Galactica.com - iF MAGAZINE GETS PROBED BY FRIENDLY CYLON & FORMER WARRIOR PRINCESS, LUCY LAWLESS- PART 1

By Sean Elliot, ifmagazine.com, on 30-11-2006

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D'anna

Some know her as XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, but fans of Lucy Lawless have come to know her as the Cylon model D’Anna Biers on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA most recently. Enmeshed in a complex web of spirituality and divine right, the character of D’Anna has become intimately linked to Gaius Baltar [James Callis], Six [Tricia Helfer], and baby Hera this season. Knowing that Lawless is leaving the series at the mid-point this season, how can it all end? iF MAGAZINE intended to find out all of the answers to our questions when we spoke to Lawless recently.

iF MAGAZINE: How did you get involved with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA?

LUCY LAWLESS: David Eick called me and asked if I would when it [the character] was still in its inception, because that’s just the way they work. I knew the character was going to be a Cylon from the very beginning, and proceeded to completely lie about that to the press. People don’t really want to know; they don’t really want you to give it up and break the tension or spoil the surprise. Those writers [on BATTLESTAR] fly by the seat of their pants and more and more outrageous things come up every week that I’m sure they had not thought of two weeks before it was set to be filmed. That show is kind of a 4 dimensional sculpture.

iF: How far in advance did you know you were going to be a recurring guest star?

LAWLESS: Well, I knew there was always potential for that. Casting my mind back, we all knew there was a potential for that [role to reoccur], but you really want to see how the audience is going to react to the given character. So, you can’t be sure and you can’t be sure that you are going to like the experience either. In the beginning it’s very open ended from both sides and you just go along planning to have a good time and do some good work. I was really blown away by the caliber of their directors it was just incredible.

iF: How was it coming onto a set where everyone had been together for quite awhile?

LAWLESS: It was lovely. It’s such a huge cast. The thing I liked about it, is I got to work with every single one of them, in that episode. I got to see such a large cast and such a broad spectrum of characters up close and personal.

iF: D’Ana gives you the chance to play several versions of one character. How challenging is that as an actor?

LAWLESS: I really enjoy it. I love all of the special effects involved too. When you have that many characters involved in a scene, even if you are playing two or three of them, there is a lot of waiting around. You have to fill your time; at least I fill my time by thinking of scenes within the scene between my characters. Two D’Annas might be having a non-verbal conversation as long as its germane to their arc, it’s ok to do that. Hopefully, the camera will catch it and the editor will utilize it a little bit. In any case, it’s a way to fill in the extra hours when the camera is on somebody else.

iF: How do you keep all of the various versions of the D’Anna character separate in your head?

LAWLESS: You kind of figure who you are by the tone, sometimes you just have to choose, sometimes geography will dictate it, but you just have to be very flexible. If you are locked into how something has to go, on a show like BATTLESTAR, you’re sunk. You can’t be rigid; that’s death on BATTLESTAR.

iF: In your own mind do you know the evolution of say the “Caprica” version that got clubbed in the head with the rock?

LAWLESS: Every week I’d be surprised by what they were asking me to do. Are you kidding? [Laughs] One week I’m in a ménage with Baltar [James Callis] and Six [Tricia Helfer] and next time I’m sucking his brains out with a turkey baster and then the next week its back to being pals. You really have to find a way to make that authentic.

iF: I interviewed James Callis awhile back and he said you had an interesting reaction to his public nudity?

LAWLESS: He was standing there, and I walked in. He was standing there holding his genitalia and the camera was on us, so it might’ve been on his back, I don’t recall. It was over the shoulder on us, and at some point he took his hand away and fluttered his hands in the air. I just about had a heart attack! [Laughs] I’ve never seen a naked man on a set ever, or a woman for that matter. It didn’t used to happen in syndication. I do have to say, “well done there, man! Congratulations! Masel Tov James!” [Laughs] For somebody who considers themselves pretty fast on their feet generally I was gobsmacked, I couldn’t continue the scene. I think it was the only time ever that I have had to walk away from a scene because I was just flummoxed.

iF: Well it didn’t sound like you were alone, he said one of the techies walked into a wall?

LAWLESS: It was envy. [Laughs] It was complete envy.

iF: How were the torture scenes for you being the one doing the torturing?

LAWLESS: The difficulty was I had to pretend to not be hearing Six who was sitting right beside us carrying on a conversation with him. I was supposed to be completely unaware of this sort of cyber sex relationship, and yet I could hear her and it was a little annoying. In particular when the camera is on you; just let it be your scene, but I didn’t want to break James’ spell by asking for things to be changed.

iF: The way that D’Anna is evolving did you enjoy the back and forth spirituality that is creeping in at the edges?

LAWLESS: That was my whole reason for doing it. That was always part of the role, and I’m really glad they stuck with that arc. It is very interesting to me, the search for God and how different people or beings handle it.

iF: More now in Season 3 this has been a lot of focus on the Cylon culture and what makes them tick?

LAWLESS: Right. You see the schism stating to happen. Basically, its individuation, where as before there was all a collective thought and consensus about everything they were doing. Its like the humans are the serpent in the garden and the mere contact with them has splintered the Cylon collective psyche and everyone is individual again, even within each model. They do not know how to handle individuality; it’s a great threat to their way of life and their programming.