Where There’s A Willa
As Gabrielle's kid sister, Lila, Willa O’Neill became an integral pal of the Xenaverse. Ian Rentou meets the talented actress and finds out what it was like hitting the dance floor with Hercules and hanging out with the Xena cast…
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 12
“A warrior? Gabrielle, I can beat you up!”
Lila, Sins of the Past
With those words ringing in her ears, Gabrielle left her home, her village and her family under the cover of night to follow the Warrior Princess. Viewers of Xena could have been forgiven for thinking this was the last they would see of Lila, but the writers and the actress who played her had other ideas...
“I always thought Lila was going to last, because she's Gabrielle's little sister,” says Willa O'Neill as she recalls the early days of working on Xena. “However,” she adds after a short pause, “last week I did what might be her final ever episode.”
O'Neill is referring to the upcoming season six episode Who's Gurkan, in which she reprised the role of Lila for what was probably the last time during the series' run. This is the sixth occasion on which she has played the character, following Sins of the Past, The Prodigal, The Bitter Suite (in which she also sings), A Family Affair and Takes One To Know One, and it's clear that the actress was right to be confident about the longevity of the character she is now identified with in the Xenaverse.
“I auditioned for Lila in 1995,” O'Neill recalls. “The person who was responsible for casting was Di Rowan, and she already had her eye on me for that role. I really enjoyed my time on the set, as well as beforehand, when I met and went out for dinner with Lucy, Renee, Rob Tapert, Eric [Gruendemann] and Doug [Lefler, the director] and his wife Lynn before the shoot started. That night was a real eye opener for me, as it was the first time I had been so intimate with American producers and directors. It was great to find out first-hand what wonderful people had come to work with us here in New Zealand.”
When we first meet Lila in Sins of the Past, she and the other women of her village have been rounded up to be sold as slaves. In subsequent episodes, Lila helps Gabrielle defend her home village of Poteidaia from a warlord (in a story loosely based on the film The Magnificent Seven), comes face to face with her sister's evil daughter Hope (and lives) and is one of a number of prime suspects in a murder mystery with the prospect of a one-way all expenses paid trip to the Elysian Fields courtesy of the goddess Discord.
As well as being known to Xena fans as Gabrielle's sister, those who follow Hercules: The Legendary Journeys more closely can spot New Zealand-born O'Neill in two other roles. The first of these was Phoebe, daughter of one of the original argonauts, in the season two episode Once A Hero, a Renaissance Pictures take on the mythical story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, and The Wedding of Alcmene later that season.
“I was given the role of Phoebe soon after Lila,” O'Neill remembers. “She was a 'kick ass' Argonaut, and I loved being treated like one of the guys by my colleagues. It was at that time I became friends with Kevin Sorbo. And all the fight scenes were great fun to shoot! There was a funny scene where I'm riding a centaur, which is really a stunt on the back of a pantomime horse!”
O'Neill's second character in Hercules was Althea, an inept and bumbling young girl who enlists Hercules' help to enter The Panathanea, an annual dance competition, in the season four episode ...And Fancy Free. Hercules and Althea travel as partners for the dance championships and, with the help of the Widow Twanky (played by Edith Sidebottom, a.k.a. Michael Hurst), are the winners.
“We only had a few weeks to rehearse,” she recalls, “and Kevin and I were not the most experienced of dancers (although I achieved grade three jazz ballet pass plus in 1985). But luckily we had great doubles who, as it happened, were tiny! The shoot lasted the normal time, which is about seven days, and the big dance at the end was shot on the last day of filming. I remember making jokes the whole time to Michael about my safety, as I was on a one hip harness 30 feet high hanging off a crane. Lucky it was the last day!
“I auditioned for the part of Althea in 1997,” O’Neill continues, “and it all worked out great in the end, especially as my friend Michael Hurst directed the episode. I was very excited about this at the time as I had been wondering what show he would direct me in.
