Xena: Warrior Princess now seems incomplete without Lucy Lawless, but another actress was almost cast in the iconic role. The quintessential ‘90s show followed Xena’s path of redemption after walking away from her life as a warlord, and she was joined by Gabrielle, played by Renee O’Connor, her bard sidekick, and often-teased love interest. The show hurdled Lucy Lawless into fame as the warrior princess, but only a twist of fate gave her a chance at the role.
Xena started off as a spinoff from the Kevin Sorbo-led series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She originally appeared as a villain on Hercules during her life as a warlord and later joined the heroes through the course of her three appearances. She was originally supposed to die at the end of her third episode, but the network was looking for a spinoff, and Xena was a popular choice. Lawless was given her own series, and O’Connor was cast alongside her.
However, before there was any hint of a Xena spinoff, another actress was cast as the warrior princess. British actress Vanessa Angel was reportedly given the role first, but illness then prevented her from traveling to New Zealand for production. Four other actresses were offered the role after Angel until it finally went to Lawless, a relatively unknown actress who had already appeared on Hercules twice in different roles. As a New Zealand native, she had no problem with the somewhat remote filming location. Lawless’ success as Xena gave her character a reprieve from her planned death and carried her through six seasons of her own spinoff until Xena: Warrior Princess' controversial finale.
Xena wasn’t the only character who went through a casting change. Sunny Doench was the first choice to play Gabrielle when the spinoff began production, but she reportedly turned it down because she did not want to move away from her boyfriend to film in New Zealand. Renee O’Connor then stepped into the role of the battling bard and became inseparable from it. Lawless and O’Connor together brought a unique chemistry to their dynamic, which the fans often saw as romantic, and the writers later leaned into that hint of romance with the support of the cast. Without the show’s excellent final casting choices, fans might not have been rooting for Xena and Gabrielle to become a couple, an element of the show that gained it a strong cult following.
Xena would not have been the same without Lucy Lawless, who brought an energy to the role that made her character unforgettable. While the show might still have gone on without her, most fans would agree that the casting choices worked out for the best. Lawless is an integral part of what made Xena: Warrior Princess a hit show that stays with fans decades later.