Xena: Warrior Nutballs

Interview #19: Sandi Ranyer! Xena's Riding Double and Horse Wrangler 🐎🌟

This week Lou and Shell are joined by the amazing Kiwi, Sandi Rayner 🐎🌟 We talk about her time as riding double for Lucy Lawless and Horse Wrangler on Xena: Warrior Princess.
 
Before CGI, before green screens, and before technology could solve every problem, there were talented people like Sandi behind the scenes working with incredible horses, and a whole lot of Kiwi ingenuity to bring us Xena! 🐴⚔️💪✨
 
In fact, Sandi is the very first Xena we see in the series 👀⚔️, riding Argo across our screens in full leathers before we ever lay eyes on Lucy Lawless!🖤 
 
She talks about the enormous generosity of Lucy Lawless who personally paid for Tilly, her main riding horse in the show, and gave her to Sandi, to ensure Tilly had the best life, living out her days after the show with Sandi. 💖  
 
This kōrero is a celebration of Kiwi hard yakka, creativity, and the can-do attitude that made the impossible possible 🛠️✨💪. Expect horses 🐴🐴🐴, stunts 🤯⚔️, laughs 😆, and plenty of appreciation for the incredible whānau who helped create the Xena-verse 🌍⚔️❤️.
 
➡️ Follow and support Sandi’s work caring for animals in Aotearoa New Zealand: https://www.facebook.com/LittleVillageSanctuary/ 
 
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Interview #18 Joel Tobeck! Deimos and Lucifer 😈🔥🤪

This week Lou and Shell are joined by the wildly talented Joel Tobeck, yes whānau, that chaos gremlin you love to hate (but MAINLY love) 😈🔥🤪👺
 
You’ll know him as Deimos and Lucifer in Xena: Warrior Princess, but he’s known in the wider Xena-verse as Strife from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Young Hercules, serving pure foolishness with a smirk 😏😉
 
Xenites might even recognise him from the Aotearoa short film 1996 “Peach” where he starred alongside Lucy Lawless - OG’s we’re looooooking at you here! 🍑 Link below ⬇️
 
But at the heart of this episode is something really special, Joel kōrero’s (talks) about his close friendship with the late, great Kevin Smith, AKA Ares🖤⚔️ sharing personal stories, behind-the-scenes memories, and the kind of moments that remind you just how much love and camaraderie lived within the Xenaverse whānau 🫶
 
AND! Lou fizzes over as she gets to talk about his time acting in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King turn as Guritz, that deeply unsettling orc 👀🗡️💍🧝🧙⛰️
 
It’s wholesome and heartfelt 🥹 but of course with our usual unapologetic fan girl glee!!
 
Enjoy Nutballs, this is a goodie.  
 
Show notes:
 
📸 Follow Joel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joeltobeck/ 
 
📺Watch “Peach” on NZ on Screen: https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/peach-1995 
 
🎙️Editing of interview by Michael Allan
 
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Interview #17: Danielle Cormack! Ephiny - Queen of the Amazons 👑⚔️🐴

*Coo! Coo! Amazons, attack!* This week Lou and Shell welcome the incredible Danielle Cormack into the whānau! The Kiwi legend who brought the stoic, fiercely loyal, and beloved Amazon Queen Ephiny to life 👑⚔️🐴 
 
Long before she became television royalty as Bea Smith in Wentworth, Danielle was ruling over the Amazon’s in Xena: Warrior Princess. In this kōrero, we talk about the REAL stuff - giving birth to centaurs 🤰🐎, arrows piercing boobs 🏹🍈🍈, and what it's like to see Lucy Lawless fully suited up as Xena 🤔
 
Her reaction? 
 
"HOT!"🔥 
 
From behind-the-scenes stories to reflections on a career which has made her a true Kiwi icon and how her time on Xena: Warrior Princess had a hand in this. 
 
This conversation is everything Danielle is herself: warm, generous, funny, and full of aroha.
 
