Lesley Anne Brandt's FB page.
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kurt-2000 — 9 years ago(November 22, 2016 04:23 AM)
Yup. She was the first Naevia.
Holy buckets! I remember that weird scene where she was helping Lucy Lawless masturbate in order for the Lawless character to get aroused enough to screw her husband. Yeah, that was provocative even for the cable network that aired Spartacus. That series was just a shocker in every episode. She did a good job in that series. Thought I'd seen her somewhere before. -
xenosaga6891 — 9 years ago(November 22, 2016 05:01 AM)
I liked her much better as Naevia than the new girl they got for the later seasons. I'm liking her as Maze alot too. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to buy her as Maze after seeing her as Naevia, but I think she's pulling it off realy good.
As a warrior and as a man, I will leave my mark upon the world! Marguilus -
MariMcCabe — 9 years ago(November 22, 2016 12:13 AM)
I don't see what's cynical about an observation. Out of the cast she came in with the least amount of followers, so it makes sense why she might want to be more outspoken to stand out. Since she's gotten political she's gotten more popular.
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centrd — 9 years ago(November 22, 2016 12:25 AM)
Has she gotten more popular? On Twitter she's gotten a lot of grief about her opinions, because, a. she's a celebrity and b. she's not a US citizen. She's really pushed back on that, which I think is her right, but not everyone has been kind. Many have claimed they'll stop watching the show because apparently actors aren't supposed to have opinions.
Tom Ellis & Joe Henderson have also been criticized for voicing opinions. One woman called Joe's private cell number and screamed at him like a stark raving lunatic (Lesley-Ann posted the recording) and claimed his phone number was "all over twitter".
"There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in" Leonard Cohen -
iabanon — 9 years ago(November 22, 2016 01:05 AM)
To put an agenda on someone you do not know is cynical. You do not know her and you have not read her posts clearly. I know true passion when I see it. Just because she's an actor NO IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE that she would sell herself to be more popular online. Not everyone is like you or thinks like you think they think. Yeah, that's the definition of cynical. Seeing only the negative when you don't even fvvcking know that person.
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MariMcCabe — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 01:40 AM)
To put an agenda on someone you do not know is cynical. You do not know her and you have not read her posts clearly. I know true passion when I see it. Just because she's an actor NO IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE that she would sell herself to be more popular online. Not everyone is like you or thinks like you think they think. Yeah, that's the definition of cynical. Seeing only the negative when you don't even fvvcking know that person.
This is the same person who admitted to leaving the Spartacus show because she wanted to make it in Hollywood, and would only stay for more money.
http://www.thewrap.com/lesley-ann-brandt-would-stay-spartacus-price-24836/
This isn't about being popular 'online'. At the end of the day this about getting more work. She's been @-ing directors/producers to get new gigs. This is what smaller time actors may do to get noticed. People with strong personalities get more attention. Not everyone is lucky enough to get a million followers just off of the strength of the character(s) you play like Caity Lotz or Katie Cassidy. Some times it takes something extra. This is a cutthroat business, especially for women in their mid 30s where they have to compete with the twenty somethings. Anything you can do to stand out is good marketing tool. This isn't to say she doesn't have a true passion about politics.
Has she gotten more popular? On Twitter she's gotten a lot of grief about her opinions, because, a. she's a celebrity and b. she's not a US citizen. She's really pushed back on that, which I think is her right, but not everyone has been kind. Many have claimed they'll stop watching the show because apparently actors aren't supposed to have opinions.
Compared to where she was in season 1? Yeah! Being a staunch Hillary supporter / Trump basher may have got her some trolls, but for the most part she's not suffering because of her political posts. Her follower count has gone up dramatically. She's doing very well. -
iabanon — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 02:03 AM)
Wait so she's not allowed to look for more financial security, but you are? If you were offered a job with more money would that make you a sell-out or just someone wanting security? Funny how you or I can take more money and not endure a character assassination, but creatives can't. But i see from your post that you call her a Trump basher ergo you're a supporter of trump ergo you are going to demonise her character. Sometimes people are just too transparent.
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MariMcCabe — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 02:29 AM)
Im not sure you understand what happened. Lesley wasn't offered a job, she didn't renew her contract and wouldn't come back unless
they
could pay her more. Regarding the circumstances of when she decided to do this (lead actor was replaced because he was sick with cancer) she played a dangerous game and lost.
I never said Trump doesn't
deserve
the bashing he gets. You're emotionally jumping to conclusions. -
centrd — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 08:31 AM)
Interesting, I read there were other reasons for her leaving, and believe me, I do not think that being paid poorly is a bad reason at all, esp. considering how popular her character was. But she wanted to participate more in pilot season auditions, which would be a good move after becoming a recognizable, if underpaid talent from Spartacus. Looks like her strategy finally paid off, getting a major role in Lucifer. But if that show had treated her well, it would not have been about the money. You can always tell when someone leaves like that, there was clearly more going on there.
