TV Guide Volume
46 Number
26 #2361
-
June 27-July 3 1998
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Playing Xena's sidekick has been an adventure made
in heaven for Texan Reneé O'Connor
by Mark Nollinger
Xena
and her saucy sidekick, Gabrielle, share a provocative bond. Reneé
O'Connor explains the chemistry.
As Gabrielle, the spirited, idealistic sidekick on Xena: Warrior
Princess, Reneé O'Connor possesses a look that is wholesome and
girlish, in a Malibu-meets-Mesopotamia sort of way. But the gods of
style have been busy today. While posing during a photo shot on a
darkened Hollywood stage, the cropped peasant blouse, cloth skirt
and cascading tresses of the actresses alter ego are no where to be
found. Instead, O'Connor's hair is pinned up and she's wearing a clingy,
sapphire blue satin evening gown marked by a neckline that plunges,
plunges and plunges some more. She pauses to take a quick inventory.
"No one will recognize me as Gabrielle," she says.
Don't be too sure. There are a lot of Xena fans out there these
days. Now filming episodes for it's fourth season, the campy syndicated
action-adventure series, originally a spin-off of Hercules: The
Legendary Journeys, has blossomed from a cult hit into an international
smash that is seen in more than 60 countries. And while Xena (Lucy
lawless) is kicking more barbarian butt than ever as she and Gabrielle
wander through their mythical world, O'Connor's character has done
some growing up herself, evolving from a naive, starstruck tagalong
into a more independent soul who finally won Xena's trust, only to
betray it (Gabrielle harbored the monster who would slay the Warrior
Princess' son).
"I love the character," says O'Connor, 27, a Texas native who spends
nine months a year filming Xena in Auckland, New Zealand. "Last
year they brought out her faults. She did a lot of things I wouldn't
have done to friends or family."
Xena watchers don't seem to mind. These days, O'Connor finds
herself inundated with mail from fans ranging from small children
to hardened convicts. O'Connor's mother, Sandra, who along with husband
Eddie Wilson owns the landmark Austin, Texas, restaurant Threadgill's,
oversees the actress' fan club.
"It's nice that my mom is [involved]," says O'Connor. "It makes it
more personable." And mom knows exactly where to draw the line. "If
people want nude photos or something, it's, 'I'm sorry, you're going
to get my daughter's high school photo."
O'Connor believes the series' appeal is largely due to Xena's being
"a formidable woman who's not dependent on a man. She's a reluctant
hero, and she's sexy, but she's strong." And the changing dynamics
between Xena and Gabrielle have also kept fans coming back for more.
"There's a friendship between two women," O'Connor says. "That's a
fascination for a lot of people."
Indeed. The first couple of seasons were marked by a number of allusions
- like sharing a bath, for example- to the notion that Xena and Gabrielle
might be more than just good pals. "There was a time when we played
with the idea, just being silly," she says, confirming that the lesbian
subtext was a deliberate device. But nowadays, she adds, the friendship
"has become so profound that it's not about a sexual relationship."
So no more bathtub scenes? "Never say never on this show," O'Connor
says, smiling.
Off-screen, the two Xena stars maintain a polite distance.
They rarely socialize away from work, although O'Connor did attend
Lawless' wedding to Xena producer Rob Tapert in March. On the
set the two women are the best of friends.
"She's just a fabulous woman," Lawless says simply. "I'd be lost without
her. She takes on what is ostensibly the second-banana role with such
grace and charm. The only reason she's not playing Xena is that I'm
bigger than she is."
Her petite stature has never been a hindrance for O'Connor, the second
child born in Houston to Sandra and Walter O'Connor, a finance manager.
(The couple divorced when Reneé was still an infant.) One of O'Connor's
first roles after moving to Los Angeles at 18 was in an episode of
HBO's Tales From the Crypt, which was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"I was extremely nervous," recalls the 5-foot-4 O'Connor. "He could
crush me with his finger. But he was lovely." (He did, however, edit
her performance out of the final version of the show.)
O'Connor's life truly changed in 1994, when a last minute audition
landed her a part in the TV movie Hercules and the Lost Kingdom.
When Tapert began casting Xena, he invited O'Connor to try out as
Gabrielle and ultimately gave her the job. "She brought a naiveté
and innocence to the role with a slightly brash attitude," the producer
says. "And she's only gotten better."
O'Connor declines to reveal what's in store of Gabrielle next season,
other than that India will serve as a backdrop for some shows and
that her character will "question and seek different types of religions."
In the meantime, the actress has embarked on a personal journey of
her own. After three years of renting an Auckland apartment, O'Connor
recently bought a house in the country, where she plans to busy herself
with gardening and remodeling. Her boyfriend of almost two years,
Steve Muir, 30, a kiwi who manages a microbrewery, will be around
to lend a hand. He and O'Connor moved in together last January, a
development that took months to sink in. "We've been so busy," she
says. "I finally looked at him and said 'Oh my God, we're living together.'
" O'Connor pauses to take a quick inventory.
"Life's really good now. Knock on wood."
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