hi! Hopefully some of our film historians can address the question of casting for Hollywood films with regards to representing historical people accurately, but here are a few posts that can get you started on actual ancient Romans:

• How closely related are modern Italians and ancient Romans?

• During the Roman Empires beginning (44BC) , what was the racial makeup of the inhabitants including slaves ?

• Are the people of Italy, today the same people that populated ancient, Rome?

• What race/ethnicity were the Ancient Romans?

• Were romans fair-skinned (I'm guessing not)?

• Did the Ancient Romans look or speak like modern day Italians?