The Insider.com

It takes a real man to romance Victoria Grayson - that's why Revenge had to go all the way back to ancient Rome to find someone strong enough to match her moxie.

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TheInsider.com has learned exclusively that Rome star James Purefoy has signed on to play Victoria Grayson's new love interest, starting in episode 17.

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"She's going to have a big, passionate love affair" with James' character, Madeleine Stowe tells our Mary Murphy. "The next number of episodes, you'll see some of [Victoria's] origins. You'll see why she connects so peculiarly in such a strange way to people."

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James is the latest guest star the divine freshman series has tapped. TV icon William Devane (Knots Landing, 24) joins the cast next week as Grandpa Grayson. "He's hysterical," Madeleine adds. "Grandpa Grayson has very special affection for Victoria. They adore each other and she's using him to turn the tables back on Conrad. He pumps some lifeblood into the show."

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Revenge, which just keeps getting better and better, is currently filming one of the most important episodes to date: "We're shooting episode 15 -- the Fire & Ice Ball, which was the pilot," Madeline reveals. "So we're working back to that. Then there's the murder and then we flash forward to around Thanksgiving."

Wonder who'll have the most to be thankful for by that point...

Revenge airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.