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Xena, Gabrielle,
Callisto, Hercules, Iolaus, Joxer,
Salmoneus, Ares, Autolycus, Ephiny, Cupid/Caesar, Draco,
Aphrodite, Lao Ma, Borias
, Alti
This is a brief introduction to some of the characters you might see on Xena:Warrior Princess and the actors that play them.
The character of Xena is played by New Zealand
actress Lucy Lawless. Xena comes from the town of Amphipolis. The
middle child and only daughter of innkeeper Cyrene and soldier,
Atrius. Xena's beloved younger brother Lyceus was killed when the
warlord Cortese attacked Amphipolis. Xena led the fight against
him, and this is the event that started her on the path of
violence. She was given the title of Warrior Princess, probably
by her troops. Xena's army rampaged through the land for ten
years, until Xena met Hercules. She wanted to kill him, and
attempted to get at him through his friend Iolaus, who she
seduced. However, after stopping her evil leuitenant Darfus from
killing a baby, Xena was ousted from her own army. Hercules
helped her to begin a new life, and to atone for her past
misdeeds. Xena has many skills, and
now fights for those in need. She had a son named Solon, her
horse is named Argo.
Lucy Lawless first appeared in the TV movie, Hercules and the
Amazon Women,
then in the Hercules series as Lyla, a
good friend and later wife of the centaur Deric. When the
character of Xena was originally thought up, another actress was
lined up to play Xena, but had to withdraw through injury. After
several other actresses were unwilling to travel to New Zealand
for the role, the producers tracked her down to play Xena. Lucy
is 5'10 and a half, and while those blue eyes are all hers, the
dark hair is dyed, and body make up gives her that tanned look. A
talented singer, Lucy comes from a large Auckland family, and is
divorced from first husband Garth (yes Lawless IS her real
married name) with a young daughter named Daisy. She is now
married to Executive Producer Robert Tapert.
The Lucy
Lawless FAQ is very comprehensive
Xena Online
Resources is HUGE!
Tom's Xena Page is the best
there is
Gabrielle is played by Texan actress Reneé
O'Connor. Gabrielle comes from the town of Poteidaia. She has a
sister named Lila, her parents are Herodotus and Hecuba. We first
met her in the episode Sins of the
Past where Xena saved her and other girls of Poteidaia from
slavers working under the warlord Draco. Gabrielle left her
village and her dull and stupid fiance Perdicus to follow Xena,
and soon demonstrated her verbal skills, saving Xena from
stoning. She became an Amazon princess in the episode Hooves and Harlots and was crowned
queen in the epidsode The Quest.
Gabrielle was married- very briefly to Perdicus in Return of Callisto. S3 saw her kill
for the first time in The
Deliverer, and become the mother of Hope in Gabrielle's Hope. She went through a
great deal in S3, including a major rift with best friend Xena.
Series 4 sees Gabrielle exploring her spiritual side and looking
for a peaceful way.
Renee O'Connor first worked with producers Sam Raimi and Robert
Tapert on the first Hercules film, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom.
She played a plucky character not disimilar to Gabrielle. She
began acting when young and has appeared in a number of tv and
film roles. After the Hercules TV movie, she worked again with
Raimi and Tapert on Darkman 2 before landing the role of
Gabrielle. She has just finished directing her very first XENA
episode, the S4 season ender Deja Vu
All Over Again.
Renee O'Connor's
Official Fanclub web page is pretty good, although the fan club
itself is now defunct
The ROC file is
a very good site with tons of links
The Temple of ROC
The Clan
MacConnor- the new name for the MacGabbers, strange but fun
The most popular villain on the show is
probably Callisto played by Hudson Leick. She first appeared in
the episode Callisto where
we learnt that her family were all killed in an attack by Xena's
army on her home town of Cirra. When Xena's army set fire to the
buildings, the people were too scared to run, and burnt to death.
Because of this, Callisto hates Xena with a venomous and
psychotic hatred. In the Hercules episode Armageddon Now 1
& 2, we learn more about Callisto. She is the daughter of
Arleia and Penkos, who had tried to buy their safety by paying
Darphus, but to no avail. In A Necessary Evil, Callisto
speaks of her mother and sister being her whole family though.
