LUCIUS VORENUS played by Kevin McKidd

The hard essence of a professional Roman soldier. Honorable and severe, he is unforgiving and pitiless when crossed. A dour and pragmatic man, with a tendency towards self-laceration. (HBO.com)

I wrote to McKidd in October 2006 c/o ICM in London, enclosing a Rome picture. August 2007 saw my photo returned unsigned but there was a 6x4 signed photo enclosed. I'd since written to him c/o his new tv show Journeyman so we'll see if I can get a signed Rome photo from there!

TITUS PULLO played by Ray Stevenson

A ferocious lover of life, possessing the courage and loyalty of a warrior, but the morality of a pirate. A man of huge appetites and wild passions. Impulsive, unreflective, optimistic, conceited, generous, and brutal. (hbo.com)

I got a success from Mr Stevenson at the second attempt. An earlier try c/o his London agency (Conway Van Gelder Grant) yielded nothing so I tried again this time c/o The Punisher 2 movie set in Montreal, Canada (Nov 2007). Some time had gone by and I thought I had been unsuccessful again but then got a reply 5 months later with a New Orleans postmark where he is now filming Cirque du Freak. He added his own 6x4 isp too, which was kind. So glad to get my favourite Rome character at last!

JULIUS CAESAR played by Ciarán Hinds

In a strict class-ridden society, Caesar descends from one of the oldest and noblest of patrician families. Energetic, brilliant, methodical, he is a man driven—electrified even—by a primordial need for dominance. He has very little room for regular human emotions; he can be witty and charming or warm and caring, but these qualities are always performances, produced as needed and rarely prompted by genuine feeling.

I wrote to Mr Hinds c/o his London management agency in October 2006 and I got my photo back, signed, a month later.

ATIA OF THE JULII played by Polly Walker

Niece of Caesar, Atia of the Julii is snobbish, willful, cunning, and sexually voracious. In a culture in which women lack formal power and men leave for years on military campaigns, the wives, daughters, and mothers have built powerful networks and alliances completely independent of the men's worlds. Atia is among the women who serve as the shadow rulers of Rome. (from HBO.com)

Ms Walker replied superfast when I wrote to her c/o London agency in January 2007. My photo was signed and returned with a Cheshire postmark (presumably where she lives) within a few days.

SERVILIA OF THE JUNII played by Lindsay Duncan

The mother of Brutus, and the erstwhile lover of Caesar. Servilia of the Junii is a staunchly Republican aristocrat. Sophisticated, elegant, and subtle, she considers herself several rungs above Atia in the social hierarchy, a fact that chafes Atia.

I wrote to Ms Duncan c/o ICM London late January 2007 and got my photo back signed two weeks later.

GAIUS OCTAVIAN played by Simon Woods

Now known as Caesar Octavian, Atia's son has grown into a soldier and a man — stepping into his late great uncle's shoes...in more ways than one.

Simon Woods played a great character really well, his story mirroring in many ways the journey of Michael Corleone. I wrote to Mr Woods in June 2007 and I received my photo back signed and inscribed 3 weeks later.

MARCUS JUNIUS BRUTUS played by Tobias Menzies

A haughty and somewhat aloof young patrician, Marcus Brutus was at the centre of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar.

I wrote to Mr Menzies c/o agency in London late January 2007 and got a reply in February.

OCTAVIA OF THE JULII played by Kerry Condon

The beautiful but weak-willed sister of Octavian. Her mother's pawn, she hides simmering resentment beneath the guise of a dutiful daughter. (HBO.com)

I wrote to Kerry Condon c/o agency in London in January 2007 and got a good reply back in March. Ms Condon is starring in the new JJ Abrams tv series based on the lives of cancer patients.

QUINTUS POMPEY played by Rick Warden

The son of Pompey Magnus. A nasty melding of sadistic brutality and animal cunning. A source of alarm even to Pompey's closest allies, Quintus' worst instincts are kept in check only by his reverential love of his father. (HBO.com)

Rick Warden received my letter in June 2007 and replied pretty promptly, having signed the Rome photo I sent plus enclosing a 6x4 of his own. He also starred in another of my favourite all-time tv series, Band of Brothers.

TIMON played by Lee Boardman

An amiable but rapacious brigand and quondam horse trader. Timon is one of Atia's lovers and her mercenary ally. (HBO.com) He has frequently been called upon by Atia to do her dirty work and there seems to be little he won't do. In season two, he featured more prominently when his brother Levi turned up with an agenda of his own.

I wrote to Lee Boardman in June 2007 and he replied 3 weeks later, signing the photo I sent. Boardman became a familiar face on UK tv when he appeared in Coronation Street as bad boy Jez Quigley. He is rumoured to be about to take a role in James Woods' tv series, Shark.

EIRENE played by Chiara Mastalli

A simple slave girl with very few expectations for her life, Pullo found Eirene on an abandoned slave cart in the country, and brought her to Rome. He convinced Niobe and Vorenus to take her in as a servant, and while working for them she fell in love with a fellow servant and became engaged, which enraged Pullo — who killed the boy. After some time passed, he managed to win over her affections again, and convince her to marry him. (HBO.com) In the second season Eirene became pregnant with Pullo's baby but the jealousy of another threatened everything.

Chiara Mastalli is one of the most prominent Italian actors in the series and I wrote c/o her Italian agent in June 2007. A lovely reply came 2 weeks later. She had enclosed a letter, replying to mine, as well as signing the photo I'd sent.

MARCUS AGRIPPA played by Allen Leech

Octavian's top soldier and right-hand man, Agrippa is earnest and humble, a sharp contrast to his peers. He also happens to be smitten with Octavian's sister. (HBO.com)

I wrote to Mr Leech c/o London agency in June 2007 and he replied 3 weeks later, having signed the photo I sent. He also stars in the Irish tv series Legend.

LYDE played by Esther Hall

The sister of Vorenus' wife Niobe, Lyde was devestated to discover her husband had been having an affair with Niobe. She later helped with the care of Vorenus' children after Niobe died.

I wrote to Ms Hall in June 2007 and she replied a couple of weeks later. She was also in the BBC series Spooks and can currentltly be seen on UK tv in the BT adverts with Kris Marshall from BBC's comedy show My Family.

LIVIA played by Alice Henley

At first it seemed Livia was just a naive girl picked by Octavian to be his wife, apparently on a whim. Once wed though, it turned out she was no pushover and had the cojones to stand up to her new husband.

I wrote to Ms Henley in June 2007 and she replied 3 weeks later. She has just completed work on the new David Cronenburg film, Eastern Promises.

MASCIUS played by Michael Nardone

An old comrade of Vorenus and Pullo's from the battlefields, Mascius lobbied Vorenus on behalf of their fellow veterans to push Caesar for land, then compromised his noble intentions by accepting a personal payoff to convince them to accept rough land near Germany. When he later lost his farm to "crooked dice," he returned to Rome in search of work, only to hear Vorenus was in charge of the underworld. (HBO.com)

Mr Nardone has been in loads of different tv shows in the UK, including Taggart and Steel River Blues. I wrote to him in the middle of a Rome purple patch in June 2007 when I got 7 autographs from the show in just over 3 weeks.

NEWSREADER played by Ian McNeice

He is the man to listen to if you want the latest news from the Roman Empire. The newsreader has all the latest stories, read out with great theatrical gestures and emphasis.

I wrote to Mr McNeice in July 2007 c/o his agent in London. He sent my photo back signed with a funny inscription about how he enjoyed filming in Rome itself. Nice response.