Trust us you won't want to miss this one. ❤️⚔️🌿
 
📸 Follow Danielle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_daniellecormack_/ 
 
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Interview #16: Jay Laga'aia! Draco 🖤🎸🔥

This week Lou and Shell are catching up with the number one warlord, King of the Horde - Jay Laga’aia AKA the delightfully dark Draco! 🎶 😏⚔️
 
Jay, the iconic Kiwi-Aussie, takes us right back to “Sins of the Past” (S01E01), sharing what it was like stepping into the Xenaverse as the very first villain, including the very moment he saw Lucy Lawless in full Xena glory and knew this show was something special 😳🖤
 
We get a behind-the-scenes story from “A Comedy of Eros” (S02E22) 💋🏹 about an unfortunate fake beard and kiss situation 🤣 and we revisit his memories of “Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire” (S5E10) 🎸🔥 where Jay gives that iconic heavy metal mash up of “Always Something There to Remind Me”⚡🎶🖤
 
This one is FULL of Xenaverse magic - just the way we like it ⚔️🖤✨
 
Follow Jay Laga’aia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaylagaaia/
 
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Special Guest Side Quest: MaryD! Webmaster at AUSXIP 🌐📜🪶

*Lou, Shell, and MaryD have entered the 90s AUSXIP chat room*
 
This week we’re diving into the fandom itself with a true OG Xenite - MaryD! The absolute powerhouse behind AUSXIP 💻⚔️ Before socials, before streaming, there was AUSXIP… and MaryD was the Aussie legend running the show.
 
We yarn about the wild west days of the internet and her work creating the 25th anniversary book “Xena: Their Courage Changed Our World” 📜🪶. MaryD’s been doing the mahi (work) keeping us Xenites informed for 30 years, and fundraising hundreds of thousands of dollars through her annual AUSXIP charity auction! We get into the legacy, the chaos, and the aroha (love) for all things Xena 💪💜. 
 
MaryD is Xena-verse icon - we ADORE her! 😌🔥
 
Wanna keep up with MaryD and all things Xena? Too easy:
🌐 AUSXIP: https://www.ausxip.com 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AUSXIP 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ausxip
 
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Interview #15: Alexandra Tydings! Aphrodite - Goddess of Love 💘✨💋

OMG babes 💖✨ we are, like, SO excited because this week, we’re adding the divine Alexandra Tydings 💘👑 to the whānau!!! Aka Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love from Xena: Warrior Princess 💕 Tubular right?!
 
We go FULL Gaphrodite 💞🌈 yes babe, that kiss 💋💖 diving into Alex’s thoughts, angles, and all the deliciously sapphic vibes 😍💓It’s flirty, fabulous, and totally dripping in looooooooove 💕💅✨
 
…okay stepping out of our valley girl era for a sec, we go on a real journey in this chat - Alex is unbelievably smart and generous, and there’s truly something in here for every Xenite: from the origins of Joxer's theme tune, or working with Alexis Arquette and Kiwi Director Garth Maxwell on “The God You Know” S6E12, to wholesome memories of working with their big bro Ares, AKA Kevin Smith! 💖
 
We welcome the magnificent Goddess of Aroha | Love - Alex Tydings! 
 
Show notes: 
 
Follow Alex on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atydings/ 
 
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Interview #14: Michael Hurst! Iolaus and Director of “A Day in the Life” 💪⚔️💛 + SO MUCH MORE

Golden curls, heroic biceps, and a whole lot of Kiwi charm, this week we’re joined by Aotearoa legend Michael Hurst (ONZM) ✨
 
Xena fans will know Michael across the wider Xenaverse: from his iconic turn as the ever-loyal hero Iolaus in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys 💪⚔️, to popping up in Xena: Warrior Princess as Nigel and the delightfully grumpy ferryman Charon ⛵🔥. But his impact on the show goes far beyond what we see on screen. Michael also stepped behind the camera to direct some truly memorable episodes 🎬.
 
Most famously, he directed the fan-voted favourite “A Day in the Life” (S02E15) 🐟 
 
The beloved episode that gave us fishing, bickering, and peak domestic subtext chaos between Xena  and Gabrielle ⚔️📜💛. 
 
