{"id":54999,"date":"2024-07-18T16:39:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T14:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2074423"},"modified":"2024-07-18T22:18:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T20:18:47","slug":"those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Those About to Die stars break down how historically accurate series is"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> &#8220;We could assume something like this happened.&#8221; <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Abby Robinson\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Thursday, 18 July 2024 at 14:39 PM<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body> <p>The cast of Those About to Die, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming\/amazon-prime-video\/\">Prime Video<\/a>\u2018s 10-part epic set in ancient Rome, have been speaking about just how historically accurate the series is.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">\u201cI\u2019m no great historian [laughs], I\u2019m not an academic, but I think it\u2019s pretty close in many ways,\u201d Iwan Rheon told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/\">RadioTimes.com<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s too much that has been embellished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But he did go on to say that \u201cit\u2019s very difficult to know exactly what went on in that period\u201d because many of the sources were \u201cwritten later\u201d and \u201cgenerally biased\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all know how emperors, in particular, used propaganda to change their truth,\u201d he added. \u201cSo it\u2019s impossible to really know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>J\u00f3hannes Haukur J\u00f3hannesson also discussed how Daniel Mannix\u2019s non-fiction book on which it\u2019s based used a \u201cvariety of historical facts\u201d as a jumping off point to \u201cmake up stories\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing on the show,\u201d he continued. \u201cBased on facts, we could assume something like this happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-handler__container image-handler__container--aspect\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ 1.501210653753);\"> <picture> <source media=\"(max-width: 320px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=299%2C199, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=599%2C399 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=899%2C599 3x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1199%2C799 4x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 320px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=299%2C199, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=599%2C399 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=899%2C599 3x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1199%2C799 4x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 375px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=354%2C236, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=708%2C472 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1064%2C709 3x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1418%2C945 4x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 375px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=354%2C236, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=708%2C472 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1064%2C709 3x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1418%2C945 4x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 425px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=404%2C269, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=809%2C539 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1214%2C809 3x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 425px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=404%2C269, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=809%2C539 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1214%2C809 3x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 589px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=554%2C369, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1108%2C738 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(max-width: 589px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=554%2C369, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1108%2C738 2x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <source media=\"(min-width: 992px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1240%2C826 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(min-width: 992px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1240%2C826 2x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=407%2C271, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=815%2C543 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1223%2C815 3x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=407%2C271, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=815%2C543 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1223%2C815 3x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <source media=\"(min-width: 590px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=90&amp;resize=555%2C370, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?webp=true&amp;quality=45&amp;resize=1111%2C740 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"> <source media=\"(min-width: 590px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=555%2C370, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=45&amp;resize=1111%2C740 2x\" type=\"image\/png\"> <img class=\"wp-image-2074222 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-lazyload\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-18-at-10.36.38-6f2c208.png?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" alt=\"Cala (Sara Martins) and Kwame (Moe Hashim) looking at one another\" title=\"Those About to Die\"\/>\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div><div class=\"caption-hold\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-copy\"><i class=\"icon-arrow icon-camera-circle\"\/> Cala (Sara Martins) and Kwame (Moe Hashim) in Those About to Die.<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"im-image-caption\"> <i>Peacock<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p>But as Moe Hashim notes, little is still known about certain figures who were living in Rome at that time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe series is just scratching the surface of what really happened,\u201d he explained. \u201cMy character is probably one of the ones that is more of a fictional type of thing because there\u2019s not a lot of story behind North Africans and North African gladiators, especially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those About to Die follows a cross-section of people living in Rome in 79 AD, including J\u00f3hannesson and Hashim\u2019s gladiators Viggo and Kwame, and Rheon\u2019s crime lord Tenax.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/those-about-to-die-review\/\">Those About to Die review: Ancient Rome gets the Roland Emmerich touch in historical gambling drama<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/death-in-paradise-committed-forever-exclusive-newsupdate\/\">Death in Paradise star doesn\u2019t know if she\u2019ll return, but is \u201ccommitted forever\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The rest of the cast incudes Anthony Hopkins, Death in Paradise\u2019s Sara Martins, Victoria\u2019s Tom Hughes and Spooks\u2019s Rupert Penry-Jones, among others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know of no other period in history that has so many echoes and resonances with today\u2019s world,\u201d said writer Robert Rodat (Thor: The Dark World, The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThough 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.\u201d<\/p> <p><strong>All ten episodes of Those About to Die are now available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video\u00a0<\/strong><strong>\u2013\u00a0<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/gp\/video\/primesignup\/?tag=radtim0b-21&amp;ascsubtag=radiotimes-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener noreferrer\" data-geniuslink=\"https:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=114542&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fgp%2Fvideo%2Fprimesignup%2F%3Ftag%3Dradtim0b-21%26ascsubtag%3Dradiotimes-2074138&amp;dtb=1\">try it for free for 30 days<\/a>. Plus, read our guides to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/\/\/what-to-watch-tv\/amazon-prime-video-best-tv-series\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">best Amazon Prime series<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/\/\/comedy\/insecure-season-5-release-date\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">best movies on Amazon Prime<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Check out more of our\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/\"><strong>Drama<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\"><strong>TV Guide<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\"><strong>Streaming Guide<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\"><strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> &#8220;We could assume something like this happened.&#8221; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55000,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is.png",1504,994,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is-300x198.png",300,198,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is-768x508.png",768,508,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is-1024x677.png",800,529,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is.png",1504,994,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/07\/those-about-to-die-stars-break-down-how-historically-accurate-series-is.png",1504,994,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\"We could assume something like this happened.\"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/54999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}