A Conversation with Katrina Law
Former beauty queen (Miss Teen New Jersey), Katrina Law might just be able to kick your backside. At least that’s the way it appears in the hit Starz Network television series Spartacus: Vengeance. Ms. Law plays “Mira,” a slave girl who has a close encounter with the legendary gladiator.
Mike Parker– I admit to being more than a little intrigued to read that you were on your high school’s varsity weight lifting team. I mean, you don’t look like any female weight lifter I’ve ever seen.
Katrina Law– I think it is the lack of steroids (laughs). I joined the team because while I ran track in the spring and my options during the fall were limited to basketball, indoor track or weight lifting. A couple of my friends and I decided it might be fun to try weight lifting. I learned all the weightlifting techniques alongside the guys on the football team. It was kind of cool to get to lift with the boys.
Parker– Your mom got you involved in a wide variety of activities when you were a child. What made you settle on a career in entertainment?
Katrina– Acting was the most fulfilling. It was the only thing that made me happy. I was pretty good at science and math, but I found the entertainment industry was more challenging, because you can work really hard at a math problem to find the answer, but when you’ve found the answer the challenge is over. With acting even when you find the answer, there is always another question, so the challenge never ends. It is exhilarating. I would sacrifice everything for a taste of it.
Parker– I understand you had to go through some pretty rigorous gladiator training for your role in Spartacus.
Katrina– Gladiator boot camp. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Cast wise, it was pretty much just me and the guys. Weight lifting, strength training, warm-ups, sword work. A lot of running, pushups, more running, sit-ups, more running. And there was this thing we did called the Circle of Death. Upper body training, lower body training. It was a full on experience. After one day I couldn’t walk for a week.
Parker– What has been your biggest challenge in bringing your character, Mira, to life?
Katrina– Figuring out where she came from. The writers hadn’t provided any back-story for her, but I needed to no where she came from so I would know why she would choose to do certain things. In my mind I figured out that she was a free woman before she became a slave. Then the writers told me, no, she had been a slave her whole life. So that threw that whole concept out the window. I had to figure out how she lived with the fear that would be inherent in her world - fear about whether she would have anything to eat that day; would she even live another day; would her friends be sold or killed. That is something I’ve never had to contend with in my real life.
Parker– Tell me about Soundboard Fiction.
Katrina– (laughs) That is my little pride and joy. We get together once a week and just make music. Whether anything comes out of it or not, I just love the creative process. Recording is a thrilling process. I play bass and sing, and come up with some of the lyrics.
Parker– Last words?
Katrina– I would love to just say thank you to my cast mates, the crew, and the producers for letting me be part of such an amazing show. And to all the fans who watch, thank you. I’d also like to send a shout out to Andy Whitfield.
The Seven Questions
1. What’s your favorite sound?
Katrina– Rain.
2. What makes you happy?
Katrina– Cheesecake… and my fiancé.
3. What makes you angry?
Katrina– Mean people who get away with doing mean things.
4. What is the secret of success?
Katrina– Faith.
5. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, living or dead, who would it be?
Katrina– Marlon Brando.
6. What is the epitaph that is written on your tombstone?
Katrina– “She lived each day to the fullest.”
7. When you get to heaven, what is the first thing you want to hear God say to you?
Katrina– “Don’t you love my sense of humor
