Bloodlust, gambling, ambition; Rome’s gladiators pioneered modern sport

Modern television, with its vast budgets and global audiences, and modern televisions, with their vast screens and thumping sound systems, are made for sporting spectacle. The history of sport, meanwhile, is rooted in the Roman Empire, where the populace – bored, restless – was kept in check mainly by the distractions of chariot racing and gladiator fights.

Anthony Hopkins (left, with Jojo Macari) plays Emperor Vespasian in Those About To Die.Credit: AP

No surprise, then, that in an Olympic year Prime Video’s latest 10-part drama, Those About to Die, takes us back to the foundations of big-ticket sport itself: the Colosseum. As the series begins, in 79 AD, Emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins), the founder of the Flavian dynasty, has ruled Rome for a decade, offering its citizens a degree of stability after years of civil unrest.

Vespasian has a sop for the people – the Flavian Amphitheatre, also known as the Colosseum, which he plans as a complement to the Circus Maximus, a vast 300,000 capacity arena but one in which the people are far from the action. The Colosseum, holding just 65,000, will bring them closer to the blood and thunder they crave. But naturally, there’s money, capital and resentment involved – the Circus is owned and run by four factions who stand to lose the goose that has laid the golden egg if Vespasian gets his way. The competition will be fierce in every way: Those About to Die shows how brutal sharp practice and zero-sum games have existed in both sport and commerce for centuries.

Writer Robert Rodat, who scripted Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot, says it’s the parallels with the present day that give Those About to Die its potency.

“Though set firmly in the past, the show is a lens through which we can look at today in terms of entertainment, violence, immigration, gender, poverty, ambition and wealth.”

And gambling: modern sport is shot through with the seamy allure of predicting the result, and Those About to Die has its own king bookmaker in the form of Tenax (Iwan Rheon from Game of Thrones).

Iwan Rheon plays bookmaker Tenax in Those About To Die.Credit: Reiner Bajo/Peacock

“Tenax comes from nothing and lived on the streets of Rome during a turbulent time,” explains Rheon of his wannabe crime boss. “It’s interesting to see how a person who has grown up through that becomes the king of the underworld and runs the gambling for the games. He’s tenacious, intelligent, incredibly ambitious and willing to do anything to achieve his goals.”

Rheon sees a direct link between the gambling and sport in Those About to Die and the modern-day match-ups and showdowns that captivate so many every weekend.

“Sport is such a massive part of society. And I think when you look at what’s going on here, it’s not that different: you’ve got races, horse racing, people betting on the racing, people supporting teams.”

Even the marriage of sport and tribalism, heroism and celebrity, that dominates so many back (and front) pages these days is on display in Those About to Die.

“There are these four factions in the races who are like teams,” Rheon says, “And you see people’s allegiances towards these teams – the chariot drivers particularly. You get people arguing about who’s the best, and writing about it like journalists do today.”

He compares the actual gladiatorial battles to UFC, boxing and wrestling. “The modern equivalent is obviously not quite as dangerous,” he laughs, “but it’s still the same principle.”

The French actor Sara Martins (Death in Paradise) plays Cala, an African who comes to Rome to try and find her three kidnapped children – one of whom has found himself trying to make it as a gladiator.

“The athletes were superstars, then,” she says. “For a young kid who wanted to be someone, that was one way, especially as back in those days it was almost impossible to change your class if you were not born into a rich, patrician family. But become a gladiator and suddenly you can be filthy rich and famous. We still have those kinds of patterns today, definitely.”

A series about sport needs action, of course, and few directors do action better than Roland Emmerich. The director of The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day has busted more blocks than most. Those About to Die is his debut television series.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the Roman Empire,” says Emmerich. “And I’ve also always wanted to do something with sports because I’m fascinated by why people watch sports.”

Those About to Die is based on Daniel Mannix’s book of the same name. “It gave us a lot of insight into what made the sports business such a big element of the Roman Empire,” says Emmerich. “From what we know, over one-third of all money was spent on sports, so that tells you the importance of it in these ancient times. The creation of the Colosseum was the culmination of this trend.”

Sport – bloodsport or otherwise – has always been a big draw, and one-on-one gladiatorial combat remains compelling. It’s not gone unnoticed on the set of Those About to Die, for example, that there is another big screen competitor about to enter the ring: Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, starring a buffed up Paul Mescal, comes to cinemas in November. So the question is, would bookmaker Iwan Rheon put his money on Paul Mescal holding his own in the Colosseum?

“I haven’t seen him fight yet!” says Rheon. “But he seems to be good at everything so I’m sure he’ll do just fine.”

Are you not entertained? You will be.

Those About to Die streams on Prime Video.

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