FOR HIM MAGAZINE [UK] -November 1999


The Little Princess
It seems Xena's side-kick can stand up for herself
by Neil Ridgway

One thing the telly rams down out throats is how rubbish TV sidekicks are. We've suffered Scrappy-Dappy-Do, Minnie Mouse and Robin (The "Boy Wonder") - each of them as ineffectual as the last. So it comes as some surprise that the lightweight Channel 5 has been single-handedly redressing the balance with it's curiously watchable sword-and-sorcery series, Xena: Warrior Princess. Here, in addition to budget special effects and the buxom title character (Lucy Lawless) throwing her weight around like a stroppy sixth former, we get to see the lovely Gabrielle (actress Renee O'Connor) running around in tight costumes. Texan-born Renee - now based in Auckland, New Zealand - confirms that a piece of well-placed chamois can be a sexy thing...


"I don't believe in showing it all to everyone. A bit of mystery, that's much more sexy," she smiles. "I was half expecting a rack of colored G-strings for the FHM shoot, so I was quite relieved to see some clothes. I was going to place my big toe strategically in front of the camera to block the view. Now that's sexy!"...

They nicknamed you "Daisy Duke" at school
- were you into bum-hugging cut-offs?
My mother was always very sexy as a young woman. Men would walk down the supermarket aisle and turn around and stare at her, and I think that just rubbed off onto me. I would wear little shorts and little tank-tops. I remember getting very angry as a child about men looking at Mom. Now I can fully understand that it's flattering; it makes a woman feel confident when there's acknowledgement.

Are women more concerned with the way things are done
or how they look in the bedroom?
How things are done! I think women are much more adventurous than most men believe. Men are more hesitant to step over the comfort zone and into adventurous sex.

So what is your "adventurous sex" tip?
If you're in a comfortable relationship and you want to try new things then you should open up the lines of communication. The woman is going to think you're bizarre if you just try something suddenly.

Lucy Lawless once said that 'stunt people won't hurt you in fights,
but Renee will...'
Cheeky! Well, stuntmen are much bigger than me and I use a rubber weapon so I go by the sound of how big their groans are. You end up hurting stuntmen in places they don't even want to be touched - but they're good sports. Lucy and I get our share of bruises, too. We had a pie fight on set set the other day and I bloodied my lip.

Are you aware of the sexual undertones of Xena?
We know there's a bit of titillation about what we wear. But I encourage them to put me in sexy outfits. I think it's important for the show.

Do you remember your dreams in the morning?
Mine usually revolve around the ocean in some way. I don't know why. Sometimes friends are being attacked by sharks; -and I'm saving them.

Ironic for someone who grew up around the scummy old Gulf of Texas...
I know - we would go camping to the fresh water lakes around Houston when I was a kid. We'd go water skiing near a place called Hippy Hollow and the people would sun bath nude all day. I remember being 12 and I kept falling all the time - because I was trying to see what all those nude people were doing!


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