She reappeared in Return of Callisto
where her intention to cause Xena the most pain results in
tragedy for Gabrielle. She also appeared in the episodes Intimate Stranger where she swaps
bodies with Xena, Ten Little Warlords
with Xena trapped in Callisto's body, and Necessary Evil where she becomes
a goddess. The character also appeared in an episode of
Hercules:The Legendary Journeys called Surprise, where she
became immortal. She also appeared in one of the best Hercules
episodes, the two part Armageddon Now, where Callisto's
tragic past was crucial to the story. Callisto is completely
ruthless, and more than a little unstable. She has no scruples
about killing, and delights in taunting Xena and Gabrielle.
Callisto appears in at several S3 episodes, Maternal Instincts and the
musical episodeThe Bitter Suite,
and she makes a final return in the two part season finale Sacrifice. She is such a
favourite that another return is on the cards for future episodes
however.
Hudson Leick (rhymes with 'like') has appeared in a number of US
tv shows, and sometimes goes by the name Heidi(!) Apparently she
changed it because she thought Heidi Leick sounded like a porn
star! It was also her granny's name. She is a natural brunette.
Her portrayal of Callisto has been a big hit as her gleeful
antics make her a dangerous opponent for Xena. Her character is
another reminder to Xena that her crimes continue to haunt her.
Hudson expressed her dislike of playing Xena in the episode Ten Little Warlords, as it was dull
playing the good girl apparently, and trying to imitate Lucy was
not much fun for her. She has appeared in several tv movies and
as an angel in Touched by an Angel! One of Hudson's more
memorable roles was as producer Liz Friedman in the Hercules
episodes Yes Virginia there is a Hercules and For
those of you Just Joining us. You can't keep a good baddie down and Hudson returns again in series 4 and 5 of Xena.
Hudson Leick's
Official fan club is one of many pages out there
The
Temple of Callisto
Hercules is played by Kevin Sorbo. He is the son of
Zeus, and is a demi-god. He met Xena in Warrior
Princess when she wanted to kill him. In The Gauntlet Hercules met Xena again
and after a fight, refuses to kill her.His actions help Xena to
straighten herself out. The pair became very close in Unchained Heart although Xena realizes
that she must leave to find her own way. Hercules appeard in the
Xena episode Prometheus when
they worked together to free Prometheus for the good of mankind.
While again seeming close, Hercules later married another, and is
accused of her murder. Xena and Gabrielle appeared in the
Hercules episode, Judgement Day. Xena acknowledge that they are
long past the time when they could have been together, but helps
Hercules to clear his name.
Hercules the tv movies and tv series was the first venture into
this field by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert. Xena:Warrior Princess
would not have made it to the screen without the series' success.
The two shows are filmed in New Zealand, and many of the
producers work on both shows, but there are rarely crossovers.
Xena is a darker show, while Hercules is much more the almost
too-good-to-be-true hero than Xena ever could be.
Kevin Sorbo is from Minnesota and recently married actress Sam
Jenkins who played Serena, who Hercules married last season.
After suffering an aneurism in his shoulder last year, he is now
recovered and filmed the final episodes of Hercules recently. Kevin is said to be teaming up with Majel Roddenberry Barrett to work on a new Star Trek tyoe series.
Vicki's
Tribute to Kevin Sorbo is excellent and well worth a look
Kevin
Sorbo's fan club page - now just a link.
Iolaus is Hercules' best friend and sidekick. He is
played by Michael Hurst. Iolaus was the target of Xena's
attention in Warrior Princess.
Xena's plan was to tempt Hercules into a fight with Iolaus and
that Hercules would kill his friend and be so remorseful that
Xena would be able to kill him. Iolaus often has an eye for a
pretty girl, and was taken in by Xena completely. He was highly
suspicious when Xena returned to team up with Hercules in Unchained Heart and relations were
very uneasy until Xena saved his life in battle. He returned with
Hercules in Prometheus, and
seemed to be developing a close friendship with Gabrielle. He
arrived to help Gabrielle after she was attacked in The Quest and provided comfort and
support for a grief stricken Gabrielle.
English born but New Zealand based actor Michael Hurst has acted
in the theatre quite extensively, and recently brought his
directorial talents to both Hercules and Xena. He directed A Day in the Life a very popular and
funny episode, and A Tale of Two Muses
in series four. Michael also plays the role of Charon, the grumpy
boatman of the River Styx, with LOTS of make up! He is married to
actress Jennifer Ward Lealand, who appears as Boudicca in series
3's The Deliverer. He sings
and has done stunt coordinating aswell.
Michael had an eventful S5 of Hercules with big things happening
for Iolaus...
