Hopkins, Roland Emmerich, and Robert Rodat discuss their new Peacock series.
How do you control the masses as your empire decays?
As a massive connoisseur of Roman history, the writer/producer was thrilled to adapt the material for television.
Anthony Hopkins in ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/Peacock
Ive wanted to explore the empire for a long time, Rodat tellsEntertainment Weekly.
The screenwriter welcomed the challenge of balancing historical fact with original dramatization.
A huge amount of materials survived from this period.
Iwan Rheon on ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
But the bulk of the characters were below the historical radar screen, so theyre largely composites.
Rodat identified Cala as a likely candidate for a fan-favorite character.
Her mission and her core, her compass is so built around her family, he explains.
Sara Martins as Cala on ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
Hopkins tells EW that he has a degree of admiration for his character.
He’s a powerful emperor, he says.
And with bread and circuses, he entertained the people.
Gabriella Pession as Antonia and Rupert Pentry-Jones as Marsus on ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
He brings a certain gravitas to all his parts, Emmerich says.
It’s Anthony Hopkins, and there’s a reason why he has two Oscars.
And he was super nice and he had fun doing it.
Tom Hughes as Titus on ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
So it was a real dream come true for me personally because I’m a big fan of his.
When he said yes, I couldn’t believe it.
And yes, it has to be about blood.
Pepe Barroso, Gonçalo Almeida, Eneko Sagardoy on ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
This is not a gory show, Rodat explains.
Sure, that’s of the period, but it’s done for dramatic effect.
But if we showed what really was going on in the Coliseum, it would be horrible.
Moe Hashim as Kwame on ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
We can’t do that.
We can indicate violence without actually showing it too explicitly.
The Roman state was spending a massive percentage of its resources on games, Rodat says.
Dimitri Leonidas as Scorpus in ‘Those About to Die’.Reiner Bajo/ Peacock
I mean, Circus Maximus sat 250,000 people.
35,000 people lived and worked in the underbelly.
Hopkins says he found the scale of the shows production awe-inspiring.
Jojo Macari as Domitian on ‘Those About to Die’.Matteo Graia/PEACOCK
The work and the research of the art directors and the costume directors…
I’m always left impressed and quite astonished really, because I find it very, very moving.
I wonder of where it all comes from, the collective consciousness that makes that possible.
It’s quite astonishing.
The similarities between the decline of Rome and contemporary American society are not lost on the filmmakers.
So everybody rolls their eyes at that, but come on, this one really does apply!
I mean, you have a nominally democratic society, which is on the verge of autocracy, perhaps.
You have crushing pressures for immigration.
You have a very complex set of gender issues.
You have a polarization of wealth, which is absolutely amazing.
Matteo Graia/PEACOCK
Emmerich sees parallels between the populus bloodlust in both time periods.
There is an accident that happens every three or four or five years and that’s it.
Theres no broadcast whodoesntwant to show it four or five times.
That’s still in us.
Hopkins nicely sums up why stories about the Roman Empire still resonate today.
Politicians are as vulnerable as the rest of us.
How can anyone keep their promises when receiving masses of discontent throughout the world as it is now?
We’ve always been chaos because that’s the nature of human beings."
All 10 episodes ofThose About to Diepremiere Thursday, July 18, on Peacock.
