'Spartacus' star Andy Whitfield dies at 39

Andy Whitfield, who played the title role in Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, succumbed to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma on Sunday, Sept. 11 in Sydney, Australia.

“On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18-month battle with lymphoma cancer,” Whitfield’s wife, Vashti, said in a statement cited by the TVLine. “He passed peacefully surrounded by love. Thank you to all his fans whose love and support have helped carry him to this point. He will be remembered as the inspiring, courageous and gentle man, father and husband he was.”

The Wales native and Australian resident was first diagnosed with treatable Stage 1 non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in March 2010. After completing his original therapy treatment, he was declared cancer-free two months later and soon started work on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. A relative unknown when he started the show, Whitfield’s performance created such a magnificent emotional presence on screen, his popularity grew with followers. Although preparing season two, production stopped when Whitfield was diagnosed again.

Waiting for the Spartacus star to recover, producers shot the prequel series, Gods of the Arena, while waiting for his aggressive cancer treatment and expected recovery. But in January, the actor grew worse. The show faced cancellation or recasting. With Whitfield’s blessing, Starz and producers decided on hiring newcomer Liam McIntyre to take on the role of the renowned Thracian slave.

"We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in `Spartacus' and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life," Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement Sunday night, quoted by the Associated Press.