Have Baby, Will Travel
On the set of Looking Death in the Eye, Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor reveal to Kate Barker the pros and cons of working with babies.
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 07
Since the birth of Xena's daughter Eve in God Fearing Child, the lives of Xena, Gabrielle and company have changed dramatically. But of course, the effects of life with a baby are not merely restricted to the characters of the Xenaverse. Adjustments are constantly being made, on and off camera, to deal with the realities and responsibilities of what is now required.
For one thing, there are legal requirements concerning how long children are allowed to be on set in situations like this. In the case of Xena, there are several babies cast to play Eve, and each one will only remain on set for a maximum of two hours at any one time. Often they are required for much less time than this, and are always accompanied on set by mother and chaperone.
For episodes such as Looking Death in the Eye, Xena can be seen sporting a beautifully fur-lined baby pouch, strapped carefully to her back, in which Eve is often visible. Safety is paramount, of course, so when we see Xena in battle or heavy stunt work, the baby will always be “played” by a rubber prop. Even so, working with a small infant is something it would take some time to get used to.
Often during an episode, it is Gabrielle, too, who deals with Eve, and Renee O'Connor finds this an interesting situation. “Now there's a young actor to consider at all times. The baby changes throughout the days, so we have quite a few, depending on how long the baby’s allowed to be on set. So you just try to bond with them as much as you can within a few minutes, so that they can identify with you. It helps if the mother’s blonde,” she says, laughing, “because I usually end up with the baby! It’s really fascinating.”
It seems that in this case, it's just as well that (contrary to some rumours) Lawless’ own baby is not one of the actors’ playing Eve. “Lucy’s baby Julius pays no attention to me whatsoever,” says O'Connor, laughing again, “because I look nothing like his mother!
There’s an old screen adage which says you should never work with children or animals. But here, according to O’Connor, things aren't as difficult as one might think. “It’s been pretty good,” she says. “The directors simply work with whatever the baby is doing. Also, whenever we can, we try to use a ‘stunt’ [rubber| child! There's never any situation where the baby could actually be in danger; we don't use them unless we have to. It also helps when you have so many women on set - everybody’s cooing - and the parents are always there.”
As Eve's screen mother, and, of course, recently a real mother for the second time, Lucy Lawless would have some idea of that situation. “Babies are so unpredictable,” she says. “It's a lottery what you're going to get.” Just before filming a scene for Looking Death in the Eye, Lawless bends down as one of the guest babies is very carefully placed into the carrying pouch for a close-up shot. “It's such an unnatural thing for them to do,” she continues... then proceeds to walk the baby around the set, getting them both comfortable and used to the position they are in. Lawless looks happy, like a natural mother - which, of course, she is.
Others on the set notice this too, O’Connor included. “Lucy’s really bounced back from maternity leave,” she muses. “They’re saying that she's setting high standards for other women with children; like a month later, she’s back at work, doing high kicks!
“I always wondered how it would work,” O’Connor ponders, “if people would really believe that a warrior could be a mother. But Lucy has pulled it off... as have the writers.”