10 Best Actor Replacements On TV Shows
5. Liam McIntre Replaced Andy Whitfield - Spartacus
Starz's Spartacus series faced a devastating nightmare of a situation when lead actor Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma following completion of the show's first season.
While he recuperated, a prequel mini-series, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, went into production, yet Whitfield's cancer ended up recurring, sadly leading to his death in 2011.
Rather than end the show, however, the network decided to recast Spartacus at Whitfield's own insistence, with Australian actor Liam McIntyre playing the part for the second and third seasons.
Though there was much upfront resistance to the recast due to Whitfield's acclaimed performance, McIntyre worked hard to win fans over, and by the time the show wrapped up, most felt that he'd earned his place.
More to the point, the showrunners evidently made the best of a horrible situation - continuing the ongoing story without invaliding Whitfield's sublime work in role, but rather honouring it.
To most fans Whitfield is still the Spartacus, but as replacements go under deeply upsetting circumstances, McIntyre absolutely crushed it in his own right.