Before Game of Thrones solidified itself as cable TV’s central hub for rampant nudity and random orgies — also well before HBO reversed its stance on flagrant nudity — Starz’s various seasons of Spartacus proudly wore that crown, which was the only thing it was wearing. Series star Lucy Lawless, whose husband Rob Tapert was one of its producers, was among the various stars whose character was occasionally disrobed and in the vicinity of sexualized gatherings, which brings us to her whopper of a BTS anecdote involving background actors.
Lawless portrayed the mischievous Lucretia, the not-entirely loyal wife and eventual widow of John Hannah’s Batiatus across Season 1 (Blood and Sand), the prequelized second season (Gods of the Arena), and the third arc (Vengeance). Among other highlights of her career, she talked about her time on the historical epic while appearing on the Inside of You podcast with host Michael Rosenbaum. After calling the process of filming nude scenes “pretty yucky,” she pointed out that Spartacus cast highly knowledgeable extras for its orgy scenes, saying:
We would have all these extras, and they would get people from what turns out to be the porn capital of New Zealand. So, we would hire all these people who habitually do such things and get them to choreograph their own scenes. Say it’s an orgy scene, right? We would have these young women come in, and we would dress them up in fabulous costumes like you’ve got a long peacock tail, and it’s made with real peacock feathers, etc. Or a tiger or something or other. They looked amazing. But when you have long dresses and things, you’re always stepping on somebody else’s tail.
The beginning of this story seems like Lucy Lawless is speaking purely figuratively, using generalized hypothetical examples. But such ominous warnings like “Don’t step on the orgy extra’s animal tail” is a specific that can only be inspired by real events. And she continued:
I remember someone stepped on the tiger’s tail and she turned around, like — [growls ferociously]. We were like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey. No problem.' We're going, 'We just stitch it back up. It’s a film set. These things happen.’ But she was gonna kill, and I thought, 'That’s an interesting phenomenon. Why did she react like that?' And I realized if you’re in the sex trade and somebody rips off your real-hair ponytail, that costs them a lot of money. She was gonna kill for that.
While it's hard to know how much Spartacus' more libidinous extras were compensated for their on-screen performances, it can easily be assumed that it was never enough that the innate reaction to be protective and guarded went away even on the set. Sure, accidentally stepping on a faux tiger tail may not be the same as yoinking someone's hair, but the survival instinct doesn't differentiate.
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed as it was made clear to all involved that such costumes can be repaired without any actual blood being shed. As Lawless put it:
We had to teach them. It’s OK. There’s no enemies here. No one is gonna hurt you. No one is gonna blame you. We just fix things.
Lucy Lawless has been a fan-favorite cult-leaning actress ever since her mega-breakout role in Xena: Warrior Princess, having gone on to take memorable roles in Battlestar Galactica, Parks and Recreation, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and many more, with her inclusion in Ash vs. Evil Dead’s ensemble as her most recent team-up with filmmaker Sam Raimi and her producer hubby Rob Tapert.
As far as her next efforts go, she’ll soon be seen in the upcoming New Zealand drama Pike River, which centers on the aftermath of the real-world Pike River Mine explosion that killed dozens in 2010. The film also co-stars Black Bird’s Robyn Malcolm and Yellowjackets’ Melanie Lynskey.
A new Spartacus series is on the way at Starz in the form of Spartacus: House of Ashur, with co-creator Steven S. DeKnight returning as showrunner and executive producer. Outlander vet Graham McTavish was cast along with other actors like Tenika Davis, Ivana Baquero, Claudia Black and more joining returning franchise star Nick E. Tarabay. While it will presumably debut at some point on the 2025 TV schedule, it presumably will not co-star Lucy Lawless.
For now, all prior seasons of Spartacus can be viewed with a Starz subscription, though it’s also one of the best shows streaming for free on Tubi, so long as you don’t mind the ads.
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