The well established UK actress, Jaime Murray portrays Gaia in “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” a Starz original action-adventure drama series. Gaia is a long time friend of Lucretia on the prowl for a new husband. Seen as the seducer and temptress, Jaime (Gaia) will stir up trouble in the House of Batiatus.
Jaime Murray’s credits include the role of glamorous model Bianca Minola in the updating of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” with Rufus Sewell, “Agatha Christie’s Poirot” opposite Elliot Gould, “Hu$tle” also starring Adrian Lester and Robert Vaughan, Showtime’s “Dexter” with Michael Hall, CW series “Valentine” and “Beautiful Life,” Syfy’s “Warehouse 13,” and “Keen Eddie” with Sienna Miller.
STARZ Spartacus: Gods of the Arena – Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
“Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” tells the story of the Champion of the House of Batiatus in a more ruthless time before Spartacus’ arrival, when honor was just finding its way into the arena. As the prequel begins, Quintus Batiatus is the acting Lanista while his father is on an extended visit to Sicilia. But Batiatus isn’t satisfied with just the thought of taking over the Ludus one day; he aspires to political power and prestige in Capua, and perhaps beyond. In the class-conscious world of ancient Rome, the House of Batiatus must first earn the respect of politicians as well as socialites before being granted the right for its gladiators to fight in the much-revered championship bouts called the Primus. Batiatus must not only survive the harsh politics of Capua, but also compel his hedonistic fighter, Gannicus, to embrace being a champion gladiator who will bring esteem and respect to the House of Batiatus.
Jaime Murray the temptress and troublemaker:
Jaime Murray: It’s always the best role isn’t it? I don’t think Gaia sees herself as a troublemaker really.
Does she genuinely love Lucretia or is she using her or is it both?
Jaime Murray: I think it could be both, but I do think, she genuinely loves Lucretia. She doesn’t really have much in the world. It’s a time where women had very little power, they couldn’t vote, they couldn’t own property, they had to be married. It was really looked down on for a woman to be without a husband and she finds herself alone in the world and Lucretia is all she has.
How is it being in a show with a bunch of half-naked men?
Jaime Murray: Well that’s been my whole career really. It’s interesting when Manu was talking he was talking about the bonding of the brothership, I think, as an artist in this show, as an actor in this show, so much of it relies on trust. I think to be a good artist, to be a good actor, you really need to trust the people that you’re working with and you know, in this show, it has a lot of physicality, whether you’re a gladiator or whether you’re a scantily clad lady, and I really had to look in the eyes of John and Lucy and the actors that I was working with and trust them 100%. I felt for the guys. I’d be standing off in the pulpits looking down at them and, I became really close with some of them and, it’s a hard job and it really kind of pulls you all together, this huge experience that you’re all sharing.
Jaime, how do you guys get involved or pulled into the Spartan world? Did you blindly audition for it or did someone bring it to your attention?
Jaime Murray: I didn’t meet anyone on the team until I arrived in New Zealand. I was filming a show in Toronto and I was just coming to the end of the shoot and I was putting myself on tape and this was one of the programs. Initially, I hadn’t seen the show and I read it and I was like whoa, what the hell is this. The language is just so rich and flowery and I had just fell in love with it. And I put myself on tape and then other actors chipped in with my little dog running in the background and that’s how I got the job…
On getting her dog on the show:
Jaime Murray: We were trying to get my dog into the show, but they just weren’t having it.
On the writing of the series:
Jaime Murray: I thought the writing was so great I felt that, even though I’m playing this woman, over a thousand years ago, I could still find her humanity and understand what motivated her and what she needed and I found her very human, even though she would make choices that, would be very questionable with today’s moral standards. I loved the costumes. There’s just so many artists working on this show, you get in costume and you walk on set and you’re transported to another world, which makes your job so much easier. And you just say the words and you’re there. The most difficult aspect, I don’t know if the boys would agree, for me was green screen. It’s when you’re acting and there’s either nobody there or you’re imaging a fight that happened three days ago on a different set and watching a director’s hands instead of the other actors that you’re trying to react to. So that was the most challenging aspect, but then you see it and it’s amazing how it all kind of seamlessly goes together. I actually prefer green screen than acting opposite of Dustin Clare. I do have to say that.