“I’ve lived in the same city as Michael for years,” she explains, “and even though I’m much younger, our paths often cross. We worked together on a theatre piece called A Spectacle of One, which was an amazing visual experience. That show was a turning point in my career, consolidating my desire to perform and entertain.”
A second and final appearance as Althea in Hercules in the season five episode Greece is Bunting marked O’Neill's last appearance in that series. Althea has her dreams threatened by the same characters who attempted to thwart her dance aspirations in ...And Fancy Free, as she launches herself into the world of fashion. By chance, Hercules is on hand, once more ably assisted by the Widow Twanky, and Althea is able to put on a stage show of her own 'creations’.
Asked which of her characters in Xena and Hercules reflect her own personality, O’Neill thinks for a moment before replying. “The answer to this is none and all of them. They all have that piece I can’t remove and none of them are all of me. I think I'm a cross section of them all.”
Having brought these three characters to life in Hercules and Xena, O'Neill has earned the adoration of fans of both shows from all over the world, and has enjoyed having the opportunity to meet these admirers. “Conventions are great,” she enthuses, recalling her appearance at the Hercules/Xena convention in Pasadena, California, in 1999. “I really enjoyed the Pasadena one. The feedback from the fans was really interesting, and I’m glad to see the effect of the work we do in New Zealand all around the world. I would go to a convention anywhere if I was invited!”
Turning to her current pursuits, now that her visits to the Xenaverse are most likely at an end, O'Neill is hoping to take some time out from acting after having been involved in a number of different projects in recent years. “There are no roles I am hankering for at this time,” she says. “I’m taking a rest at the moment after an immense work spurt. Since returning from Cannes last year, I’ve finished a feature film, The Price of Milk, directed two farce comedy plays for the Silo Theatre [Auckland’s fringe venue], played the lead in one of those plays and I lead in a musical show. I’ve also put on an exhibit of my paintings and photographs, and have a couple of other projects in the pipeline.”
It’s clear that O’Neill has an impressive resume and one that you would expect of someone who has been in the business many more years than she has. “So far I’ve directed five plays for the theatre," she reveals, “and thoroughly enjoyed them. But I would love to do more theatre directing, and also more film work. To help with this transition I’ve written two short films, and I hope to have produced them by the end of the year.
“I used to say theatre was my one true love, but film has its own ethereal quality that I also admire. You can’t compare these media as they both have their own benefits and ‘tripwires’. When you make a television show you usually rehearse minutes prior to shooting. This means you have to be prepared and have the lines ‘down’.”
O’Neill’s long list of credits isn’t surprising when you consider how young the actress was when she first took an interest in the entertainment business. “I was always a creative little girl,” she admits, “always singing and dancing for my parents and their friends. When I was about 10 years old, I decided that I would make a career from entertainment. I knew that someone had to do the work to make television shows and pop music, and there was no reason why it couldn’t be me. I had a pretty singing voice, so I was cast in a school production of Tom Sawyer, and it all started from there.
“All through high school, my friends and I made our own video films, and when I was 16 I got a part in Jane Campion’s An Angel at My Table. Soon afterwards when I was 17, I left school to work on a comedy series called The Billy T. James Show. This was full time in the role of a young teenage daughter. That was really cool for a kid like me.
“All my training has been on the job or from the school drama classes and shows we did. I have gleaned most of my knowledge simply from working. My mother is a primary school teacher and fabric artist, and my father is a left wing social advocate. They are very supportive of both me and my art.”
O’Neill is passionate about what she does and relishes every opportunity she gets as an actor, seeing each different part she plays as a way to develop her skills. “All the roles I’ve had have been beneficial, and they have all had their own challenges. I always add my own energy to what the character breakdown is and usually get a workable result. Film making is about teamwork.
“My career has been extremely exciting and varied, and I have been blessed with great experiences where I have met the greatest people. They taught me everything I didn’t already know.”