AAHS World Radio 10-10-97 R - Renee O'Connor B - Becky the Interviewer B - Good morning. I'm here with Renee O'Connor. She plays Xena's best friend, some people say sidekick, but you know, labels, labels, whatever, she's Xena's best friend on Xena: Warrior Princess. And you know, I feel really, uh, really happy about being here right now, 'cause I watch the show all the time. So thanks for taking time out. R - No problem, good morning everybody. B -And you know, I'm just really comfortable, I got to tell everybody, I'm really comfortable right now and I think the main reason for that is because your character is so personable. I mean, unlike Xena where she's out there, she's you know, Warrior Princess, she's like a goddess, and she has all these powers that really, you can't relate to. I think that Gabrielle is one of those characters who is much closer to the average viewer, and you know, we kind of go through your trials and tribulations as you do. Could you talk about your character a little bit? R - I think Gabrielle is definitely one of the people, you know. I try and think of Gabrielle as looking at every situation through the audience's eyes. So that she sees everything for the first time and so, you know, if something looks sad or something is scary, you can usually read Gabrielle's face and know how she feels, right away. B - Great. How did you get this role? Can you tell us, like, what your journey was going through that? R - I was actually going to Austin, Texas to go film a commercial for my parents, for their restaurant in Austin. And the producers from Hercules asked me to come in and audition for this role of Deianeira for their video movie called The Lost Kingdom. So I went in and I auditioned for that and ended up getting the role and that took me to New Zealand. This was in 1993. And I worked with Kevin Sorbo who plays Hercules and we had a great time. And then, I think it was two years later, the role of Xena's best friend Gabrielle came up and they thought of me again. But then they decided they wanted someone a little bit younger. So they looked and looked and looked and they said, OK, Renee it's your part, and I was living in California at the time and I moved to New Zealand, packed up a lot of my things, and made my new home with all the kiwis. B - How much of Renee O'Connor is in Gabrielle? Do you bring a lot of yourself into the role, or is this something that's just all down on paper and you kind of have to get into Gabrielle mode when you do it? R - I think Gabrielle and I are _very_ similar, especially in the comedy episodes, because I can just have a good time working with Lucy Lawless. Gabrielle, you know, she's funny, she's quirky, and I have that side to me, but you know I don't always sort of, I try to calm down a bit more, you know, when I'm not playing Gabrielle. It's a great outlet for all my kookiness. But, yeah you know, some of the crying scenes are a little bit harder to do but that's obviously another side to me as well. It's in there somewhere and, yeah Gabrielle and I are very much alike. She's going to be changing this year, where she will be growing up and that's hard for anybody to do obviously, go through a lot of different changes. And it's sad for me to watch her have to suffer through a lot of it. But knowing that she's a good person and she'll learn from everything, and come out on top. B - The show is really physical, just like, you know, Hercules is too, and in fact actually Kevin Sorbo says hi 'cause we interviewed him about a month ago, a month back. R - Hello Kevin! B - It's a very physical show. How much training goes into that and how much of the stunts that you do are actually you? Do you have stand-ins? R - I have a stunt double, and it's always quite funny because people can't figure out who's Renee and who's not from the back, you know. And there's usually four or five Xena's walking around the set as well. So it's a bit of a circus. But I have learned to do all my own stunts with the staff. And usually the stuntwoman will do the same choreography as well because we don't have enough time to film from all the different angles. Sometimes we have to shoot a stuntman doing a flip up in the air and landing against a tree or something, so we'll have a second unit filming that and we'll need maybe Gabrielle's boot or arm and that's where the stunt double comes in. She hits him and it's his body . So yes there's a lot of people there. I love working with the staff. You have to be careful with it because obviously it can be very dangerous, you know, you don't want to take out anybody's eye. B - R - Haven't done that yet! B - It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye! How much does the staff weigh? R - The staff that I walk with is actually quite heavy. And then they've given me a rubber staff for the fight scenes . There's some sort of rod in the middle of it so that the stick can keep its form. But it's cushioned. A quilted staff, you know for hitting. B - Now did you always want to be an actress when you were growing up? Was there anything else that, you know, struck your fancy, or was it just always acting? R - I think since I was twelve, about twelve, I stumbled upon, you know, a theater production, and ever since then I've _loved_ dressing up in costumes and playing other people with storylines. And I think ever since then I've decided that this is, well not twelve, but I always knew I wanted to act, but I think, when I had to decide to leave my neighborhood high school with all my friends that I grew up with to go to a performing arts high school, I knew that, that if I really wanted to try this as a career, that I had to make that decision as soon as possible, just so I could start studying and take it a little more seriously and try to learn as much as possible. I did that instead of cheerleading, instead of some of the sports that you would do in high school. B - Do you have any advice for kids out there, budding actors who want to be in your, in your position right now, when they are older? R - I think, you know how you always, when you're young, you always think that there's something you would love to be when you grow up. And you always put up walls later on in life about why you can't do this. And I think if you go back to the first moment when you said this is what I really want to do, and that's your passion, then you should just go for it. You should try to study, you should try to learn from everyone that you can. And, so for acting, I would say, try to get in all the school productions, even if you're working behind the stage in lighting and costumes, because you're working with a group of people that all, are all contributing to the same product. And that's theater, that's entertainment, you know! It's exciting. B - Do you get a lot of fan mail from young girls who just love to see, you know, female heroines on the screen? Do you get letters? R - I definitely get a lot of letters from young girls, people in high school, people in college, mostly women, but some men as well. And usually it's just some sort of inspiring letter where people have been set back in some way in their life, and through these characters have found a way to deal with their problems, because you know that no matter what you may be going through, there's always going to be a better time coming up. If you can just hold on, you know , that it does get better, everything is in a cycle, you know you might have some low times, but no matter how bad they get, your high points are going to be even better. So it's a nice balance. B - Tell me about the animated film that you voiced the voice of Gabrielle, which was, you know, suitable... R - Right . B - It's you, well not you, it's your character . R - Right . B - How was it doing just a voice instead of being there and doing all the physical stuff, just kind of, you know, speaking, and having to have everything come through, just through your voice. R - I actually found it much more difficult doing the voice work rather than acting on set because I'm a visual person. I like to see what's going on around me, see the people in the costumes and the sets and get an idea of where the character is. So I had to do this all in my mind while we were in the studio, and it was really challenging. Lucy was next to me. So we were trying to just work on the scenes together and keep it conversational and keep it going as we normally would on the set. And it was difficult. I found that Michael Hurst who plays Iolaus was the best one. You know he is so crazy, and so creative, that he could make funny voices and sounds come out of him just, you know, very easily. It's challenging. B - You know, do you have any idea of how much longer Xena can go on, the whole show or what you might want to do afterwards? R - I think the show hopefully will go on for a couple more years. And I believe so far there's a storyline with Gabrielle throughout those two years. I don't know what I'd like to do after. I toy with the idea of going behind the scenes. It just depends on where I am after the show's over in terms of acting, if I want to take a break from it or if I feel like I'm having a passion for it where I could find something new, learn something. I always like to have a goal where I'm, every day or every episode, I'm trying to learn something new about the character or about how to act, you know 'cause it's a challenge. But yeah, we'll see how far I am. B - Well, Renee O'Connor, thank you so, so much for being here, and it's been a pleasure. And good luck, with the rest of Xena: Warrior Princess and everybody out there, remember to watch it, I don't know when it comes on near you but it's an awesome show, let me tell you, I love it. I watch it every, every week, and it just makes me verklempt R - B - Thanks a lot. R - Bye-bye, battle on!