Rome- What Happened to Octavian?
8:57 pm February 18th, 2007 by Sal Cangeloso
I’ve been watching Rome since the first episode and while I don’t think it is great, it is definitely a good series, one of the best on television right now (that’s not saying very much, but there it is).
One of Rome’s strengths, as with most HBO series, has been the character development. They have done an excellent job of letting us get to know the principle characters so they we can know what motivates them and have an expectation of what they will do, something which adds very much to the viewing experience.
Anyway, I feel like Rome’s producers made a major mistake by changing Octavians on us.
To show the character’s maturation and let us better understand the progression of time the original Octavian, Max Pirkis, was swapped out in favor of Simon Woods. There is not doubt that when he returned Octavian was no longer a boy, but losing Pirkis for Woods, who is completely emotionless and can best be compared to a mannequin, was a mistake. Pirkis’ portrayal of the young Octavian was one of the best performances on the show, despite the difficult, often unsavory situations he got himself in, and an extended absence when away at school.
The strangest thing about the move was that no one else was changed. Yes the difference in age would be more apparent on someone younger, but none of Vorenus’ children were swapped, despite the hell they went through, and the only other sign of aging was Antony’s beard.
In summary, I don’t have a problem with time marching on and aspects of the show changing to reflect that, but this change was completely half-assed and meant that the show had to lose an actor who was perfectly suited to his role and doing an astounding.
I agree 100%! They could have used makeup to make Octavian look older instead of using this ass-clown they found on the street.
Is Octavian no longer being a boy the real reason they changed the character or did something else happen?
I have not researched this, but I am pretty sure the switch was intentional. Octavian grew up and they wanted to have a character change to reflect that. I guess the thinking is that by the time he was one of the triumvirate he was a man, not the boy who was growing up during the first season…
The way things turned out, I’m GLAD they changed. Clearly in S2 they set about demolishing Octavian to switch audience sympathy over to Mark Antony, and so they ‘monstered’ Octie. Frankly, I’m glad Max went out on a high and didn’t have to play the sex-crazed psycho bitch that was Octie 2. I think the switch was deliberate - they didn’t just switch actors, they entirely switched the character. As far as I’m concerned, the last we saw of Octavian was when ‘Maxtavian’ stormed off in S2 Ep 2. Seeing how it turned out, the switch of actors was a relief - can you imagine how angry you’d feel at having to watch Maxtavian become so degraded? As it is, they can do what they like to Woodtavian, I just don’t care.