Our Barry is worth his salt in gory drama about the Celts and Romans

DUBLIN actor Barry Ward has revealed his new historical drama will have as much blood and gore as Game of Thrones. The actor spent a gruelling six months on a muddy Prague set filming Britannia, which starts next week in a hail of swords and sorcerers.

The Fall star, right, first came to attention when he was 13 after being cast by the BBC for the role of John Paul Spencer in the TV version of Roddy Doyle’s The Family.

The acclaimed character actor landed his latest role, as a salt farmer called Sawyer in Britannia, while filming The Fall alongside Jamie Dornan.

Barry said: ‘I was extremely lucky. I was doing the Fall, the third series, and the casting director called to say I was being offered the role of Sawyer in Britannia. It was good to meet Jamie and hang out with him. He’s a lovely guy.’

Barry’s character forms the human story of a devoted father separated from his two daughters in the war series, which is set in 43AD when the Romans invaded Britain.

The Dubliner, who lives in London, said it was quite different playing a father to two older daughters in Britannia, which also stars The Office’s Mackenzie Crook and flame-haired actress Kelly Reilly.

‘I’ve a tiny boy, he’s four in February, and in this I’ve a teenage girl and a 27-year-old daughter,’ he said laughing, ‘which was a novelty.’

Barry is involved in one of the goriest scenes of the epic drama, which is full of horses, chariots and Celtic warrior queens, but he isn’t giving away the storyline.

‘It is quite brutal. I’m sure in the year 43AD life was a lot more brutal than now. There is a lot of blood and gore and violence.

‘It is when the Romans are invading Britain which was made up of warring Celtic tribes.

‘It was an amazing job. We filmed for six months outside Prague. The scale of it was novel to me – huge sets, horses.’

He spent most of his time topless for the series which became increasingly difficult as temperatures plummeted in the Prague winter.

‘It was roasting to begin with, so I had my top off for most of that and then when it came to the end when it got icy, the costume ladies would someone weave it into the script that your character found a nice big shawl in the woods.’

The actor fully expects comparisons to Game of Thrones which has become the most successful TV show in the world. But he says the warrior women and druids in Britannia give a whole new twist to the hugely popular genre of historical epic. ‘All the female characters are really strong which makes for welcome TV.’

Britannia will be shown from January 18 on Sky Atlantic.