Lucy Lawless Gets Down and Dirty

The former warrior-princess talks to IGN about her sexy new role in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, her demise on BSG, and playing a zero on Flight of the Conchords.

by Matt Fowler

US, January 21, 2010 - On Friday, January 22nd, the Starz channel will unleash Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Drag Me to Hell) and Rob Tapert's (30 Days of Night) Spartacus: Blood and Sand onto an unsuspecting public. Taking a hyper-realistic visual approach and creating a world akin to the green screen realms of Sin City and 300, Tapert and executive producer/writer Steven S. DeKnight retell the time-honored tale of Spartacus, the Roman Gladiator-turned-Rebel.

This is a phrase that might get used way too often, but this new vivid, gory series is literally "not your father's" Spartacus. Laced with sex, nudity and dismemberment, Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a blood-spattered, mature take on the legendary story. At the TCA Winter Press Tour last week, it was announced that Starz has already picked up Spartacus for a second season - to be named Spartacus: Vengeance.

One of the big selling points for this series, beyond the carnal offerings of copulation and savagery, is the casting of Lucy Lawless as the conniving Lucretia. Lawless has a fan base that spans the globe thanks to six seasons of playing the beautiful battle-babe Xena on the Raimi/Tapert-produced syndicated series, Xena: Warrior Princess.

Lucretia, wife of Batiatus (The Mummy's John Hannah) - who runs a Ludus, or gladiator training school - has constant designs for power and glory. IGN TV was able to speak with Lawless about her new, salacious role on Spartacus, as well as some chit-chat about Battlestar Galactica, Flight of the Conchords and Raimi's new World of Warcraft project.

Click here to read the interview