He also helmed unforgettable episodes like “A Tale of Two Muses” (S04E06), “Lifeblood” (S05E16), “Antony & Cleopatra” (S05E18), “Who’s Gurkhan?” (S06E4), and “To Helicon and Back” (S06E15).
 
In this episode we chat about the wild early days of the Kiwi screen industry 🎥, and what it was like helping shape one of the most beloved shows of the ’90s, both in front of the camera and behind it. It’s a joyful kōrero (conversation), full of laughs and stories, with one of the great creative forces of the Xenaverse 🌟.
 
Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raunchy_twyford/ 
 
Keep up with Michael's work: http://michaelhurstnow.com/ 
 
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Interview #13: Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand! Boudica and Zehra 🗡️🤎

In this interview, Lou and Shell find themselves sitting down with one of the biggest legends in Aotearoa’s creative industries: Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand (ONZM, CNZM). 👑🎭
 
The 2020 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year, honoured for her contributions to the arts and advocacy for Te Reo Māori, Jennifer reflects on her time in the Xena-verse.⚔️🥝 
 
She stormed onto our screens as the fierce and formidable Boudica in “The Deliverer” (S3E4) and returned as Zehra in “The Play’s the Thing,” (S4E17) bringing gravitas and razor-sharp wit to every scene. 🛡️🔥
 
We talk about what it meant to bring a real-life warrior woman to life within this bold fantasy world, and her favourite memories working alongside the late great Kevin Smith - Ares 🗡️🖤
 
Regal, grounded, and gloriously sharp - Nutballs, you will understand after listening why we are still in awe. 
 
Follow Jennifer on Instagram: @jen_wl_te_atamira 📸
 
Book tickets to see Jennifer in “Helen Clark in 6 Outfits” 7th to 26th April, Auckland, New Zealand: https://www.atc.co.nz/whats-on/2026-season/helen-clark-in-six-outfits
 
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Interview #12: Rob Tapert! Co-creator, Executive Producer, Director, and Writer 🧠🎬🎣

He’s the co-creator, executive producer, writer, director and yes, an avid fisherman 🎣 - the one and only Rob Tapert (eeeeee!!!!!) joins us for a kōrero/chat about bringing Xena: Warrior Princess to life ⚔️
 
Rob takes us back to the very beginning, what drew him down to Aotearoa New Zealand, the magic of building something wildly ambitious on the other side of the world, and how a scrappy team of Kiwi and Aussie creatives managed to capture that once-in-a-lifetime lightning-in-a-bottle which turned Xena into a global pop culture phenomenon ⚡🌍
 
Yes, we do get him to say the words hard yakka 💪 as he reflects on the creative risks, and the secret ingredients which gave the show its heart, humour, and enduring queer legacy 🏳️‍🌈
 
Plus, in a moment we’ve been holding our breath for, Rob shares a candid and much-anticipated update on where things stand with that reboot script 👀
 
This one is candid, wholesome, and beautifully bittersweet (see what we did there?) and a rare chance to hear directly from the Kiwi-by-choice screen legend himself ❤️
 
Cast a line, Nutballs… this one’s a big catch 🐟✨
 
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Interview #11: Jodie Dorday! Solari 🔑🙄⚔️

This interview we’re joined by the utterly hilarious kiwi Jodie Dorday ✨🎭
 
Xena fans will know Jodie best as Solari, the fierce Amazon warrior from “The Quest” (S2E13) and “A Necessary Evil” (S2E14). Yes, THAT Amazon, the one that serves Bruce Campbell as Autolycus, the kind of stink eye you feel in your bones 🔑☠️ 🤣
 
As a multiple-character actor on Xena: Warrior Princess, Jodie shares what it was really like jumping between roles on set. We dive into what it was like when Lucy Lawless returned for “The Quest” after her injury and the pressures of being a guest actor on a big international show ⚔️📺
 
Jodie is one of those true Kiwi lasses, charming, glamorous and outrageously funny - expect peak Kiwi humour as Jodie reminds us why she’s an absolute scene-stealer on screen and off 💥😂
 
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Show notes:
 
- Jodie will be appearing in Small Town Scandal - here's a wee link for more details!  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTyJ_-SD4PH/?igsh=ZjB1MnY5bjlwYWw0