A
very nice Michael Hurst page with lots of links
Twanky's
Twittling Web Shrine- for fans of "..And Fancy Free"
and the Widow Twanky!
Vicki's
Tribute to Kevin Sorbo has info on Michael Hurst too
Joxer, the fumbling wannabe warrior is played by Ted
Raimi. Joxer first appeared in Callisto
and was soundly beaten by Gabrielle, who he was supposed to be
kidnapping. However, his attempts to be a nasty warrior fail
because of his good heart. He appears frequently in the series
two episodes Girls Just Wanna have
Fun, Return of Callisto, Warrior..Princess..Tramp, Intimate Stranger, Ten Little Warlords, For Him the Bell Tolls, and A Comedy of Eros. Ted Raimi was also
in The Xena Scrolls as an
Inspector Clouseau type French policeman, and as himself in a
present day segment.
Joxer is a comedy character, notable for his ridiculous armour
and his annoying ways. He has a theme song- Joxer the Mighty, and
while he has a fling with the Xena look alike Meg in Warrior
Princess Tramp, he falls for Gabrielle in Comedy of Eros, and his
love for Gabrielle is carried on through season three and four.
Ted Raimi is the younger brother of producer Sam Raimi (whoever
muttered nepotism, just stop it!) and has appeared in a number of
his brother's film projects. Ted continues to appear regularly in
series four and five. He had a recurring role in the dismal
undersea adventure series Seaquest dsv, and is a REALLY nice guy!
The XOR links page for Ted has loads of them!
Club Ted, the official Fan Club page is not bad
Robert Trebor plays the salesman and entrepeneur
Salmoneus in both Hercules and Xena. Salmoneus was already an
established guest character on Hercules before meeting Xena in The Gauntlet. Xena took a liking to
him, and Salmoneus is on Xena's side after she is thrown out by
her army. He also appeared in Unchained
Heart, although Salmoneus has a difficult time after being
trapped in a rockslide. He has appeared in three Xena episodes;The Black Wolf where he gets
thrown into a cell with Xena after grabbing Gabrielle's tomatoes,
The Greater Good is one of
the best episodes, and we see Salmoneus in full sales mode, as
well as a very touching scene after Xena apparently dies.
Salmoneus sends for Xena's help in Here
She Comes..Miss Amphipolis when someone tries to sabotage a
Miss Known World beauty pageant he is organizing.
Salmoneus is always looking for business opportunities and
marketing ploys, but he is essentially a very honourable
character. He has appeared in many more Hercules episodes, also
appearing with Lucy Lawless in As Darkness Falls, and The Outcast
when Lucy played Lyla the centaur's wife.
I love Salmoneus- he is my favourite guest star. Robert Trebor
has great comic timing and always livens things up. His scenes
with Xena in The Gauntlet showed for the first time that Xena had
a good side. The hilarious theme song he invents for her was
apparently Robert Trebor's own improvisation.(Read this very interesting interview with
Robert Trebor where he discussed this and other aspects of
Hercules and Xena)
Robert Trebor appeared in the tv movie Hercules and the Lost
Kingdom with Renee O'Connor, and kept in touch with the
producers. He has appeared in a variety of stage and tv roles. He
showed off his fine singing voice in Miss Amphipolis
Scandalously, Robert Trebor was not signed for any S3 episodes!
However he is set to return for an appearance in series four
episode Deja Vu All Over Again.
He has been involved with writing a story for the Xena comics.
A very
nice fan page for Robert Trebor
Blackmonk's
Salmoneus Page isn't bad either
Kevin Smith plays Ares, the god of war. He first
appeared in The Reckoning
where he tried to tempt Xena to join with him again by framing
her for murder, and hoping she would refuse to take the blame. He
made an immediate impact as the seductively dangerous Ares-
complete with devilish gleam in his eye and a bearded ruggish
charm. He returned in Ties That
Bind where he disguised himself as Xena's father, and almost
succeeded in turning her. In the second series, Ares appeared in
three more episodes;Intimate
Stranger where he aids Callisto in her body swap with Xena, Ten Little Warlords, where Ares has
lost his godhood and Xena must help find his sword to restore his
powers. Ares also was in The
Xena Scrolls where he was accidentally released from
captivity by Mel and Janice after Xena had at some point trapped
him for eternity.
Ares is the most dangerous of the gods to appear in the
Xenaverse. He loved bloodlust and battles and is a constant
trouble to Xena. After Xena helped him in Ten Little Warlords,
they seemed to develop an understanding, but Ares will always be
a threat to Xena.
