Spoiler Alert: This interview discusses an important plot point from the Spartacus: Vengeance finale which aired on Friday. You may wish to watch the episode before reading.

Katrina Law is an actress, singer, and former Miss Teen New Jersey USA who is best known for her role as Mira on Spartacus: Vengeance, a part which sadly came to a close by the blade of a flying axe in the great Season 2 finale on Friday. We were fortunate to talk with the charming actress just before the finale aired, and she shared some great anecdotes about working with castmates Lucy Lawless, Liam McIntyre, original Spartacus Andy Whitfield, Craig Parker and others. She also owned up to some mischief in extending a Nasir and Agron makeout scene. (And for that we thank her!) Read on for details.

AfterElton: Katrina, thank you so much for taking time to talk with us. I’m curious—how does a nice girl from Jersey end up on the bloodiest, sexiest, most violent—and most awesome—show filmed halfway around the world? How did you get the gig on Spartacus?

Katrina Law: Originally I did a web series called The Resistance. The Resistance was a guerrilla style underground thing we funded with our own money, did our own hair and make-up, and put it on the web. Eventually Starz and Ghost House—which is Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi’s company—saw it, picked it up, re-funded it, and then had us re-shoot it. From there, when they were auditioning for the part of Mira, they looked in Australia and New Zealand, and when they couldn’t find a girl there, they decided to come to the United States, and one of the producers from The Resistance said, “Well, if you’re looking for a girl, look at this girl first, because we really like what she’s done on The Resistance.” And that’s how I got my start on Spartacus.

AE: In the first season of Spartacus, Mira is a house slave in the ludus where Spartacus and the other gladiators train. You’ve talked elsewhere about the “slave mentality” that Mira had then, and I thought that was very interesting. Can you elaborate on that?

KL: I think one of the hardest things about getting into this role was figuring out what the slave mentality was and believing in it because it is so different from the world that I live in now. Not having a choice of where you can sleep, or what you can eat, what you do, and not having that freedom of choice, knowing that if someone wanted you to stay in the house the entire day, you had to. There was no option for dreams. It was pointless to dream, it was pointless to have hope, even to love who you wanted to unless your dominus or domina gave you permission. I feel like sometimes the viewers have a hard time relating to that, and it took a while for the viewer to adjust to it as well.

Katrina Law with Andy Whitfield in Season One (Spartacus: Blood and Sand)

AE: I think you see it double in Mira, because not only is she a slave, she is a woman in this society as well. But if the viewer pays attention to your performance, you can see that in your face, especially as Mira changes from Season One to Season Two. All of a sudden Mira has this freedom that really forces her to develop—for the first time—her own identity. How did that process change for you, as a performer, from Season One to Season Two?

KL: In Season One, Mira didn’t have too many choices to make. Her domina told her what to do and she did it. Then all of a sudden Spartacus enters the picture. And she has never really interacted before with someone like this—who suddenly presents her options, gives her a little taste of what it would actually be like to be free, that maybe there’s life outside of this ludus. So for the first time those seeds are planted in her mind—so then after everybody breaks out from the ludus, she finds herself on her own with Spartacus and the rest of the rebels. But she suddenly finds herself completely inadequate. She has no way to feed herself, protect herself, or clothe herself, and she suddenly realizes she’s completely at the mercy of Spartacus and the rebels.

I think for a little while she’s okay with that, because she thinks, “Now that we’re free, we’re just going to run off into the mountains, and be happy and raise families and make babies.” But it becomes very clear to her very quickly that in order to gain that freedom she has to fight for it—and, unfortunately, she realizes she does not know how to fight. As the season progresses she gets introduced to characters like Chadara, played by Bonnie Sveen, who suddenly points out the outside point of view of how people see Mira, which is as someone sleeping with the leader for protection. In Mira’s eyes, she’s thinking, “No, that’s not the way it is, I actually love him.” Then, as her mental perception grows wider and wider, she starts to realize, “I think that is actually what I’m doing. If I were to leave, or get lost in the woods, how would I protect myself?”

So eventually she really has to find a way to become her own woman, to figure out where she stands amongst the rebels and who she is on her own. Does she have her own identity? She realizes that she doesn’t, so she is fighting extremely hard to find one. So when she picks up the bow and arrow and is trained by Lucius, I think that’s when she really starts to come alive.

AE: One of my favorite story lines for the whole season is Mira’s relationship with Chadara, and the ways in which Mira grows from that and Chadara really cannot, that she remains stuck in that notion of having to connect herself to someone she perceives as being more powerful. Of course, the really great thing is, as the new Mira, you get to kick butt!

