An Open Letter to Hudson Leik
About Her Acting on XENA
or:
Chewing Scenery, With Subtlety

Dear Ms. Leik,

Having read a number of interviews you've given, I've found much in your remarks on your acting with which I agree. Your finest moment on XENA was indeed "A Necessary Evil", in which Callisto became a goddess; in particular, her reaction to Xena's public confession and the campfire scene with Gabby demonstrated beautifully the range of mood you can portray compellingly. But it distresses me to read that you don't feel good about the job you did playing Xena earlier.

I confess that the basis of my admiration is less than pure. I first saw you on HERCULES while channel-surfing; for once, something   kept me tuned in 'til the end. I rarely sat through an episode of XENA until breaking up with a young lady who looked a bit like you - and was crazier than Callisto. Episodes airing in following months often featured Callisto and I couldn't resist. I ended up a fan. But as a struggling actor who cares about his craft, I could only stare so long without seeing past your pleasing appearance to what wonderful work you were doing.

I know being good-looking rarely hurts in any endeavor, least of all entertainment. It certainly has as much to do with the staggering number of photo-oriented web sites you've inspired as the quality of your work. Pleasure in looking at you is surely what attracted my attention, but admiration of your considerable acting talent is what drove me to write. I figure this is as good a way as any to try to reach a celebrity's ear.

This entire website exists because I wanted to say something to you about your portrayal of Xena. In "Ten Little Warlords" there's a shipboard scene when a burly warlord accosts Xena, in Callisto's body impersonating Callisto. You hissed in the man's face, driving him away. I thought, for a split-second and not in so many words, "Good show, Xena; that's exactly like Callisto." Then I felt stupid for a second. My enjoyment of any episode varies wildly with a number of factors, but due to the total lack of internal logic I never invest in the reality of the show. Even in a moment when I was paying a great deal more attention because it was you on-screen, you made me forget that it was you playing Xena. You made me buy into the illusion on a show that inherently breaks the illusion. It was no revelation that you're a good actress, but that was when I knew you're a great one. I can't help but greet your reservations about the job you did with dismay.

I've seen many shows on PBS with British actors portraying Americans badly; I'm impressed by New Zealanders who can adopt American accents that fool me. How much more difficult for a woman from Ohio to nail the very subtle differences in assuming the generic American accent Lucy uses? I saw most of the rerun of "Intimate Strangers" after the subsequent "Ten Little Warlords", and the quality of your first turn as Xena only bolsters my awe of your virtuosity in the second. Having already seen you nail Xena with a week's practice, I could detect only slight imperfections. Your adoption of accent was 90% perfect compared to the next episode's 100. Some of your line readings had a Callisto-like lilt. It was still a fine job of incorporating subtle factors into your performance. When I originally tuned in late, in time for the last segment, your voice had Xena's inflections, accent, and attitude down so well that I asked someone if it was dubbed. The difference a week made, from the rest of the picture when I saw it later, was small but marked. There's no reason to feel bad about starting good and ending perfect. It was a tough gig.

Your work as Callisto is always superlative. I perform in renaissance fairs for a living, doing all-day improv in difficult circumstances for getting the audience's attention, so I know something about over-the-top, bigger-than-life acting. Frankly, it isn't the energy with which you chew scenery that impresses me, though you do it delightfully. While not everyone can do bigger-than-life, all it really takes is the guts to commit, which you clearly have in spades. That's why we actors love to play a black-hat villain; it's fun to get into. What impresses me more is the success with which you SELL Callisto's insane passions. You're hardly the only guest star on XENA to give an over-the-top part the reading it deserves, but most of the others don't ring true. That's probably why you and Kevin Smith are nearly alone as guests in frequent recurring non-comedic roles. The few others return because a story demands it; you two get episodes written around your characters. Others who could have plugged into the overall meaning of Xena's story come and go, while Callisto and Ares have become essential to the saga, because the actors who play them are so damn good.