"There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in" Leonard Cohen -
MariMcCabe — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 05:50 PM)
OH SPARTACUS? I didn't know she was on that. Explains the bad treatment then. I spoke to someone who had a friend who wrote for that show and she says the writer's are treated abysmally and that she eventually had to leave because f treatment. Sadi ti's a real bullying atmosphere. I can't blame Lesley for leaving an unhappy environment.
Unhappy environment? Lesley still praises the Spartacus people and Steven DeKnight to this day.
Interesting, I read there were other reasons for her leaving, and believe me, I do not think that being paid poorly is a bad reason at all, esp. considering how popular her character was. But she wanted to participate more in pilot season auditions, which would be a good move after becoming a recognizable, if underpaid talent from Spartacus. Looks like her strategy finally paid off, getting a major role in Lucifer. But if that show had treated her well, it would not have been about the money. You can always tell when someone leaves like that, there was clearly more going on there.
Long time
Spartacus
follower here, it was definitely about payment. There was a sentiment going on that she was about to get a big break she was the one of the few cast members consistently getting guest roles and movies outside of the show so her management used that (in addition to having to replace the main star) as leverage. I remember her official Facebook admin even set up a page to campaign to get her to be a Bond girl. I personally thought she was just alright/serviceable as Naevia in Spartacus but her team were definitely over-hyping her and her prospects. Guest roles on "CSI:NY", "Chuck" and films like "Zombie Apocalypse" are not that big a deal. I understand Lesley isn't American (nor was her management at the time, she got a new one now) so they probably overestimated their importance.
After fan backlash about TheWrap story came out, then the official reasoning for her leaving then suddenly changed to a scheduling conflict.
I agree. It's amazing how undervalued artists and entertainers are. And how much resentment there can be when they finally make it big, especially entertainers like athletes. People think they don't deserve it, even though that's what their employers are willing to pay them because it makes financial sense for their businesses.
People don't think actors have the right to demand what they're worth, even when they themselves wouldn't take a job that paid far less than average for their skill set. Same with people not understanding what a visual artist's work is worth. They literally think an artist should be happy making pennies an hour.
I'm sure the show started out paying Lesley-Ann almost nothing since she was an unknown, and then rather than reward her for her success on the show, tried to tell her that the exposure was enough payment, thinking she'd fold. Good for her for sticking up for herself. That's one thing I admire about her, she's not going to back down when it comes to what she believes.
Well sorry if this sounds harsh but I wouldn't have given her the extra payment either! Not many new actresses can get two big breaks in a row, one in their one home country (Diplomatic Immunity) and another in America (Spartacus: Blood and Sand) as quickly as she did. Lesley actually auditioned to play Spartacus wife Sura, didn't get the part, but they told her to try for Naevia instead and got it. That to me shows they were interested enough in her to want her to come back and try for another role.
Her character was little more than an extra; not important or remotely popular enough to warrant a pay raise (I was on the official STARZ message board and IMDb back than, honestly she wasn't spoken about much). If she was playing a huge role like Viva Bianca's Ilithyia or Nick Tarabay's Ashur (two also other unknown actors) she would have gotten the bigger paycheck.
I understand the hunger for more but sometimes you just have to be patient. Now that Lesley has Mazikeen on Lucifer everything worked out. -
centrd — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 08:38 AM)
I agree. It's amazing how undervalued artists and entertainers are. And how much resentment there can be when they finally make it big, especially entertainers like athletes. People think they don't deserve it, even though that's what their employers are willing to pay them because it makes financial sense for their businesses.
People don't think actors have the right to demand what they're worth, even when they themselves wouldn't take a job that paid far less than average for their skill set. Same with people not understanding what a visual artist's work is worth. They literally think an artist should be happy making pennies an hour.
I'm sure the show started out paying Lesley-Ann almost nothing since she was an unknown, and then rather than reward her for her success on the show, tried to tell her that the exposure was enough payment, thinking she'd fold. Good for her for sticking up for herself. That's one thing I admire about her, she's not going to back down when it comes to what she believes.
"There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in" Leonard Cohen -
iabanon — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 03:50 PM)
OH SPARTACUS? I didn't know she was on that. Explains the bad treatment then. I spoke to someone who had a friend who wrote for that show and she says the writer's are treated abysmally and that she eventually had to leave because f treatment. Sadi ti's a real bullying atmosphere. I can't blame Lesley for leaving an unhappy environment.