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Topps Comics editor Renee Witterstaetter recently interviewed Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor as third season episodes of Xena began filming in New Zealand. On this particular day, stalwart Lucy was covered with mud and rags. Out of costume, she had to sit in a cold dungeon and wade through water.
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RW: Great. I see this is not a glamour day on the set. Does it get worse than this?
LL: Much! This is nothing.
RW: Really?
LL: This is nothing!
RW: What’s the most unpleasant thing you’ve had to do?
LL: Hmm… well, you know, usually you get one unpleasant day, but this episode is a double episode (“The Debt” and “The Debt II) - two story arcs - it’s just been really grueling work. I’m covered in mud, and for some reason, Xena’s taken all her clothes off to go and invade some bloody castle in Mongolia! So here I am covered in mud in a body stocking, shimming up pipes in freezing conditions.
RW: Tell us a little bit about the third season of Xena. I understand there are some dramatic changes in store for the characters.
LL: The characters are always evolving, and their relationship evolves as well… if it didn’t, things would get pretty boring. This new season definitely challenges them in some significant ways. It’s interesting, because my off-screen relationship with Renee has also changed dramatically over the past two seasons.
RW: Will Xena be confronting the darker side of her nature?
LL: The writers realize that Xena’s dark side gives the character a great deal of edge. So yes, that part of her life will be revisited. It will continue to haunt her because it is a major part of who she is.
RW: Xena is popular in the United States with little girls. Why do you think that is?
LL: I think it filled a big hole in the marketplace. It’s what they never knew they were missing. A female action hero. Rob (Tapert) was very far-sighted. He had always wanted to do one. When it came to pass, it’s just been an enormous success and we’re really thrilled and amazed. But Xena also sends out a very clear message of “Yes, you can!”; you can do whatever you want to do, without any apparent male support. You don’t need anyone there, you just need your own will and intelligence to get by. But you know, you need a little help from your friends, too (laughs).
RW: What does Gabrielle add to Xena?
LL: She brings balance, and I was going to say stability, but I think that goes both ways. It’s just a great team. I personally love working with Renee. It’s always a relief to get back to her. Of all the people I’ve worked with… well, she and I have developed a common language now, and I suppose it’s the same as Gabrielle and Xena. It’s really hard to encapsulate these things, because it’s my life that I’m trying to sum up in five seconds or fifty words a minute. But, I think she’s important to the partnership. She brings the balance. Seems like that’s a good word for it.
RW: Xena is just now being shown in New Zealand. What does your child think about seeing her mom on TV?
LL: My daughter is very proud of her mummy, but we don’t watch Xena because she usually comes to me on Friday afternoons. That’s when the show airs here, and we don’t get a lot of time anyway after work. So, she’s proud of her mum, since all her contemporaries think it’s great.
RW: What’s the best thing about Xena?
LL: She tries to fight… she’s a good person. She doesn’t know it. She works hard to be one. That’s what makes her most interesting as a character. She’s striving to be a good person despite her instinct to fight. Now she fights for what’s right. Xena’s strongest point of character is that she’s a woman and she sees it as no disadvantage to be so. Indeed, it is a strength to be so. The best thing about Xena is that she is a woman.