When asked what drew him to the series, Hashim said: “For me, (it was) Kwame where he was from and what he represents. “I thought it was really beautiful to see how the gladiators, who were essentially prisoners made to fight till their death, fought for their lives daily, the way they found humanity and friendship, I thought that was really, really beautiful. Said Johannesson: “Roland is a whirlwind to work with. You sort of step on set and you just jump on the Roland Emmerich train. We practically did a tour of every restaurant in Rome, we had all types of pasta and, you know, during those dinners, you kind of get to see who Roland really is.
