Lucy Lawless on Rosie O'Donnell

October 17, 2000

Rosie had been talking earlier in the show about what a bad day she'd had because she's having trouble with one of her new adopted children getting to sleep. Interestingly, it wasn't Rosie that looked worn out. Lucy did. In the beginning of the interview, Lucy looked a little beat. Maybe she hadn't yet adjusted to the time difference. She was more reserved than in other interviews that followed the same week (Regis, Conan O'Brien).

RO: Our next guest just started her sixth season as the fearless "Xena: Warrior Princess." Take a look...

(fight scene from Heart of Darkness)

RO: She's a tough chick. Please welcome Lucy Lawless!

(Lucy enters, they embrace. Reading their lips, Lucy says "You're my hero.", Rosie says "I got four kids..." and the rest is unintelligible)

RO: Hi Lucy Lawless. How are you?

LL: Hello Rosie O'Donnell.

RO: Very good to see you.

LL: Better than you.

RO: Yes, better than me. I'm a little sleepy. You have one baby.

LL: I have one baby, who just turned one yesterday.

RO: Excellent, and how's he sleeping?

LL: Oh, he's sleeping, he's sleeping good now, but it took 5 months, and then he started sleeping through. RO: That's good though.

LL: But yeah, there's profound fatigue when you have a new baby, and I hear you asking for recommendations from the audience...

RO: Do you have any?

LL: Well I can't tell this woman anything, no, because your baby has very specific needs and experiences.

RO: I got something for your baby, do you have these? I knew it was the first birthday. (brings out a set of picture frames, tied with a bow) See they're frames, numbered each year, one, two, three, four, five, six...

LL: Oh, they're beautiful!

RO: ...and you take a picture, like, with the birthday cake each year, and then you put them up on the wall, and it shows their growth.

(Rosie presents the frames to Lucy)

LL: Oh thank you. Aw, do you know what? (Lucy looks chagrined.) He has nothing. He didn't get a present.

RO: Really?

LL: We took him to FAO Schwartz and bought absolutely nothing.

RO: How come?

LL: Because a one year old baby only wants to pick things up and slime all over them, and...

RO: That's true.

LL: ...and then drop them again. So, we let him do that.

RO: Well, that's really more a present for the mommy.

LL: I love this, thank you very much.

RO: I love it, my son's five now and I'm almost done with the series.

LL: Aww..

RO: Now what's going on, you're leaving the show I hear, the show's going away next season.

LL: Yeah, the show's leaving me.

RO: Yeah. But that's ok, right, that was a good run.

LL: Oh, a really good run, and it strikes me now how unusual, how unbelievable it is to go so long. You know, you sit down, you have a cry, and then you just get back on that horse. You know I've actually got another ten episodes to go, and though it doesn't sound like a lot, it's ... it's a lot of work, and another ten so I'm going to go back there and carry on the good fight.

RO: And you really have to be physically fit for that role, you know.

LL: Yeah

RO: I mean, really, in a way that no other show would demand of you.

LL: I've done hundreds of stunt fights, and for somebody who's not particularly athletic, it was a big ask, you know, so I just intend to love every moment of what's left.

RO: How did you get by when you were pregnant? How did they do that, with all the fighting, and the...

LL: Oh, they cut me some slack.

RO: Oh they did?

LL: Yeah, they let me out of that corset (laughs), finally, after 5 months, boom! (laughs) Um, out came the lat...not the latex, um, the spandex, right, and they gave me a coat to wear, so I wouldn't be cold, but sixth season, it all went away again.

RO: Oh yeah, back to the corset and the metal, right. You have some devoted, devoted fans. Now we, before you were ever on the show, before you were on the first time, literally we were besieged with people, "Get Xena, get Lucy Lawless!" The fans are like fanatical.

LL: Yeah, well they've been amazingly faithful too, and hung in there, and yeah, I just thank them. Sometimes we go and do conventions, um, not very often because we're not often available, but you get to feel like a rock star for a few seconds. It's amazing to feel that once or twice in your life. It's a huge privilege.

RO: Now were you in New Zealand, during the Olympics, over in Australia, close by?

LL: Yes, but we escaped, we went over to Hawaii after the season ended.

