Claire Stansfield (Alti)

I'd been forewarned from people who had seen Claire Stansfield at San Francisco that she looks nothing like Alti. Wow, were they right. Claire is tall, statuesque, young, and gorgeous. And today, was wearing a lot less than Alti usually wore - black leather pants (apparently the fashion choice of the weekend) and a button-down shirt that she took quite literally - it was buttoned way down. Just to make sure everyone knew who she was, she greeted the crowd with a raspy, hunched-over "I'm... Alti," but then switched into her regular, everyday, talk-on-the-phone voice and started having a ball with the audience.

Claire originally auditioned for the role of Morrigan for Hercules, but didn't get the part. Then they sent her the script for Sin Trade and only told her that there was a role they wanted her to play. She read the script and bypassed the described "old hag, bag of bones" Alti and instead reached the description of Cyane, Queen of the Amazons, and figured, "Yeah!" Whoops!

Alti's dark and demonic voice was Claire's brainchild. She was a bit timid with it at first, but after the first take or two, said that Lucy came to her and told her "Claire, just own it. Be this person," and after that she threw herself into the character full-tilt.

Claire had nothing but praise for Renaissance Pictures and their portrayals of women. She described how tough it is to get work as a 6'1" woman, but said that Renaissance loves that, and wants all the women they can get to be played bigger, better, louder, and deeper. The crowd, of course, gave their hearty approval.

The flying battle between Alti and Xena was quite an adventure. They were rigged up on harnesses, and according to Claire, Lucy was screaming and loving it, so she decided she'd best go all out for it. As she put it, "When Lucy Lawless comes at you screaming, you better have a comeback for it." She said those flying sequences were probably the most fun she's had on the show so far.

Alti seems to be in place to be the next major villain for the show, and Claire spoke a couple of times about the idea of picking up where Callisto left off. She described watching the episode Callisto, and coming to the immediate conclusion "Damn, that girl is hot. I have big boots to fill!"

Marton Csokas (Borias) is a very physical actor - Claire described being thrown into a table when Borias "threw" Alti out of his yurt.

Claire got to go to the World Cup golf tournament with Lucy Lawless, who was handing over the trophy at the event. In order to get them in together, Lucy had to introduce Claire as her "golfing partner," even though neither of them had much clue at all about golf. Claire described being asked "What clubs do use?" and pulling out the name of some clubs she had seen once before, much to Lucy's relief.

The ritual dance that Alti used to call spirits was brought up during questions. Claire complained that Lucy had a bunch of young amazons to dance with her for her spirit dance, while Claire had an empty sound stage, 50 watching crew members, and special effect spirits that she couldn't see. The choreographer was suggesting some Flashdance-y types of hand gestures, but after a good deal of stage fright, Claire took her cues from a television special she had just seen about a South American spirit dancer, and was very relieved when it was all done.

In the upcoming episodes, Alti has to actually fight (not just fly!), and she described how tough it is to remember all that complex fight choreography and still sell the fight movements. She credited the stunt guys for going flying when she would barely touch them ("they even flip in rehearsal!"), but she was taken totally aback at the first take when they started screaming at her - aaahhh! She finally remembered to make her moves, not flinch when they scream, sell the hits, and look like she's enjoying wiping out 7-10 guys in one fell swoop.

Claire gave a fabulous mini-speech when she was asked how her height compares to Lucy and Renee's. (When the question was asked, most people chuckled at the thought of comparing 6'1" Claire to 5'3" Renee.) She confirmed that she's about three or four inches taller than Lucy, "But she stands so goddamn tall and proud!" that it's hardly noticeable. (Claire, by the way, was not shy about salty language in the slightest.) She said that Renee is tiny in size compared to her and Lucy, but said that you'd never know it from the focused, intense attitude that Renee carries herself with. Claire described herself shrinking next to Renee's carriage.

Claire closed her presentation by thanking the crowd - "I was so nervous and you guys made me feel so good." It was a sweet touch from someone who had already charmed the whole auditorium.

Spoiler Time!
(Big time spoilers! If you don't want to be spoiled, this part of the report is done, g'wan back!)

We are far from seeing the last of Alti. She died, but that doesn't stop a death shaman very easily. She'll be back... and back... and back. She appears next in the episode Between the Lines where, she said, she's "so evil it almost scared me." The episode will deal with reincarnation and the past and future lives of all the characters. And... ready for this?... Claire said she "does a little hairdressing... not my own." Guess who's to blame for Gabrielle's new short tresses?

Claire said that death - and death again - won't stop Alti. She's currently signed for three more Xena episodes and may be back for more. One of those upcoming episodes might be the season finale, although she wasn't sure of that.

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