KL: It’s so much more fun than holding a vase, let me just tell you that! I remember all during Season One I was so jealous of all the boys getting to run around and do crazy things like fight and be active and I would be standing there in the background holding something really heavy, watching them. (laughter) So this year was a lot more fun. Going back to the Chadara/Mira story, though, I think that was beautiful. I think it definitely shows two points of view of being a slave. Yes, Mira was a house slave, but she never really wanted to be. She didn’t have a choice. She had to have sex with the people she was told to, or she would die. Or be punished. Or starved. Or beaten. For the most part she kept her head down, tried not to be noticed, getting through life that way. Where the Chadara character realized, if I do these things, I get favoritism, so therefore I can elevate myself as much as a slave could. So there is no reason for her to change because it had been working for her for so long. It wasn’t until the very end, where all of a sudden Chadara realized that it wasn’t.

AE: I don’t know if you ever read AfterElton.com’s coverage of Spartacus, but Mira’s transformation this season has been really popular with our readers. The recap comments always refer to how much viewers like Mira kicking butt and taking names. Of course, gay men always love and respect a strong woman, but I think part of it is that Mira has really had to confront herself and her identity, and gay people can really identify with that struggle.

KL: There is an element to that struggle—“Where do you fit in in this world? Where do you belong?” I think a lot of people from the modern day judge Mira for being a sex slave at the beginning, and I think they don’t understand that it wasn’t her choice. She didn’t have the option to say no. She didn’t choose it. With the gay community as well, they also say, “We didn’t choose this, this is what we are.” I don’t know if that’s a good parallel or not, but the struggle in saying, “I am what I am; I have to figure out a way to live with it, and hopefully you can find a way to live with me as well.” It’s an interesting struggle. There are a lot of struggles in this world that people have to go through, especially just in trying to fit in. Whether you’re gay or whether you’re black or whether you’re a woman or a sex slave or whatever, everybody has their own issues, and the trick is figuring out, “How do we get through this the best we can, how do we stay true to ourselves.”

AE: You started on Spartacus in Season One, when Andy Whitfield played the title role. Now Liam McIntyre is the lead. What was that adjustment like? It must have been very difficult.

KL: It was difficult. It is difficult. Moving on with a show where your lead guy, your leader, is no longer a part of it—at that point, we didn’t know whether he was going to survive or not—you feel like you’re betraying the cause. But, unfortunately, the show goes on. Andy Whitfield himself said, “Please, I know everybody has livelihoods and jobs, rent to pay and children to feed. The show is bigger than my character and I give you all my blessing to move on.” I don’t think that without his blessing any of us could have come back—from Starz, to the cast and crew, to anyone on the production side. I don’t know too many people that could be that generous, to not be bitter about it, and I just think he was so beautiful.

With Liam coming in, I don’t think there could have been a better person coming in as Spartacus. He was so humble and open to everything that was going on, and he was so gracious toward the memory of Andy and the work that he had done and paying tribute to it. He also brings his own flavor to Spartacus. It was beautiful to work with him. He was a joy to have every day on set. He was open, playful, and fun. Of course, with the passing of Andy it also puts a different spin, a different color on the show as well. So for me, my time on Spartacus will always be bittersweet. It will always be one of those jobs that I will have had in my life that will cause me a little confusion, and heartache, and joy at the same time.

AE: Spartacus is that rare show that really focuses on men and the male body—it’s one of the reasons the show is so popular with AfterElton readers—where it seems that most television and film is usually about showing the female body. As one of the lead actresses on the show, is that unusual for you, or do you think turnabout is fair play?

KL: I think it’s great! (laughter)

AE: (laughter) I do too!

KL: It might be odd, but I get to walk on set and look at six-pack abs all day long and men walking around in diapers. I think that’s a good show and I’m not going to question it. One of the gladiators—I’m not going to say which one—he is gay, and the two of us literally just lean against the wall on certain days and just stare. (laughter) And comment. And daydream! It’s a lot of fun. One of my favorite memories with him occurred when he was new to the set. Sometimes it is really difficult, if you don’t know what is coming up in a scene—when sometimes they surprise you—and you don’t know where to look. It can be a shock. He said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And right on that day we had to do this scene where we were looking out at the gladiators and, all of a sudden, about eight of them just decided to drop their drawers! Suddenly we were staring at eight penises (laughter). Out of nowhere! And he is looking at the ceiling, saying, “I get it, I so get it. I want to look, but I feel like I shouldn’t.”

AE: That’s amazing. And it also reflects the great chemistry among the cast, especially those in Spartacus’ army. It really comes through. Before the season starts, did you all do anything to bring everyone together, build that chemistry, and bond?