Ares appeared frequently during Series 3, in episodes including
the opener The Furies,
which was a hold over from series 2. He is BRILLIANT in The Bitter Suite and demonstrates a
lovely deep singing voice. A lighter side to Ares was seen in The Quill is Mightier, but he was
back to dastardly bad ways in Sacrifice.
He only appeared in one episode in series four, as he is
apparently filming a lot of the Young Hercules series. Shame. Although he is back in S5.
Kevin Smith is a former rugby player who turned to acting after a
bad injury. Another Kiwi, he also appears in Hercules both as
Ares, but also as Hercules' half brother Iphicles, where he is
not quite so dashing! It is quite funny that Iphicles and
Hercules share a mother, Alcmene, and Ares and Hercules share a
father, Zeus! Kevin is married with two children -darn!
Kevin
Smith Online is an excellent starting point
Quite nice
fan page for Kevin Smith
Kevin
Smith's Official fan club page
Yet another Kevin
Smith web site- popular guy!
Bruce Campbell plays Autolycus, the self styled King
of Thieves. Autolycus has appeared in just a few Xena episodes,
but he and especially actor Bruce Campbell are fan favourites.
Autolycus first appeared in the H:TLJ episode, The King of
Thieves, then in Xena, he appeared in The Royal Couple of Thieves where
he and Xena team up to get a valuble object back. They make a
great team, as Autolycus forces Xena to act as his concubine and
do a bit of dancing! When Xena needed someone to steal ambrosia
to restore her to life in The Quest,
Autolycus was the body she entered. He helped Xena and Gabrielle
a lot, and got to do Xena's fighting tricks. This story line was
to deal with Lucy Lawless' accident, and naturally, the first
actor Raimi and Tapert turned to was their friend Campbell.
Bruce Campbell has been associated with Sam Raimi and Robert
Tapert for years. They are old high school friends and most of
Raimi's projects have involved Campbell, notably the Evil Dead
films, including the most recent, Army of Darkness. Campbell has
appeared in many tv and film roles, including The Adventures of
Brisco County Jr. He directed and appeared in King of Assassins, an episode
featuring two Joxers. Kevin Sorbo's recent injury meant Autloycus
was on Hercules quite a bit, and he had two further Xena
episodes, Tsunami and Vanishing Act.. Bruce is directing
and appearing in more series four episodes, Key to the Kingdom (as director and
star) and A Tale of two Muses and Takes One to Know One as an actor
only.
Very slick Bruce Campbell
site- and REAL Bruce imput
Danielle Cormack plays the Amazon, Ephiny. She was
initially hostile to Xena and Gabrielle when we first met her in Hooves and Harlots. She is
suspicious of Xena and has doubts about Gabrielle as an Amazon
princess. By the end of that episode she has become a valuble
friend and ally, and it is Ephiny who gives Gabrielle her
fighting staff. She turned up in Is
there a Doctor in the House? the series one finale, pregnant
and alone after her centaur husband Phantes is killed. Xena
delivers her baby in amongst the chaos. She appears in two series
two episodes, the second and third episodes on the trilogy
dealing with Xena's death and Gabrielle's ascent to the Amazon
throne. In The Quest, Ephiny
persuades Gabrielle to stay with them and take over the queen's
mask, thereby involving her in Amazon politics. She helps
Gabrielle and clearly shows her alliegance to her against
Velasca. In A Necessary Evil,
Gabrielle is about to hand over the queen's mask to Ephiny when
Velasca appears to spoil the party. Ephiny is the most visable
Amazon in the series. She is a good friend to Gabrielle and Xena.
Actress Danielle Cormack recently appeared on Hercules for the
first time as a French revolutionary heroine. She got to have fun
and do a bit of sword fighting.
Another native New Zealander, Danielle Cormack recently had a
baby, and starred in a low budget NZ film called Topless Women
Talk About Their Lives, than got a showing at Cannes, but
isn't what it sounds like! It's about a group of friends and
their experiences, in which Danielle plays a pregnant lady. She
appeared in some NZ soaps named Gloss and Shorland
Street, and the glossy High Tide, that Kevin Smith and
Lucy Lawless also popped up in.
Ephiny appears with her son Xenan in a S4 Hercules episode
where Herc meets some nasty Amazons, and Ephiny is the one nice
one. She also plays a part in the S3 Xena episode Maternal Instincts. She returns
briefly and tragically in series four in the episode Endgame.
