Before becoming a world-famous stunt performer and stunt coordinator,Zoë Bellkickstarted her career inXena: Warrior Princess. For three seasons, Bell served as body double for none other thanLucy Lawless(Spartacus: House of Ashur) herself, meaning that a lot of us had contact with her early work without even realizing it. During an interview with Collider, Bell talked about her experience on set and revealed the moment in the series in which she felt her life was changed.
At Fantastic Fest where she was celebrating the 10th anniversary ofRaze, Bell talked to Collider’sPerri Nemiroffabout herevolution in the stunt departmentand how she learned tonavigate through Hollywood projectswith both exorbitant and tiny budgets — as well as how this impacts the stunts in a movie. But all of that experience was only possible after she saw herself onscreen inXena: Warrior Princessand realized something important:
“[T]he first time I saw an episode, which was probably a year after I’d been doubling her [Lucy Lawless] because we were a year behind. So I was watching some of it, and I remember being like [gasps]. And it wasn’t just about me. I was like, ‘Look at that cool shit I’m doing and look at what everyone else is doing so that now I’m Xena. It’s not Zoë in the Xena outfit. We are doing this thing together!’ I understood what I was offering as a team member and I really appreciated it.”
Bell’s Action-Packed Career
AfterXena, Bell went on to participate on some huge projects, most notablyQuentin Tarantinoprojects. She was the stunt double forUma ThurmaninKill Billand then had her breakout acting role inDeath Proof. Over the last couple of decades, Bell has starred and worked in the stunts of several projects, includingMalignant,Lost, andThor: Ragnarok.
In 2013, Bell added the producer hat to her roster withRaze. Also during the interview, she revealed thatthe movie was a game-changerin terms of how she approached a story and started to factor in elements she never really considered before. She stated “Razefor me was like, ‘I’m telling stories. It’s important to me how this is perceived. Not because I want people to think it’s good or bad, but I want people to feel stuff, and I have an opinion, andI now have a voice for the first time,’ and Ilovedit.”
you’re able to streamXena: Warrior Princesson Prime Video. Stay tuned at Collider for the rest of Nemiroff’s conversation with Bell.
Xena: Warrior Princess
watch on prime video
