Xena also takes on the Evil Dead
Lucy Lawless traces career in genre series, beginning with the Warrior Princess
When it comes to breaking the mould on female characters, Lucy Lawless could teach a master class. In fact, that’s exactly what the New Zealand native did for six seasons on genre smash Xena: Warrior Princess, to the point that when a spinoff was rumoured several months ago — 20 years after the show debuted — it was as though Xena’s infamous battle cry emanated across the Internet.
While a Xena reboot has since been denied, Lawless’s genre-filled resumé continues to grow, thanks to gigs on series such as Spartacus, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Salem and Battlestar Galactica, with several comedy series ( Parks and Recreation, Flight of the Conchords) in between. It’s a cumulative career that’s been a surprise even to her.
“I dreamed of doing Shakespeare in the park; I never foresaw anything to do with sci-fi or fantasy or any of this stuff,” she says.
Lawless’s latest project, Ash vs. Evil Dead, reunites the actress with Bruce Campbell, the face behind the Evil Dead franchise (and former Autolycus, the King of Thieves on Xena), along with her husband, executive producer Rob Tapert. Ahead of the Halloween premiere on Super Channel, Lawless sat down with the Star to break down five of her top genre-specific roles. Ruby in Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015) Audiences won’t see much of Ruby in the first two episodes of the horror-comedy series, as most of the screen time is spent re-establishing Ash (Campbell) and his new ragtag, evil-fighting family. But by episode three it will become clear that Ruby has a mission of her own, and it doesn’t exactly line up with Ash’s.
“Ash has a mission to save the world and she’s going to make it hard for him. She has a big chip on her shoulder and blames him for the death of her entire family. Now she’s looking for massive payback,” Lawless previews.
“The draw card here was working with Bruce again. I didn’t really know what the role was at first, but working with him is one of the great pleasures of my career.” Xena in Xena: The Warrior Princess (1995-2001) To this day Lawless can’t explain the fandom behind the series, nor why it continues to remain relevant for some folks today. The only thing she can point to is that she played her role unapologetically.
“When Xena took a beating, she got it as bad as any male character did. The incongruity of that was appealing to people,” Lawless explains. “She was also a flawed hero and people like redemption. I get a lot of that at conventions: lots of tales of self-realization. There is a great deal of sexual abuse out there and I get an awful lot of those stories one-on-one from fans, abuse survivors who received that they were worthy of protection. None of us planned that.” Kathleen Clayton in Tarzan (2003) The short-lived fantasy series may have only lasted one season, but with its superstar cast ( Vikings’ Travis Fimmel, The Walking Dead’s Sarah Wayne Callies and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester) it made a lasting impact.
“Oh my God, yeah. I was probably a bit nervous about that, but maybe I hadn’t worked in a while. I never planned any of this stuff but it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Lawless says.
“When it didn’t go a second season that was fine, because actually commuting to Toronto was really far. My kids were in L.A. and it was not an easy gig.” D’Anna Biers in Battlestar Galactica (2005-2009) Producer David Eick, who also worked with Lawless’s Xena character on Hercules: The Legend Continues, originally had her in mind for the role of Ellen Tigh. The description of the character, however, didn’t sit well with Lawless and she quickly turned it down.
“I was like, ‘David, I don’t play anybody’s wife. That’s boring,’ ” Lawless reveals.
“So I rejected that and it worked out because Kate Vernon was fantastic in that role.”
Later, when the role of Cylon Number Three, D’Anna Biers, came up, Lawless jumped at the chance.
“That was cool. I knew going in that she was a Cylon, so it was cool for me to play a character that kept the secret she was keeping.” Lucretia in Spartacus (20102013)
The fake blood on Ash vs. Evil Dead may gush more, but in Spartacus the digital spurts of blood were the stuff of legend. As was Lawless’s role of Lucretia, “the propulsion behind the man in ancient Rome.”
This role was one case in which Lawless was on board with playing someone’s wife, simply because that wasn’t the main job description.
“It was the Anne Archer effect in the ’80s. She played the wife,” Lawless says.
“You do that a couple of times and that’s all you ever are. You play the wife. I’d rather play the bloody protagonist, or the antagonist, than the spouse.” Ash Vs. Evil Dead premieres Saturday at 10 p.m. on Super Channel.
“When Xena took a beating, she got it as bad as any male character did. The incongruity of that was appealing to people.” LUCY LAWLESS ON PLAYING XENA