New Zealander Lucy Lawless became an international television icon in the 1990s as the apparently fearless star of Xena: Warrior Princess. The part seemed tailor made for the athletic actress who’d originally intended to be an opera singer (until she’d discovered that opera singers follow a strict diet and can’t stay out all night), yet after 134 episodes Lawless called it a day and has spent most of the last few years raising her three children: Daisy, 19; Julius, 9; and Judah, 6. “Now my kids are relinquishing me and I’m ready to go back to work,” Lawless says with a laugh. The actress dipped her toe in the water with a guest starring part in the last two seasons of Battlestar Galactica and has now been cast in her first major film role in recent years. Bedtime Stories is a Disney family comedy starring Adam Sandler and, alongside Lawless, a cast which also includes Courtney Cox, Keri Russell, fast-rising British comic Russell Brand, Richard Griffiths, and Australian actor Guy Pearce. Adam Sandler plays Skeeter, a downtrodden hotel handyman who tells his niece and nephew elaborate stories, full of knights in armor and damsels in distress, which suddenly start to come true. The likable and witty Lawless, sporting a severe black bob that made her virtually unrecognizable, talked to us on the set of Bedtime Stories and told us about her role in the film, why she loves wigs, and how she got used to the Los Angeles smog.
Q. So Adam Sandler is the put-upon hotel handyman. Who do you play?
Lucy Lawless: Guy Pearce is the hotel manager and I
play his wicked and twisted girlfriend, who’s also the hotel concierge.
He’s putty in her deviant hands of course [laughs]. The original
brief description of the character was that she was a “40-ish
ex-model”, which I changed to “bitter 40-ish ex-model”
because she never saw herself as ending up as a concierge in a bloody
hotel and her way of managing her disappointment is to sink her hooks
into some eligible male, in this case Guy Pearce, who is wonderfully
smooth and effete in the role.
Q: And how about the jet black hair? Was
that your idea?
Lucy Lawless: Well, it’s all about the wig! And
it evolved, because I had something like a flower pot on my head at
one point, but once I put on this particular wig we all said, Oh that’s
the one! And personally, the moment I put on a wig I feel different,
like I’m Jim Carrey in the Mask. It’s very fun!
Q. What was it about Bedtime Stories that
made you want to get back to work?
Lucy Lawless: Part of it was just about getting out
of the house. I think it’s what the kids wanted [laughs]. I was
in my middle child’s room the other night, irritating him with
all these facts about chameleons, and he just asked me to leave the
room. And the youngest one has repeatedly begged me to go back to work
because he’s quite interested in television and films and thinks
I might be able to introduce me to someone famous.
Q. So any film would have done?
Lucy Lawless: [Laughs] No! But who wouldn’t want
to work with Adam Sandler? I’ve always thought he’s a very
solid actor, three-dimensional and just real. It’s not a coincidence
that he’s this multi-million-dollar man. The film has also got
this great cast and it’s a big Disney production. I’m just
thrilled to be included!
Q. Did you have to audition?
Lucy Lawless: Yes, of course, and Adam Sandler in particular
had to strongly say, I want Lucy Lawless, because I would not have been
on the list of the top 50 actresses, not even the top 100 actresses,
that Disney would have thought of.
Q. Is that because you’ve haven’t
worked much in recent years?
Lucy Lawless: Partly that, and that people tell me
it’s going to be hard to get over the Xena stigma, though I can’t
say I have really given that much credence. It’s not like I could
do anything about it anyway and, you know, Xena was a really great experience
and I really lived a lot doing it and I’m grateful for everything
it gave me.
Q. Do you ever miss it?
Lucy Lawless: Xena was a lot of fun, but it was also
hard work and I had the pressure of being the star. But I love making
films and television, I love the process, I love being on set and I
never complain about being here, particularly not on this film. This
really is the best time I have ever had in my life.
Q. Why’s that?
Lucy Lawless: I think it really does come down to Adam
Sandler and the director [Adam Shankman]. It’s like having two
really benevolent dictators, because they know how they want things
to go and they’re here to get the job done, but they want it to
be enjoyable too. So I think a lot of their casting is based on not
wanting to work with anyone who’s a pain.
Q. Now you’re planning to work more, does
that mean spending more time in the States too?
Lucy Lawless: It’s where the business is, yes.
I’ve tried to divide my time between the US and New Zealand, but
it’s difficult, and I suddenly realized that I like it here in
Los Angeles anyway. Because when you first come here; especially from
New Zealand, you go, This is the ugliest, nastiest, grayest, smoggiest
town in the world, and then your scale of beauty adjusts and suddenly
you think, Oh, isn’t it beautiful, not too much smog today! [Laughs]
Q. And do you have any other films or
television in the offing?
Lucy Lawless: The oddest thing is that Court TV wanted
me to go and fly a jet fighter and have a duel with Muhammed Ali’s
daughter. You know, a girl fight in the air! I had to tell them I couldn’t
do it for insurance reasons but when I first heard about it, I was like,
Yes, I’ll do that, because it’s one of those once in a lifetime
things and I tend to jump at those opportunities. Other than that, I’m
talking to people about some interesting television pilots. We’ll
see! I have to say that Bedtime Stories may have spoiled me a bit though
because it has been such a fantastic experience. I mean, the thing is,
once you’ve had a taste of Camp Sandler, I think it’s hard
to sign on anywhere else.
- Gone With The Twins
Click HERE to read the Bedtime Stories Interview with Adam Sandler
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