Renee Update
Xena’s Renee O’Connor is interviewed by Topps’ Renee Witterstaetter on the set in New Zealand.
The Official Magazine: Issue 02
RW: It seems like the Xena character spans many different times in history. What is to come?
RO: There’s still so much to reveal about the character. We’re always learning and the writers are always creating, keeping it fresh and surprising. I don’t think there is a destination where we’ll come full circle. But that’s part of the mystery of it. The characters have changed so much. This season we’re testing our friendship in dramatic ways, so it will be interesting to see where (the writers) will take us after this.
RW: Do you have any idea where that will be yet?
RO: No. I do know that we’ll always stay together - at least for another year. There’s going to be a lot of tension there, so we’ll see. It’s going to be fascinating… it’s unlike any other relationship that I’ve ever been in, in my normal life. You know what I mean, going through an incredible tragedy and you have to deal with it and move on and adjust. I guess you get used to that later on in life, if you are married or something, I don’t know. You work out problems and keep going on.
RW: Does Gabrielle help Xena come to terms with her own dark past?
RO: Xena’s definitely dealing with all her problems from the past, and I think having someone who just shines with goodness, she can see another side of the world that’ll full and optimistic… which you can achieve if you just work towards redemption and unearth all the hate.
RW: What does Xena give to Gabrielle?
RO: She’s a leader. She’s fun. She creates a wholeness for Gabrielle. Gabrielle believes so wholeheartedly in this person, that she can change the world, that she’s a leader, that Gab sticks by her and keeps her in line to focus in on what her destiny is. Gabrielle is very much a healer, and through Xena, she can do that.
RW: How else has your character changed?
RO: She was this young free-spirited girl, very naive, and wanting to see the world and wanting to be like Xena. She developed into this storytellers, reliving the things she’s learned as a young girl and the situations she’s seen through Xena. Now she’s become more of a philosophical person. She’s very much this woman who wants to heal and, ironically, be the opposite of Xena. Xena’s a fighter and very solid and heroic. Gabrielle is a pacifist trying to do good. She’s much more mature now.
RW: Why the staff as Gabrielle’s weapon of choice?
RO: Gabrielle believes that you should not kill a human being, so the only way of defense was to use a staff. That way, she can stand up against her enemies without having to kill them. That’s part of her soul, up to now. Things change this year, so we’ll see.
RW: Are you comfortable with being a role model?
RO: I’m fine. Anything that happens to me is a delayed response of whatever has already happened to Lucy. Lucy was the role model to begin with, so I watched her dealing with it. My character was the sidekick, so she was just riding along with the audience and observing. Now that she’s become more heroic, I’ve already adjusted to the fact that that’s her role, and we should be grateful that there are two women who are intelligent and strong on TV. So I think it’s fascinating. I love, actually, when little girls come up and talk about their favorite part on last week’s episode, much more than other people who talk about the skirt getting shorter.
RW: What was your most difficult episode?
RO: The ones about the friendship and testing to what lengths we’ll stay together, dealing with loyalty - that’s a hard one - and dealing with always being humble. Gabrielle always makes lots of mistakes, which I think is fantastic because she is the human side to Xena, so she is going to make mistakes, and people are going to learn, hopefully, through her mistakes. But it’s hard for me, because you want to be the hero, you want to do everything right so that you be the role model. But that’s not Gabrielle. I have to let that go and just roll with the punches.
RW: What direction will the show be going in now to keep it fresh? Xena has come to terms with her past, what now?
RO: That’s where we are right now, just facing changes in the relationship. It’s going to be interesting to see if (these changes) last. This season is very much in the moment in regards to their relationship. And it will change.