You’re a few years into My Life Is Murder now. What would you say is the enduring appeal of the premise?
It’s a bright, joyful show. It’s supposed to look like a little jewel box. I always talk about it being a “psychic holiday,” because it’s lighthearted and has a sense of justice that doesn’t seem to exist in the world at the moment. We’re trying to give people an hour a week where they can just zone out — have a nice time with your parasocial friends, and solve some murder together!
Starting with season two, due to COVID, you had to move production from Australia to your old digs in New Zealand. How did that change the show?
I loved Melbourne very much. It’s a very exciting city. But I was quite excited to bring my home to the world, because nobody knows what Auckland is. I got to show New Zealand as sort of a sexy, urban environment — not just The Shire [from Lord of the Rings]. Nothing wrong with The Shire, but it’s not the whole story. We wanted to show a new palette — even to New Zealanders. They’re not used to seeing themselves as a sexy, urban environment. New Zealanders get a weird little kick out of it, because they feel proud of how the city scrubs up on film.
You have a very diverse résumé already. But is there anything you’re still just itching to get a chance to do?
Oh yeah, tons. I met William Hurt at [an event], and I just wanted to stop and sort of worship him for a minute. But I didn’t have time, I had to go on stage. He died a few months later. Just that calibre of actor, it’s my dream to work with somebody like that. I’ve always regretted not being able to meet or work alongside somebody like him that
I so admired growing up . . . Some, I have — I worked with Anthony Quinn on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. He played Zeus, and I got to . . . uhhh . . . inseminate myself using him? [Laughs] He was, like, 82 years old, and his wife was on the side of the set, all head to toe in Versace, tapping her foot impatiently. I was an Amazon lieutenant who basically stole his “goods.” That was my brush with greatness . . .
In those types of moments, do you just step outside yourself and think, “What is this insane job that I have?”
I really do. Sometimes it’s like, Oh my God, I’m on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Or Simpsons. Or here I am in claymation on Celebrity Deathmatch — I brutalized Calista Flockhart. Just nutty stuff. You can’t believe people pay you to do this. But of course, they should and they must!
Do you feel like, whether you’re a “method” actor or not, certain traits of the characters you play kind of bleed into your real life?
Yes, inevitably . . . I remember one time I wanted to go full Xena at a really mean air steward who pushed my baby over, because he was very rambunctious. You can’t keep a one-and-a-half-year-old on your lap for a two- or three-hour flight. They’re going to lose their minds, they’re going to make everybody’s lives miserable. So I let him walk up the aisle and then back, and then back again — and this guy knew he was there and kind of pushed him over from behind. He knew it was my kid and he was just a d***. I didn’t go full Xena, but I wanted to. I wanted to slay him. And I must say, I had fantasies about catching the pickpocket [who stole my phone] the other day, but it didn’t happen. I’m a much better person than that — but Xena’s in there somewhere . . . lurking [laughs].
My Life is Murder, airing Monday, July 15 on Acorn TV
MEMORABLE ROLES:
From 1995-2001, TV fans thrilled to the adventures of an Ancient Greek heroine named Xena — the “warrior princess” out to redeem herself for a lifetime of bloodshed. She was played by New Zealand’s own Lucy Lawless, who later parlayed that iconic star turn into roles in other cultishly adored series like Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus, Parks and Recreation and Ash vs Evil Dead.
CURRENT GIG:
Back on her home turf in Auckland, the actress now plays ex-cop turned private eye Alexa Crowe, who specializes in murders most peculiar. Still reeling from the loss of her brand-new iPhone to a pickpocket just a day earlier, Lawless nonetheless graciously screwed up her courage and chatted with TV Week about season four and her career-at-large.