Aussie actor injects young blood into action series

BANGKOK—Australian actor Christian Antidormi filmed scenes for the Cinemax action series “Strike Back” at the Makkasan Station, also known as Bangkok’s City Air Terminal.

The actor gamely chatted with the Inquirer while relaxing between takes.

Antidormi, who played the brutal Roman soldier Tiberius in the 2012 Starz series “Spartacus: War of the Damned,” laughed heartily when asked if he was playing another savage villain in “Strike Back.” (Tiberius sexually assaulted the young soldier Julius Caesar, played by Todd Lasance.)

“No,” he said, giggling. “No,” he said four more times, clarifying that he was playing Finn, the son of Damian Scott, character of fellow Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton. “I come over here to meet him for reasons that the story will explain,” said Antidormi, who turned 23 last May. “We get caught up in some drama. We really fought our way out of it.”

The fit and athletic Antidormi previously appeared in shows “As the Bell Rings” and “Home and Away.” He was able to visit Europe for the first time because the final season of “Strike Back” was partly filmed in the region. “My grandparents are from Italy…I had a bit of time off. I went to Italy and explored. It’s a beautiful country,” he recalled.

Excerpts from the Inquirer interview:

How different was doing action scenes for “Spartacus” and this show?

For starters, when we shot “Spartacus,” everything was [done] indoors. The city was built in a hangar warehouse, where the old planes were. And we would recreate them all inside; we’d have war battles and everything. So here, we do everything live on set…half the time, in the markets in Bangkok, real people walk through the sets. It’s a really different experience. But I like it, because it’s more natural.

Is your character supposed to be half-Thai?

We didn’t really introduce the mother in the show so it (nationality) could be anything. I might be Italian or from America, an American boy.

How comfortable are you with stunts?

From Thailand to Budapest…we’ve quite a lot of action stuff and that’s also been really cool. I love the action. I did a lot in “Spartacus.” Here, I do more modern warfare with the guns and driving, and doing all that exciting stuff.

How would you describe auditioning for the show?

I’ve done some things in Australia but “Spartacus” was my big leap into a persistent character. I got that audition and I think I was in the plane the next week. It was a very quick process. It’s interesting. For “Strike Back,” the casting director was in Sydney, casting something else. I wanted to meet him and I thought I’d go in and just audition for this 40-year-old character, just so I could get the chance to meet him. It turns out there was the audition for a younger character. I got a call from him and he asked if I wanted to audition for it. I said, “Yes, of course!”

When did you start acting in Australia?

I was probably 15, 16. Six, seven years [now]. I wasn’t the type that wanted to do it when I was 4, 5 years old. I was always acting at home anyway, putting on shows for the family, pretending I was sick and having the most elaborate excuses to get out of school. I sort of built upon that.

What are your plans after “Strike Back?”

I live in Sydney but I spend maybe half the year in Los Angeles—five, six months. It just depends on the time but I’m looking at heading back to LA…Good projects coming up around there.

What’s your dream project?

Ooh…Probably to work with someone like Robert De Niro, or Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman. Some of the greats!

(“Strike Back” airs Saturdays, 10 p.m. on Cinemax.)