This year Lucy Lawless made her first appearance at Dragon Con, taking part in Battlestar Galactica and Spartacus panels as well as her own solo panel on Friday afternoon. Her breakout role as Xena: Warrior Princess was enough to cement her as both a geek and a girl power icon, but she continues to impress on both stage and screen. She’s returning to Parks & Recreation this season and taking on a thriller for Australian television.
Daily Dragon (DD): I read an interview you did recently where you talked about your ideas for reviving the Xena series.
Lucy Lawless (LL): What I would love to happen. I have no say over the outcome, but certainly there’s a studio that’s quite interested. They’ve been looking into who holds the rights and unpack the whole legal knot that’s tied it up for a long time. In the old days a studio would rather kill a project rather than let it go anywhere else. Or kill a project if they don’t own 100 percent of it. But in this day and age isn’t it better to own 70 percent of something than 100 percent of nothing?
This is a great idea, [Xena and Gabrielle have] a great relationship, the show has a great fanbase. Give the people what they want!
DD: You said that at some point Xena should pass on the mantle to a new warrior princess who would lead the way for a new generation. Which actress could you see in that role?
LL: I’m out of the loop of who’s out there right now. You want someone who’s capable of being funny and can also have heartfelt moments. Somebody who’s not a whiner because it’s a hard shoot.
DD: Due to all the fighting?
LL: I never really enjoyed the physical aspect of fighting and stuff; it’s just not my thing. Every single day I was shocked when they’d say “Lucy, your fight’s up!” and I thought, are you kidding me, we’ve got to do another one? My only defense was to get good at it so I could get it over and done with.
DD: Recent favorite projects you’ve been involved in?
LL: Oh, I loved Spartacus. A non-fighting role where you’re lethal and you’re vulnerable and you’re fighting for your life on a different level. That was an incredible pleasure, to play that role. Minus the nudity.
DD: No one seems to like doing nudity.
LL: No. But, in the case of Spartacus, the nudity and the violence was a symptom of the times. It wasn’t for no reason. And that’s why it worked.
DD: Where are you off to after Dragon Con? Any upcoming projects besides your guest stints on Parks & Rec?
LL: I’m doing a mini series in Australia, a political thriller called The Code. It’s about an indigenous kid in Australia who gets himself embroiled in a horrible nuclear conspiracy. The kid is going to wear all the blame for an accident that happens that’s not much to do with him. I play his teacher in the outback who’s trying to save his ass. They’re up against something way bigger than they can comprehend.
I’m also going to play Velma Kelly in Chicago for Michael Hurst who played Iolaus on Hercules. He’s a brilliant director and a world class performer. I’m very excited.