KL: The biggest chemistry bonder was probably the gladiator boot camp. It was such a good time. It so was difficult—people were sore for days and days. It was great because I was the only female who was there, so I was a little intimidated by the men, doing all these push-ups and stretch hammer throws and tire flips, and doing obstacle courses with them and circles of deaths. It was just a great experience. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of sweating. A lot of dry heaving going on as well.

AE: I can imagine!

KL: Basically, you’re with these guys for 5-6 hours during the day and you can’t help but bust each other. The guys on the show are so good. There’s not a single guy on the rebel side who I would say is a divo or a jerk. It was just tons and tons of ridiculous laughter and dumb jokes all over the place.

AE: Another favorite addition for our readers this season to the show is the relationship between Agron and Nasir. In fact, we sometimes call them "Nagron."

KL: I love that!

AE: They’re hugely popular. The scene where you interrupt the two while they are supposed to be guarding Illithyia was a real highlight. The two are so giggly, and you have that look on your face…it was classic. And it’s the kind of scene between two men that almost never happens on television. When the cast and creators are working on scenes like this, is there some sort of thought process that the show really has a strong gay following and, maybe, here’s something for the boys?

KL: That scene was one of the favorites I have ever shot. Dan Feuerriegel [Agron] and Pana [Hem Talyor, who plays Nasir] were so beautiful when it came to the entire process. They’re both straight, but they really wanted to be true to the relationship and the love, and not be two actors that were going, “Okay, we’re going to do this scene, but we’re going to indicate to everybody that we’re still straight.”

They said, “No, we’re going to go for this, we’re going to be true, and we’re going to throw ourselves into this as wholeheartedly as we can.” They just went for it, and I thought it was so beautiful. On the day we were rehearsing the scene, as with most actors they weren’t fully going for it, they were just indicating that they were kissing. I have a part where I shuffle my foot as I walk in to indicate that I’m there, and then they look up and see me. Well, on the first take we did it, everything was fine, and then I have this epiphany. So, the scene starts, and they start making out—making out hot and heavy, looking hot as hell—as you could tell, since that was the take that was used—and I very quietly tiptoe in. I think they made out for an extra 45 seconds to a minute. (laughter)

Mira interrupts Nasir and Agron

AE: Everyone at AfterElton now officially loves you for that.

KL: Finally, they think, “You know, this is going on for a really long time.” So Dan looks up and he sees that I’m there, and so I smile with a genuine, “Ha ha, got you,” and so the entire scene afterward with the two of them was the genuine giggles with the two of them being embarrassed and caught. It was such a beautiful scene and a lot of fun to do. I bought them a six-pack afterwards, but they were so good about it. The way they embrace their roles is just beautiful because they have no prejudice towards it, and that’s great.

AE: I have to tell you there is some controversy at the website because Agron and Nasir haven’t actually had a love scene yet. Everything has been implied; perhaps it does make it more romantic, but to be honest, we want to see nudity.

KL: (laughter) There’s going to be a Season Three, and I can’t imagine the two of them escaping that for very long, just by the nature of the show. I personally want to see it, too! I would also like to issue an apology—for breaking up that scene before anything actually happened—to all AfterElton readers. Sorry about that, I was just doing what the writers told me, but I am looking forward to their sex scene being hot, heavy, and awesome. I’ll have to rewind it many times to watch it. (laughter)

AE: You and me both! Of course, Mira’s own relationship this season with Spartacus has been another really interesting storyline. In the last episode that aired here, Spartacus tells Mira, “I’ve given you as much of my heart as I can,” and you can see that resonate in Mira’s face—this is the first time she’s had to make choices like this.

KL: I think a lot of that has to do with Mira finally finding her own identity and realizing, “I’m free. I’m living my life. I can protect myself. I’m no longer dependant on a man. I no longer have to wait for you to find food because I just killed my own deer.” Her own self-worth has suddenly formed, because she never really had any. She had no reason to have any self-worth. When it came to love, I think she’s thinking, “I deserve somebody who loves me, I deserve what I see Naevia has, I deserve what I see Nasir and Agron have. I deserve these things, so why can’t I have it?” I also think there’s a huge part of Mira that truly does not understand Spartacus and his pain. Yes, Spartacus lost his wife, but from Mira’s point of view, she’s lost more throughout her entire life, including her own freedom. She’s thinking, “We’ve all lost. And we’ve all gotten over it. We’ve all found a way to survive. So I don’t understand why he can’t, especially when I feel he hasn’t lost as much as the rest of us.” So I think from Mira’s point of view she doesn’t quite understand what the hang-up is. She’s also confused by the idea that they are willing to kill all the women and children in the arena [in Capua], but can’t kill this one woman who has actually done them harm. So Mira realizes, “I’m not understanding, but I don’t think it matters any more that I don’t understand. I just know that I need more.” I think this is her first step toward gaining self-respect, toward gaining her individual freedom. But, yeah, I wanted to grab Mira aside and say, “Girl, he’s just not that into you!”

