The following article (In Portuguese and English translation by Clarissa) is from a Brazillian magazine called Veja. is about Lucy's role on Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. It also covers her work on Xena. The scan was contributed by Wladimir. The translation is by Leila.
Lucy as Lucretia (in blue dress): a feisty Roman lady
War veteran
Lucy Lawless, the actress who played the brawny Xena, keeps on loving women in Spartacus. And she's even bolder now.
Owner of a gladiator academy in the times of the Roman Empire, Batiatus (John Hannah) falls into a rival's trap. While his bloody face is shown in close up, the camera catches his wife in another type of combat: she is making love with a (girl)friend. As early as the first episode of the new Spartacus season, which starts this coming Saturday, April 16, on the Globosat HD channel, there is no doubt left: the cunning Lucretia plays in all teams. Such versatility helps maintain the myth surrounding the actress who plays the role, the New Zealander Lucy Lawless. Between 1995 and 2001, that powerfully built woman of 1,77m reached fame portraying the main character of another trash series, Xena, Warrior Princess. The exchange of caresses with her sidekick, Gabrielle (Renée O 'Connor), led Xena to be worshiped by lesbians. Swords in their hands, the (lady)fans started gathering at conventions, such as the XenaCon - which the actress supports with her presence until this day. "At the beginning, there was no intention to portray them as lesbians. But they got so famous that we decided to follow with that idea", Lucy told VEJA.
At 43, mother of three, the actress boasts a beautiful figure, as can be ascertained in Spartacus wanton scenes - inserted between numerous blood spilling ones. And she is a very lucky woman. In the 90's, the ex- Miss New Zealand got a secondary role in another series made by the same producers of Xena, and was so good at it that she ended by getting the job of their first option for the warrior woman role. In Spartacus, the central character was, like the title says, the gladiator who led a revolt in the year I BC, in Rome. But by the middle of the first season, the Welsh actor Andy Whitfield, who played Spartacus, was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. The way to deal with his absence was to create Gods of the Arena, a prologue to the original season, which shows how Batiatus, helped by Lucretia, secured his academy reputation. As Whitfield's condition recrudesced - and with Batiatus' death at the end of the first year - it seems that Lucretia will be the big star of Spartacus new season. A detail: she seemed to have died during the same scene where her husband was beheaded. Lucy makes fun of the rumors that her character will be resuscitated only because her husband in real life is Robert Tapert, one of the executive producers: "If the character was not good, he wouldn't have any qualms about leaving me unemployed".
Despite the evidences in contrary, Lucy makes it clear that Lucretia's sexual interest falls on men. "She doesn't have sex with women for pleasure. It's just a means of strengthening her power", the actress explains. Lucy, by the way, says that she never had any attraction for women. Not even platonically, like Xena and Gabrielle? "And who said their relationship was platonic? It was pure fire", she quips.
QUEEN OF SPADES
The actress as Xena: "That was pure fire!"
For more about Lucy's role as Lucretia go to AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Spartacus subsite.
For more about Lucy's role as Xena go to AUSXIP Xena Warrior Princess
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