Shaman You!
As the wicked Alti, Claire Stansfield spirited herself into the hearts of thousands of Xena fans. And, as K. Stoddard Hayes found out, she loves Alti just as much as they do…
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 01
When Claire Stansfield first read the script for the season four opener Adventures in the Sin Trade, she assumed she was being offered the part of Cyan. “I read ‘Alti, old hag, bag of bones,’ and I'm thinking, ‘I wonder who's playing her?’ And I saw ‘Cyan, Queen of the Amazons.’ I've played so many Amazons and aliens and those types of big women that I really thought I was Cyan.”
Although she says her ego “took a bit of a bashing” when she learned that she was actually to play the old hag, Stansfield is delighted she has had the chance to work on Xena: Warrior Princess. When people ask her about the show, she admits, “I just gush! The production values and the costumes and the actors and all of it, it's just wonderful. There's nothing like it on television. It’s like a feature film.”
And she should know. Stansfield has had a wide career, taking in such diverse films as Oliver Stone's The Doors and superhero flick Steel, and roles in television series from The X-Files to Frasier. Stansfield grew up in Toronto and after some modelling work and a brief Canadian television series, came to Los Angeles, where she studied under noted acting teacher Howard Fine. Reflecting on her career so far, she says, “I've been really lucky. I've [auditioned] for a lot of things that could have made me a superstar, and didn't get them, but I think now in hindsight it was probably better for me as a person that I didn't... I needed to grow and I needed to find some inner happiness. I think when you get taken on this whirlwind ride of stardom you miss out on a lot... It’s not always the prize, fame and success, because it comes at a huge price. I've always had steady work... I have a bit of a fan base, but it’s not outrageous. I can go anywhere that I want. I live in a nice little house, I have a nice dog, I have a nice boyfriend. I don’t know if I want to be more.”
Except maybe a high-flying, quick-fighting spirit warrior. One of the high points of being Alti was the frenetic tree-top battle between the spirits of Xena and the evil shaman. Stansfield and Lucy Lawless did most of the scenes themselves, with a great deal of careful preparation from Xena’s stunt team. “They rigged up this crazy thing with cranes and cables... The stunt women who double for us [practised] it for hours and hours until they [could be sure] that it was all safe, and then they just put us in there. And Lucy goes for it, so you’ve just got to. On my own I’m like, 'Are you guys crazy? I’m not going up there!' But then when you watch her. I’m supposed to be just as bad as her, so I best get up there.
“That’s what’s so amazing about this business. You find yourself in situations where you just think, ‘Who gets to see a bird’s eye view of the world hanging up here in this outrageous costume?’ I loved all that flying stuff.”
When Alti made her return in Between the Lines, her modified make-up and warrior costume revealed the tall, striking woman - no bag of bones! - who was hidden under all those skins in Adventures in the Sin Trade. The episode also allowed Stansfield to try her hand at sword fighting.
“That was something I’d never done and always wanted to do, and I was petrified of it, and then I did it and I really got into it... Ten guys are coming at you screaming, and you’ve got this choreographed sequence and you've got to do it full force. The director kept saying, ‘Claire, Alti loves this sluff... So forget being afraid, and trying to remember your choreography; and forget this 200 pound Maori guy screaming, running at you.’ All that is just out the window. You’ve got to just be Alti and go for it.”
In this episode, Stansfield also worked more closely with Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor, especially in Alti's terrible psychic attacks on Xena and Gabrielle. “When I make Renee see her death... Renee goes for it, she’s just sobbing and crying. And I really have to play that I love that. I don’t play the evil, I'm not playing that I'm enjoying somebody’s pain. If I actually thought, ‘This person’s feeling pain,’ I might start to cry... I'm just feeling the pure joy that she gets in every moment of power... the feelings that you get when you’re really happy or excited about something and... you just want to throw your head back and laugh... And that makes it even more evil that she's just loving it so much.”
After her first appearance as Alti, Stansfield began receiving invitations to appear as a convention guest in the United States. “I did my first one in San Francisco, and I was petrified! And then I did the big one in Santa Monica where Lucy was. I actually felt a lot more calm because she was there, and she and I have become good friends. She was helping me through.
“The fans were waiting for Lucy, basically; I was just filling up some time. .. I come out and they all start laughing because I look nothing like Alti and I sound nothing like Alti... [The fans] are so responsive and such an amazing group of people that I felt like a rock star when I was out there.”
Even though Alti has died twice, Stansfield is due to return as Alti in season five. Aside from doing more Xena, what else would Stansfield like to do?
“A strong woman role. I love to do action because of my height and build. I'm not going to be playing the girl next door, and I don’t want to either. I’m 6’1". It's been hard as an actor to get parts... Why can't there be a Schwarzenegger and Van Damme for a girl? That's what I would love to do... I’d like someone to make a good action movie and have the woman be the hero. And then cast me!”