Lucy Lawless Chat
Sept. 2, 2003 on usatoday.com
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Owings, MD: What other projects are you working on, and will you accept
future roles for an action heroine?
Lucy Lawless: In the last couple of years I've started writing my own stuff,
so that's one of the ways I've kept my creative impulse going, even though
I was taking a sabbatical. I've got some meetings today regarding future
work. Would I consider an action show? I've certainly had plenty of opportunities.
It would have to be one helluva role for me to do it again, now that I have
three kids. I ain't saying now, but I don't think I'll ever find an action
character as great as Xena.
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Wrightsville Beach, NC: Are you planning on doing any more conventions
in the next year?
Lucy Lawless: Not at this stage.
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Waterloo, NY: I was always a bit confused about the realtionship with Xena
and Gabrielle. Were they Lesbians? Or was their friendship just extremely
strong and close?
Lucy Lawless: A bit of both...that only became unequivocal for me in the
very last episode.
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Provo, UT: What was the most exciting part of playing Xena?
Lucy Lawless: The comedy. I felt like I was on a wild adventure with my
best buddies. It was a great ride.
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Marion Texas: I've very much enjoyed the commentary (yours, Rob Tapert's,
Renee' O'Connor's) on the S2 DVD. Are there plans to do that on future DVDs?
Lucy Lawless: Yes, there are. I find it very useful to have Rob there,
because he has a completely different take on things, and he was able to
spark us off in new ways, with new insights and things we hadn't thought
of before. He made it more interesting for both of us. We were a little
played out talking about the show until Rob came in, and Renee and I felt
it got a lot more interesting all of a sudden.
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Aptos, California: What was the most difficult thing you were ever asked
to do for the show? Your the greatest! Thanks for making Xena the awesome
force she was and is. I am really excited to see your future projects.
Lucy Lawless: I guess the stump work was the hardest thing for me. You
also have to get used to a lifestyle that you never counted on, where you
just live and breathe the show.
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Comment from Lucy Lawless: But it's worth it.
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Picayune, Mississippi: Do you and Renee still visit each other often?
Lucy Lawless: Yes. I talk to her every couple of weeks or every month.
We usually live in different countries, which makes visiting difficult.
She'll be a lifelong friend, since we feel we did some serious growing up
together.
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Montpelier, VT: They made the cast do some pretty vile/crazy things over
the years in Xena, like marinading Renee in Abyss... Did you ever put your
foot down and refuse to do something?
Lucy Lawless: No.
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East Lansing, MI: Your acting has helped many women, particularly those
who have been abused, to get in touch with their guilt and to find a voice.
What draws you to these darker emotions, what enables you to explore them,
and how do you let go of these feelings, as well as the outcome of your performance?
Lucy Lawless: In a way it freaks me out to think that people took such
deep messages and were given such strong inspiration for a show, because
we never truly recognized its power, at least I didn't. I'm almost glad
I didn't know, because the responsibility would have been too great. I wouldn't
have been able to put one foot in front of another. I think those people
were waiting for an impulse to make a change, and I'm glad Xena was it.
But it scares me to think I could have made people jump the other way. I
know from my work with domestic violence you never tell a woman to leave
her husband. You can help her if she asks for it, but you can't instigate
putting her in danger. It freaks me out that our show could instigate a
situation where a woman could have been in danger. I'm not afraid to go anywhere
in my own dark interior.
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Israel: Will you record an album?
Lucy Lawless: No, I don't think so. It's not my passion. I love music and
singing, but if I were going to pursue anything else it'd be writing.
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Comment from Lucy Lawless: And I respect musicians too much to pretend
that I'm one!
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Lafayette Indiana: As you know the rumors about a Xena movie are floating
about. Has ther actually been any script work done? And If I may I recently
Finished writing my First Xena novel which takes Place right at the end
of the season ender. Does Sam Or Rob do anything to help unpulished authors
in the area of Xena? Thanks Wahnika
Lucy Lawless: I only heard of this yesterday (the rumors). It hasn't been
decided who the rights belong to, so I don't know of anything.
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Stanford, IL : What is the greatest thing that has come out of 'Xena'?
Lucy Lawless: For me personally, I got to meet my last partner and the
father of my children and make some great friends. But for the world, the
fans of Xena became such a force for good that they've raised a lot of money
for different charities and causes. They really are the phenomenon. I can't
take credit for any of it - I was just getting paid to do a job. I'm stymied
by the attention and the praise I get simply for being the most visible cog
in the machine. The greatest thing? The quality of fans - definitely.
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Georgetown Ky: What inspired you growing up? And did you ever think you
would be such a famous female icon?
Lucy Lawless: I don't think I ever knew what an icon was. My parents inspired
me. I had a lot of great role models. No one ever told me "no, you can't
do that". Never tell your children they can't, because they just may!
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Atlanta, Georgia: I just wanted to take the opportunity to say THANK YOU
for all your hard work! Are you enjoying life, post-Xena?
Lucy Lawless: I enjoyed life during Xena. For the most part it was fantastic.
Ever since I'm so very happy. It's not all a bed of roses, of course, but
I can honestly say I'm a tremendously happy person these days.
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Staines, Middlesex, UK: Do you have any plans for future stage work in
New Zealand following the success of the Vagina Monologues? From Leigh
Lucy Lawless: Yes, I'd love to do more theater. It won't be in the next
year, but I can easily see myself getting back on the boards.
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Phoenix, Arizona: Greetings Lucy you are a wonderful performer. What sort
of advice would you have for young actors? Also what is your acting method
and could you please explain it. Thanks a bunch!
Lucy Lawless: Go hard! It's 5% talent, 5% luck and 90% sticking at it.
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Comment from Lucy Lawless: And do your homework!
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Phoenix, AZ: What was the most exciting part of your travels while filming
"Warrior Women" for the Discovery Channel?
Lucy Lawless: China. Amazing! We were there at the beginning of the SARS
outbreak. What was exciting was that the people were incredible, and so
easy to relate to. I've been in Japan, and there's a whole world of manners
and etiquette that separates you. In China I didn't feel that at all; I
felt I was sitting with a bunch of Kiwis! They really have the feeling that
China is the big wheel starting to move. If they live their whole life and
never leave, they don't care because they're part of China's great ride.