It's no coincidence that your episodes are better written. After your first turn as Callisto, when you gave a great interpretation of one of the writers' better ideas, how could they help but have an easy time picturing her? From the beginning you WERE Callisto, sprung full-grown from the head of Zeus, fully armed and armored, flashing-eyed. (Yes, that was Athena, and Callisto was a nymph in the retinue of Artemis who was turned into a bear for dallying with Zeus; why should I be the only one who gets the mythology right?) Elsewhere on this site is an analysis of XENA's themes which I'm proud of. Half the credit for the meaning I found lies with you, the one who made it work; who made it real. You bring out the best in your coworkers; you took a guest shot on a piece of ultra-escapist showbiz and turned every appearance into, at worst, top-drawer melodrama, and often, high art. Pardon me, but SCREW Hamlet!

So Callisto surely screamed with the best of them. Her battle cry itself was was a fine piece of acting. In comparison to Xena's elaborate tongue-tripping trill, Callisto's battle cry was a raw, formless, unrestrained scream, full of the agony and rage of a child who never grew up. The contrast was a perfect reflection of Xena's thesis and Callisto's antithesis. A lovely non-verbal moment came in a tussle with Dahak's henchmen - Callisto enjoyed throwing fireballs around so much she got carried away. You were smiling, cocking your hips, doing everything but jumping with glee. It conveyed her malice and childishness at the same time; it was also cute and funny, in a horrible way. One could imagine a young Callisto in the Kymer Rouge. And all this emoting came without benefit of fireballs to be added later by CGI. It gave us Callisto in a nutshell. That's quite multi-leveled, subtle stuff you worked in as you were blowing the screen off the TV.

Though I enjoy Callisto's flamboyance, it was how you handled the low-key stuff that floored me. Again, loud takes mostly the guts to commit; it's quiet that's hard.  In the aforementioned "A Necessary Evil", during Xena's coerced public confession, you went nearly an entire segment with no lines, acting your heart out. Callisto, clearly in turmoil, takes it in, not stomping, clenching her fists, crying, exulting, turning purple, or anything obvious. Quietly, she looks on, not quite blank. I'd be unsurprised if the script said little more than "Callisto reacts" and you took it from there. In the ensuing fireside chat with Gabby, she was breezy, matter-of-fact, as interested in sharpening her weapon as talking. Very real. She answers questions about her primal feelings like she was talking about shopping. Then she saw an opportunity to torment Gabby and lit up; what a bitch. The scene was just perfect on every level.

Then there's when she'd caused the death of Xena's son; her head thrown back, she listened to Xena's cry of anguish - It was what she'd devoted her life to - But disappointment was growing on her face. On a show with all the subtlety of Jim Carey's comedy, you often managed to work in fine-grained craftsmanship without even seeming out of place. You'd gained the respect of the producers enough to be allowed long wordless reaction shots, and see them make it on the air. The shots worked. In Callisto's last appearance, she's begging Xena to let her help against Dahak in return for an end to her empty existence. It reminded me of the cartoon with a capering, hyperkinetic little dog begging the stolidly marching bulldog, "How 'bout it Butch? Can I go? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Callisto tries to play it off jokingly, but her desperation shines. At her death, her last act is to, oh so gently, touch Xena's face as she crumples. Wow; this is heavy, complicated stuff you carried off. I can't slobber fast enough to praise you adequately.

Your appearances as Liz Friedman on HERCULES showed something else; you're funny. We've known that since your second time as Callisto, when after freeing herself, she said to the jailer she'd threatened to spit like a pig, "Here piggy, piggy, piggy." There's when Ares said "Someone needs a pounding." And you said "I thought you'd never notice." We saw it again when she escaped an interdimensional portal to find a pig nearby; "Go away." 'Tis a pity she didn't escape confinement more often, and that her story arc didn't leave room for light moments. I'd like to see you mix in more humor; I have some ideas.

I hope if this reaches you, you'll also get a chance to peruse the critical analysis that I've included elsewhere on this website, of meaning in XENA as it relates to your character. I think the piece is complementary to this one; I even go on to speculate about possible future directions, strange as that may seem with a dead character who's run her course. Some of it's also funny. In more recent interviews, you've mentioned loosing interest in playing Callisto; I think you'll find ideas that increase her depth, could make her new and fun to portray again, and give her completed storyline a fresh start without ruining her unique qualities. You'll see.

I hope this finds you well, and that you'll be on-screen often in the future. I know you were paid for the work I've discussed, but not by me; so thank you for the hours of delight you've provided. Take care, and write back soon.

Best Wishes,

Jack Shaver