Katrina Law in a scene with Liam McIntyre

AE: The season finale is a few hours away, but this interview will not post until after the season finale, so my editor is making me ask—does Mira survive?

KL: No, my character does not survive. Here’s the thing: I think Mira is one of the real tragic characters in this entire story because she can never get the love that she wants, but as soon as she gets her own personal taste of self-identification she is gone. But at the same time I think it is so glorious how she goes out. She is fighting for the man she loves. She is fighting for her freedom. She is fighting for a cause bigger than herself, for a belief that she has never been able before to have in her life. She goes out fighting for what she wants, and I think it is just so heroic and tragic at the same time. I have to say, I think with her storyline, it’s such a great way for her to go out.

AE: I have to say, I’m not surprised by that outcome, but I’m really bummed. I know you sing, and I know Lucy Lawless sings, so I was kind of hoping there’d be a Spartacus musical episode. Because then I could just die happy…

KL: (laughter) If that happens, then you know that the writers have probably given up.

AE: True. Spartacus is a show that’s really developed this cult following. It is a big show for Starz, but its fans are those cult-show fans who are seriously devoted. Any crazy encounters with fans yet?

KL: My favorite encounter with a fan was occurred in a gym. This gym has an indoor track, and I was running and somewhere around mile two or three by this point, so I was sweaty, no make-up on, looking like trash. This guy comes up to me and is like, “Oh my gosh, you’re Mira!” Meanwhile, I’m still running. I’m like, “Yeah, yeah I am,” and he goes, “Oh, can I get a photo?” “Okay.” But he doesn’t stop [running]. I don’t stop. I don’t think to stop. He doesn’t think to stop. He ends up running with me for over two laps with a telephone held out trying to get a photo of us running together on this track. It was so funny, because he was so winded by the end of it. I just thought it was awesome dedication—I’m not sure how the photo turned out, but I thought it was a great dedication.

Another one of my favorite interactions has to have been with the military. [They] asked me to send out a Christmas message to the military fans. It was great to see that; overseas, they really get into it. I know that I’m not saving people from cancer, I’m not curing diseases. What I am doing is providing an entertainment and a relief for the people that are doing those things that I find very important, which is protecting our freedoms and our country. So it was nice to know that the military was appreciating the job that I’m doing, and that I was giving them a relief and an outlet. So that was really nice.

Law with fellow cast members Liam McIntyre and Manu Bennett

AE: You work with an amazing cast, so I have to ask about a couple of them. Lucy Lawless—I mean, she’s a legend, isn’t she?

KL: She is. You know, unfortunately I didn’t get to work with her at all this season. The only times I saw her were during lunch breaks or cast read through. She is so lovely, though. When I first came to the set, she took me around and introduced me to everyone. And it was like 500 people! It was overwhelming, but she was so nice about it.

AE: I must confess to having a mild obsession with Craig Parker. Not only is he crazy good-looking, but who doesn’t love a bad boy, right? Now I know you don’t have many scenes with Glaber, but I have to ask: is he as awesome in person as he seems?

KL: Craig Parker might be one of my favorites. Craig Parker is rad. So anybody who is a Craig Parker fan be rest assured that he is so amazing in real life and has a lovely, light-hearted, comedic spirit, and he is just lovely to be around. He always has a joke and a smile. Anytime I’ve been around him, it’s just been a good time. He’s just a really, really good guy. I think he’s done a real amazing job with Glaber this season. His character was filled out a lot more so he had a lot more to play with as well, and I think he just capitalized on everything. I think he is such a great villain because you almost want him to win.

AE: You really do, in spite of yourself.

KL: Well, he has these two bitches in the background conniving and trying to do all these evil deeds to him and get him killed and take away his child, so you’re going, “I want you to win…but then you’d have to kill Spartacus…wait a minute…” (laughter) I think he does such a great job with his character.

AE: I was going to ask you if you could steal one of his tunics for me, but I guess if you’re not going back next season, that’s out. So, what’s next for Katrina Law?

KL: I have a project that I am currently working on right now. I’m not allowed to talk about it because it’s not official yet, but it’s in development, and I’m excited about it. As of right now, the sky’s the limit, and I just want to see what I can get my paws into.

You can follow Katrina on Twitter @Misskatrinalaw