The Australian actor had left the show to battle non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Andy Whitfield, who starred in TV’s Spartacus: Blood and Sand – only to leave the show to treat a recurrence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma – died Sunday of the disease at age 39.

The actor’s wife Vashti said in a statement that the “beautiful young warrior” died on a “sunny Sydney morning” in the “arms of his loving wife,” the Associated Press reports.

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Born in Wales and a resident of Australia, Whitfield was preparing for a second season in September 2010 when he announced that he would not be returning to the Starz series so he could undergo aggressive cancer treatment. He was replaced by actor Liam McIntyre.