Lucy Lawless has revealed that she did not enjoy performing all the action scenes on Xena: Warrior Princess. The fact may seem odd to some fans who still consider the series and its star cult icons. Fortunately, Lawless, a consummate professional, still delivered the goods in all those Xena battle scenes despite her personal feelings.
The character of Xena began as a smaller part on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and was so well-received that the producers decided to spin her off into her own series. Xena:Warrior Princess ran from September of 1995 until June of 2001. The show was a fan-favorite for all 6 seasons, jumping up to cult status early in the first season. Lawless was chosen for the title role after 5 other actresses, including top pick Vanessa Angel, turned down the role.
As reported by The Wrap, during a recent Television Critics Association panel to promote her new series, My Life is A Murder, Lawless stated that she she hated doing action scenes on Xena: Warrior Princess. When asked, she specifically, stated that “Oh yes, I always hated action.” She went on to discuss how she “couldn’t believe” that action (and fantasy) had been where her big break in Hollywood had come from. Read more of Lawless' quote below:
“I don’t do fantasy, I don’t watch fantasy, I’m not interested in any of this stuff, [but] I found myself in this crazy genre.”
The irony is that following her role as Xena, Lawless went on to a few more fantasy/action series. Between her roles as D’Anna Biers (a.k.a. Cyclon Number 3) on Battlestar Galactica and Lucretia in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Lawless has inadvertently made a name for herself in the genre. Which to be fair, she seems okay with, even starring as Ruby in the recent Ash vs. Evil Dead series that ran from 2015-2018, though her ties with Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell from her Xena: Warrior Princess days likely helped convince her to take the role.
In the end, Lawless is an actress, and a pretty good one at that. She did what was required of the role during Xena: Warrior Princess, and did it well, despite not particularly enjoying it. She clearly figured out at some point that everyone has parts of their job they do not enjoy, but is not so against it that she will not take fantasy roles with lots of action if the deal is right. Perhaps this mindset helps explain why the roles Lawless does take usually end up being particularly memorable.
SOURCE: The Wrap