Pepe Barroso showcases his exceptional acting flair as he embodies the character of Fonsoa Corsi; a hot-headed yet fiercely loyal brother in Peacock/Prime's Drama offering "Those About To Die". 

The show that revolves around heavy and intricate elements of bloodlust, cruel politics, Gladiatorial combats, corruption, betrayal, unexpected camaraderie, and poignant repercussions has been met with a plethora of critically acclaimed reviews from around the world. 

We chat with Barosso in this exclusive new interview discussing his character's arc, what it was like meeting his on-screen brothers Gonçalo Almeida and Eneko Sagardoy for the first time, memorable behind-the-scenes, what he would love to ask Fonsoa had he been real, any acting rituals he had, what he hopes to witness in the project in case Season Two is renewed, his future plans, and all things THOSE ABOUT TO DIE. 

*Please Note: This interview contains major spoilers from 'Those About To Die'. 

Hi there Pepe. Thank you for joining us on ReVamp! How are you doing?

All good here, hope you are doing very well. Thank you for your time. 

I would love to start our conversation by mentioning your surreal performance as 'Fonsoa' in the latest drama and action project "Those About to Die". 

First of all, massive congratulations on your involvement! Do you remember how your audition process went for this role? 

Thank you for your kind words. Of course I remember! It started off as a regular audition until I got to read about the role... three brothers, grew up with horses, Ancient Rome… it seemed like someone was playing a joke on me. I'm the elder of three brothers, we grew up with horses, I've always been really interested in Ancient Rome.. so it was very exciting for me. When I did it I had a call back with our director Roland and he was really nice and welcoming, we were laughing about it for a little and that was pretty much it! 

What were your first impressions of your character when you were initially offered the script? 

I had an idea of certain things about the personality of the character, but I was also very open as I wanted to meet my fictitious brothers and kind of see how we felt together. As soon as we met, we each fell into 'place' and it seemed very natural, and something many brothers could relate to and feel identified with. Even if it was in Ancient Rome. As I said, in my family we are three brothers, and with clear patterns so it was interesting to learn from each other and to incorporate certain notes from them. 

How did you successfully get into the mindset of Fonsoa? Was there ever any specific acting ritual that you immersed yourself into before going in front of the cameras?

I really have no ‘rituals’ as such. I come as prepared as possible to the first day of shooting and I'm always very open to changes. Knowing very well the history and background to have a good backbone, and being very observant in the day to day after the homework is done after the homework is done. Also take care and try to bond with cast mates and the rest of the production and really get immersed in the incredible world Roland and Marco both our directors built. 

What was your experience like working with such an impeccable cast and crew; sharing screens with the wonderful Anthony Hopkins to Iwan Rheon, and obviously your onscreen brothers Eneko Sagardoy and Gonçalo Almeida? 

I felt extremely fortunate and tried to learn from each of them as much as possible. Not just from their impeccable work but also from their human side, they all were very helpful and caring and just very inspirational as a whole. We were very lucky as a cast to have coincided together, we really had a great time and bonded very well. 

Your character's conclusion was definitely something extremely unfortunate yet unpredictable.

But I'm very curious to know, if you could have the opportunity to extend your character's arc just a little bit more and explore how things go from there, is there any specific element you would love to see the progress of? (I for one would've loved to see the strengthening bond between Fonsoa and Elia). 

Probably seeing more of that love/hate relationship between Elia and Fonsoa. It would have been interesting to see how they advanced as rivals and how their relationship would advance to reconcile at some point, or not!

There are so many fascinating and diverse characters in this project. Pertaining to this remarkable production, if you had the chance to adopt someone else's role, who besides Fonsoa would you have absolutely loved to play?

It's a hard question… they all have brilliant notes. From Scorpus and Tenax to Titus or Domitian, even Kwame or my other brothers. As you say there are many fascinating characters in this story and it would have been very fun to try any of them. But they were so brilliantly portrayed by the cast that it is hard to picture yourself in any other one. 

I'm sure there must be a lot of questions you would've loved to ask Fonsoa in terms of portraying him so had he been a real-life figure, is there any sort of advice you would like to seek from him or perhaps get his thoughts on something you couldn't quite figure out about him or his arc during your performance? 

Something I would have asked Fonsoa is probably "what are you willing to let go to achieve your goals? Is it really everything?"

Do you have any memorable moments that stand out for you in terms of working on this production be it onset or off-set? 

Too many…. Stepping everyday into one of those sets that Johannes designed so brilliantly with the help of the rest of production, finishing and going for a nice dinner with cast mates, very funny moments in the hotel where we all stayed together at, night walks in Rome…  There are too many. 

I know the creators and writers of the show recently sparked that they already have an established plot in mind for Season 2 in case there's ever a greenlight given for it. 

Do you think we might be seeing a bit more of your character's young/childhood days and inclining towards Fonsoa's backstory too if the next season is a go?  

 I hope so! Nothing is set yet but we had a few talks when filming the first season. Whatever happens will be very exciting to watch! 

What's next for you, Pepe? Anything else you're currently working on that you would like to tell us or your fans about? 

Currently working on my cosmetics brand (VEGANIS) and writing stories, I'm very excited to be starting a production company soon with some great stories behind. And excited to get back on set soon!