Gaius Gannicus - gladiator, movie character and hero of his time

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Gladiators have always been a popular subject for movies, plays and books. Many of these warriors have become famous for centuries. One of them is Guy Gannicus - the brave leader of the slave uprising, who died in the struggle for freedom.

Guy in history

Many historians believe that Gaius Gannicus, or, as Plutarch called him in his chronicles, Gaius Cannicius, was born in the 2nd century BC. e. Some consider Gaul to be his homeland, others speak of Celtic roots. There is a version that Guy belonged to the Samnites - the ancient Italian peoples.

The captive Gannicus became a gladiator and was sold in Capua to the gladiatorial school of Lentulus Batita, where he became friends with Spartacus, the future leader of the slave uprising.

In 73 B. C. e. it was Guy who became the head of a large detachment of rebels in southern Italy. In addition to him, the detachments were led by Kast, Oenomai and Crixus. In 71, Spartacus decided to lead his army into Thrace and Gaul. In the final stage of the uprising, when the capture of Brundisium was planned, Gannicus, along with Kast, separated from the main army with 12 thousand soldiers.

After some time, the rebels met with the Romans, whooutnumbered the slaves by 3 times and were more professional warriors. In the battle near Rhegia, Gaius Gannicus died fighting heroically.

Movie character

In the movies, the image of Gaius Gannicus was used several times. In 1960, Stanley Kubrick made the film "Spartacus", where Gannicus was played by actor Paul Lambert. 44 years later, in the film of the same name directed by Robert Dornhelm, the image of the glorious gladiator played by Paul Telfer was also used.

But the audience's favorite character was Gaius Gannicus in "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and its sequels - "Gods of the Arena", "Vengeance" and "War of the Damned".

In the film, Guy is presented as a smart and prudent person, a real gladiator with a sense of honor, with charisma and an attractive appearance.

In the arena, this warrior is a real lion, in ordinary life he strives to enjoy every pleasant minute. In Batiata's ludus, he is the best. His friend Enomai and his wife Melitta are, in fact, the closest people. Although friendship sometimes creates some problems due to the emerging sympathy of Gaius and Melitta.

Gannicus received a rare opportunity to gain freedom and took advantage of it. At the opening of a new gladiatorial arena, he won the decisive battle and ceased to be a slave.

Unlike his prototype, Guy decided not to participate in the uprising with Spartacus, but to go about his life. Such a choice cannot be called strange just because the person did not want to lose everything that he had achieved with hard work.labor.

Dustin Claire

Australian-born, Dustin Clare, first received public recognition after the series "Enjoyment", where he played Sean. For this work, he received an award as the most outstanding actor.

Guy Gannicus brought the actor special popularity and public recognition. Also known for his roles in the TV series "Belly Down" and the Australian melodrama "Maclid's Daughters", which brought him an award as the best young actor.

Working on the look

Dustin, when creating his idea of the character, kept in mind the image of Anthony Mendane, who was an Australian native and a well-known boxer in his homeland. He, like Gannik, is an artist and showman in the ring. This does not prevent them from being true professionals in their field. You can have different feelings for Guy, but it is impossible not to notice him.

The director of the series tried to show the audience that the actors in the roles of gladiators are strong not only in spirit, but also physically. Therefore, many were trained in handling different types of weapons, trained hard and maintained the necessary physical shape. Guy Gannik (photo of Claire) confirms this to the fullest.

Some of the actors were injured in training and on the set, but a team of wonderful stuntmen made life much easier for the "gladiators". Claire's understudy was Jacob Tomuri, who performed especially dangerous stunts. With him, Dustin developed friendly relations throughout the filming process.

Claire learned to handle twoswords at once. The actor plans to use the acquired knowledge and skills in combat techniques and dance lessons in other roles.

Riding training took up most of the time, because in the series Gannicus is very often on horseback. Dustin even had to jump over a galloping horse himself. Not all attempts were successful, but in the end the scene turned out.

An actor's opinion of his character

Claire considers her character to be largely an anti-hero as opposed to Spartacus. "They have different character traits, and this is what attracts them to each other. In one thing they are similar - both do not tolerate power over themselves and despise slavery."

According to Dustin, Gannicus hides his true image behind some slovenliness, idleness and love for wine and women. When the gladiator receives such a longed-for freedom, he goes on a journey to know the world and himself. Upon his return, the hero becomes more focused and disciplined, he clearly has an inner core, which for a long time was visible only to the elite.