic-Con] before. It's pretty eye-opening, when you haven't been there, just with the sheer amount of fans that are there for different shows and films. It's like a big fan symposium, in a way, as well a way for film studios and television studios to really promote their product to their loyal audience base. It was an experience.

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

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 the most challenging aspect was keeping up the degree of physical fitness you need while filming a major leading role in a primetime U.S. series. You have very little time to sleep and eat, let alone train.

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