Many thanks to Stefanie for the scans and the transcript

Official X-Files Magazine
(UK)

February 2002

 

EX-STAR AND CURRENT X-FILES GUEST STAR LUCY LAWLESS, SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON HER X-PERIENCES, AND DISCUSSES HER OPINIONS ABOUT HER CHARACTER, SHANNON McMAHON, AND WORKING WITH GILLIAN ANDERSON AND ROBERT PATRICK.

“My true-life motivation for taking up the offer to appear on The X-Files was that about five years ago I went to the Emmy Awards ceremony with my Xena sidekick, Renee O`Connor [Gabrielle],”Lucy Lawless recalls. “We just went there to look at famous people! Renee bustled up to [series creator] Chris Carter at the end and said hello to him. I`d met him once at the NATPE (National Association of Televison Program Executives) convention, years before that. [Chris] was tremendously nice to us and talked to us, even though we were really nobody. We were waiting outside to get our cars and when our limo pulled up they called our name. Chris came running across the road and opened the door for us. I was so charmed and grateful that somebody like that could be so gracious towards us, so when, almost five years later he rang up and said, `Hey, how would you like to guest on the season opener of The X-Files?` I said, “I`d love to do that with you. And that was that!”

The result, of course, was the two-parter that kicks off Season Nine of The X-Files, “Nothing Important Happened Today”. Lawless is cast as Shannon McMahon , an old associate of Doggett`s who suddenly and quite unexpectedly arrives on the scene. “She`s causing a lot of trouble and Doggett has to clean up the mess,” Lawless says carefully, determined, like most X-Files guest stars, to offer up tantalizing hints but not give too much away. “She was once in the military with Doggett and now she has information to impart that will affect how people see Scully`s baby. Is McMahon a good witch or a bad witch? She`s not manipulative.

That`s the beauty of it. If she`s manipulating you, she`s so damn good at it. She`s very credible. She could be your best friend or your worst nightmare. “Being a guest on The X-Files was a total pleasure. They were very welcoming. I must confess that I had a morbid curiosity. I just want to study Gillian Anderson. I wanted to see her up-close and see how nine years on a show might affect a human being. And she was lovely and so pleasant. She was very calm. She knows what she`s doing. Women are very competitive animals and sometimes it`s peculiar, going onto other women`s shows. But there was none of that with her. She`s obviously been there so long. She`s very secure of her place in the world and it was a pleasure to work with her. I also had a lot of fun times with Robert because I play this character from his past and I spend half my time absolutely naked…or seemingly. He and I got on like a house on fire. He`s a fun guy.” Lawless arrived on the X-Files set several month after completing her long stint on Xena:Warrior Princess.

The show wrapped its sixth and final season last June in a two-part finale in which the show`s protagonist was brutally beheaded! Right now, Lawless is back in Auckland, New Zealand, where she lives with her husband, former Xena and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys producer Robert Tapert, and her two children, the oldest of whom is a “mad” X-Files fan. She`s reading scripts and looking forward to starring in a production of the play The Vagina Monologues that will be staged in Auckland in February. “ I went to a play-reading the other night and all of a sudden I remembered why I got into this business in the first place,” says Lawless, who will also turn up as a punk-rock chick in the upcoming big-screen version of Spider-Man, which was directed by Sam Raimi ( her husband`s producing partner) and features an appearance by Bruce Campbell, who played Wayne Weinsider in the “Terms of Endearment” episode of The X-Files and was originally among those considered by Chris Carter and [executive producer] Frank Spotnitz for the role of John Doggett.

“ I was so excited because I`d forgotten what it was I loved about acting. I was more like the morale leader, the camp leader on set, and the acting certainly came second. So I`m excited about doing this play and getting back to basics.” And what about getting back on The X-Files? Lawless would be “open” to reprising her role as Shannon McMahon, but…“That`s entirely up to Fox and to Chris,” Lawless replies as the conversation comes to an end…for now. “If Chris feels that the character will serve his show, she might be back. I know how producers think. They just want to do what`s best for their show and for the ratings. My being back remains to be seen.” – Ian Spelling