RO: You did.

LL: Yeah.

RO: Did you watch them? It was great.

LL: Yes, and we got it in real time, so we didn't have to wait until 2 o'clock in the morning, which we're accustomed to doing in the southern hemisphere.

RO: Yeah, for you guys, that was the first time you got to watch it, as it happened.

LL: Yeah.

RO: It was bad for us, we had the delay.

LL: (in New York accent) I know, I'm sorry.

RO: (in New York accent) That's all right. (in normal voice) Now how about Broadway, you gonna go back?

LL: You know, I'd like to, though when Xena ends...I think I'm going to take an open-ended holiday.

RO: A vacation.

LL: Yeah, for the first time...we'll just see. If they'll have me back, you know?

RO: Yeah, I'm sure they will. Did you have a good time?

LL: I had such an amazing time, and I made some terrific friends who I'm still in close contact with.

RO: Was it tough on you to do, eight shows a week, 'cause it was tough for me.

LL: Yes, it demanded a different kind of fitness than Xena.

RO: And your vocal cords, did you have any problems, because I sure did.

LL: No, I have now, though.

RO: You have a little polyp, or..?

LL: When I do...yeah probably several, when I do looping , there's such a lot of fighting and grunting and carrying on, that I've just ripped my throat to shreds, so um, that's a little problem. So singing's a bit out for me these days.

RO: Yeah, 'cause we were going to do a big number, remember last time you were here..

LL: I know, I know...(looks chagrined)

RO: ...(in NY accent) we were gonna do a big numbah, what happened, Lucy? (in normal voice) Now, you're feeling all better from when you were injured on the Jay Leno show when you got on the horse, since, you've all...

LL: Yeah.

RO: Yeah, 'cause you hurt your collar bone, right?

LL: Yeah, I mean, I've got uh...no, my pelvis.

RO: Oh, your pelvis.

LL: Even better. Yeah, well, it's been put through its paces, had a baby, passed a baby through it.

RO: So it's still working, knock wood, right.

LL: (grins) Yeah, still working. Mustn't grumble.

RO: And I know that you're doing a lot with breast cancer in New Zealand as well as child abuse.

LL: Yes, October is a global breast cancer awareness month, and I did an ad for them. I agreed to do the breast cancer one on behalf of some of my friends who have been dealing with breast cancer (leans over to knock on Rosie's desktop), and knock wood that I won't have to deal with it myself. I went and had a mammogram, actually, and I fainted. I fell, and I was held up only by my boob in a ringer (she laughs).

RO: Your boob went in the vice and you fell over?

LL: Fortunately, though, I was held up by my bosom.

RO: And you fainted because of stress, or just...?

LL: I'm just squeamish.

RO: Are you really?

LL: (teasing and grinning) Don't tell anyone. Just between you and me.

RO: I could have a mammogram every day, it didn't bother me. They were smushing, she said "I'm going to put it tighter," I said "Go 'head, go 'head." She's like "You're good!" I'm like, "I have boobs of steel!"

LL: Well that's great!

RO: Yeah!

(audience laughs)

LL: I see that. (Lucy leans over to Rosie and holds her hands in the air making boob squeezing motions) Wah, wah!

RO: Yes, there they are, wah wah! But then what about the child abuse, how did you get involved with that stuff?

LL: Uh, you know there are a lot of graphic accounts, I think very courageously reported in the local newspapers in New Zealand, and you know the first one you read you go "Oh, can't read that, it's going to ruin my day," and the second one...eventually, enough of them are reported where you say "I've got to do something, which in most cases...they need money, so I offer my profile, my energy to the experts. I'm not running off and doing this on my own, of course. My energy and my profile...we found an action group, and we're making huge headway. We're trying to get multiagency centers set up so a child doesn't get taken to, say, the police or a child care agency and they send them back, possibly to the perpetrators before they can get on the next step in their recovery.

RO: Exactly.

LL: So that's our aim at this stage.

RO: Well that's very very important. We need that here in the United States as well. It's lovely to see you.

LL: Well thank you.

RO: Great, great run with the show, congratulations. Lucy Lawless, we'll be right back after this break, don't go away...

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