Woman's Weekly
(New Zealand)
January 18, 1999
*Many thanks to Jester for the following transcript*
Lucy's great expectations
Xena star Lucy Lawless reveals why New Zealand will always be home and tells of plans
for her and husband Rob Tapert, who produces her show, to add to their family
Story · Eirik Knutzen
Given your schedules, how often do you and Rob see each other these days?
· It's not as bad as you think. Rob's here in New Zealand at least nine months of the
year. He'll go away for two weeks, then stay at home for five or six weeks. We talk at
least once a day, so our monthly telephone bill is probably the size of the national
budget of an emerging country but it's worth it.
How long do you plan to star in Xena?
· Ah, a couple of years. But I want to work for the next few years, doing two movies a
year, and spend the other six months of the year with my kids. I want to have more kids.
Three sounds like a really good number to me but I don't know if that' s three more or two
more. Let's see what life allows.
With your career in high gear, is that possible?
· Yes. I want everything - a loving family and a successful, long-lasting career. Now
that I've reached this stage in my life, I have to develop a new attitude towards it all
and start making things happen. Time's whizzing by.
Because the Xena character is so physically demanding, would you quit the show the
moment you got pregnant?
· I don't know - we'll roll with the punches. In perfect health, it's conceivable we
would hide the pregnancy by filming Xena standing behind a bush, peeking around the trunk
of a tree or standing in water up to her neck. It has been done before with actresses
hiding behind refrigerator doors and big planters.
In a politically correct world, is it possible to show a pregnant superhero fighting
bad guys?
· Just because it hasn't happened yet in television history, it doesn't mean it' s
impossible. I rather fancy Xena wheeling a little baby carriage across the savanna. I
think it would give people something to talk about.
What are you doing to stay in shape for an eventual pregnancy?
· I've decided to change my life in some ways and have gotten really good about
exercise again. I've been a bit slack in the past couple of years but I finally realised
that, in the next 10 years, whatever is hanging about my body when I'm 40 is never, ever
going away. So I have to do something now.
Much has been made in the US of the lesbian overtones in the relationship between Xena
and her sidekick Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor). Is it amusing or are you tired of it?
· I'm not tired of it - I just don't think about it any more. It' s part of the fandom
- to use that terminology. I've often said I'm very thankful to the New York lesbian
community because they were the first ones to latch on to the show in a cultish way and
make it hip. I'm totally comfortable with that. To me, it's like saying Xena has grey eyes
instead of blue. Big deal! What do I care if that she has grey eyes instead of blue? It's
like a matter of hair colour, so it' s not something I think about in acting. I'm sure
most gay people don't think about being gay all day long.
Is there any tinkering among the writers, producers and actors to change the
"buddy" relationship between Xena and Gabrielle?
· No. We could make a big deal about it and say, "Oh, gosh, she's not a
lesbian" or "Yes, she is" and then alienate a part of our audience. Why on
earth would any show want to do that? We don't have a mind to and it isn't an insult to
us. That's a very 1990s way of looking at the world, isn't it? It just doesn't hurt us or
make a difference one way or another.
How would you describe your professional and personal relationship with Renee?
· She's a great friend and wonderfUl - easy to work with. We have such a brilliant
relationship on and off camera that we take it somewhat for granted. It's a tremendous
relief just to have her around the set. Then I know we can handle anything.
Do you see a time when you move from Auckland to Beverly Hills?
· No, this is home with lots of friends, my parents and six brothers and sisters. New
Zealand is a comfortable, fun place with a fantastic lifestyle. It's a country geared for
living - the US is designed for work. That's why we have a much greater success rate in
terms of marriage.
On your travels, have you found that New Zealanders have no natural enemies?
· I wouldn't go that far. Let's face it - the Americans are coming down hard on us
about our anti-nuke stand. Maybe they're delivering a message to other countries. However,
New Zealand is where you want to be if there is some sort of nuclear accident in the US or
Europe.
On the home front, there are reports that you threw your daughter out of a moving
aeroplane from great heights. Why did you do it?
· Daisy needed some discipline (laughing). Actually, it wasn't my idea. Her dad Garth
Lawless has been a skydiver for a long time and she has wanted to go up with him for a
long time. I feel part of her motivation for doing it was to express individuality and
independence from mum. I would lose my mother' s licence if I supported that, so I put up
a little bit of a fuss but not enough to give the whole thing too much appeal.
Would you ever let Daisy go skydiving again?
· She's 10, it's all on film and she wants to do it again. My feeling on the matter is
that I would stand in the way of it becoming a habit. The problem is not to give the thing
too much life of its own.
Have you recovered yet from your riding accident two years ago?
· One hundred percent. It took me a long time to get over it psychologically but I'm
back riding hard now and everything's good.
What do you think about the nude photos on Lucy Lawless on the Internet these days?
· They're not real - unless somebody's looked into my bedroom. I wouldn't even bother
logging on to find out that sort of thing. There are NO nude photos of Lucy Lawless.
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