Check out a great Danielle Cormack
interview in Whoosh#12
A new
Official fan club page for Danielle Cormack that looks promising
This is
about the only other link I have. Looks wonderful, info sketchy
Now what do you notice about these two?
They are the god of love, Cupid who appears in For Him the Bell Tolls and A Comedy of Eros, and Julius Caesar,
who double crossed and crucified Xena in Destiny. They are both played by
actor Karl Urban, who first appeared as another baddie in Altared States where he played
the wicked brother Mael. Clearly a favourite with the producers,
Cupid has also appeared in Hercules. Caesar returns in the series
3 episodes The Deliverer and When in Rome. Caesar returns again in S4
in several episode including the ominous Ides of March - remember your history
and that date? Watch your back Caesar! Karl Urban is also
supposed to be involved with the new Renaissance production,
Amazon High.
Caesar's
Palace-very good Karl Urban Site
Krikets
Cupid Page is quite nice
The
Shrine of the Urbanites is a prety cool site
Draco is one of my favourite baddies, even though he
has only appeared twice. He appeared in the very first XWP
episode, Sins of the Past, and
also in the series two finale, A
Comedy of Eros. In both of these Draco proved to be a much
stronger character than the vast majority of the villains of the
week. He has similar skills to Xena. Draco is, of course, a
warlord, but he seems more honourable than most, even if he does
attack Xena's village. The implications are that Xena and Draco
shared a THING in the past. In Comedy of Eros, he becomes
infatuated with Gabrielle, and his idea of refoming himself is
quite amusing.
Draco is played by Kiwi actor Jay Laga'aia. Apart from the fact
he is very nicely built, I don't know much about him though. He
can be seen in the Aussie crime series Water Rats, and apparently
used to be a presenter on a NZ kids show!
Draco is due to return in S5 in a musical episode....
Alexandra Tydings plays the goddess of love,
Aphrodite, and is a very popular character, particularly amongst
the men! This surfer chick goddess first appeared in Hercules:TLJ
episode, The Apple, and crossed over to the Xenaverse in For Him the Bell Tolls. Mother of
Cupid- although she looks younger, but hey, they are gods!-
Aphrodite returns again in Series Three's The
Quill is Mightier and the hilarious Fins,
Femmes and Gems.
Alexandra Tydings is an American actress and former dancer- she
visited the UK to compete as an Irish dancer representing the
USA! Imagine Aphrodite doing the Riverdance! She remains a
popular recurring actress on Xena and Hercules. See if you can
spot her tattoos in the very funny S4 ep, If the Shoe Fits.
Konus'
Shrine to Aphrodite is worth a look
This
Aphrodite Gallery has lots of pictures
A facinating
interview with AT on the Whosh website
Jaqueline Kim appeared as Lao Ma in just two
episodes, The Debt I and II, but
made a very strong impression as Xena's former mentor in Chin.
Lao Ma saved Xena's life, and also her soul she says, as she
taught her that there was more to life than violence. She had
special powers which Xena almost managed to master.
Rumours of her return are eagerly anticipated by us Lao Ma fans!
American actress Kim is chiefly remembered as Mr Sulu's daughter
in the Star Trek:Generations movie. She also appeared in the
recent film Volcano with Tommy Lee Jones.
A
new and fairly brief Jacqueline Kim page
This Whoosh
interview with JK is worth reading
Borias is the father of Xena's son Solon. We first
heard of him in the S2 opener Orphan of War where we learnt he
was a friend of the centaurs and had turned on Xena before being
killed by one of her men. The brilliant two part story The Debt introduced him as played by
Marton Csokas. These flashback sequences showed us a feral Xena
and a cunning Borias. In Adventures in
the Sin Trade we saw a softening in Borias and he made his
(presumably) last appearance in Past
Imperfect. A facinating character with a dodgy accent.
Another native Kiwi, Marton Csokas has appeared in Hercules
episodes and memorbly also played Khrafstar, who led Gabrielle to
lose her blood innocence in The
Deliverer. A charismatic actor who certainly made a strong
impression on me.
Find out more at Nyx's Shrine to Marton Csokas
Alti, the evil shamaness, first appeared in Adventures in the Sin Trade, where
Xena fell under her spell. She returned in Between the Lines where Xena and
Gabrielle had to defeat her in the future. She is responsible for
the crucifixion vision that has recurred through series four.
6 foot plus Claire Stansfield has appeared in many film and tv
roles. She made in instantly memorable villain.
Claire Stansfield's own web site is pretty great!
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