'Open-minded' Lucy Lawless baulks at naked shoots

Lucy Lawless (centre) in 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand'. Photo / Supplied

As eco-warrior or warrior princess, Lucy Lawless has never shied away from a fight.

And now the Spartacus actress has revealed that, had she been around in ancient Greece, she would have displayed some of her TV character Lucretia's vicious traits.

"They say we're only six meals away from being complete animals, anyway," she says. "You'd be fighting over waterholes in many places in the world. No doubt, I would fight you to the death for a bottle of water if [only one] was left."

"I have no need to lie, cheat, steal or murder people in this life. But, I reckon if I lived in that environment, I would figure it out. Those are survival techniques."

Lawless, 43, was speaking to examiner.com during a publicity blitz for Spartacus: Vengeance, a spin-off of the sword-and-sandals hit, which will screen here this year.

The Aucklander also said she didn't care about criticism of the show's explicit sex scenes, or how women were portrayed on the show - but she stopped short of stripping naked.

"Even though I consider myself a modern woman and open-minded, I'm not comfortable doing nude scenes because my genetic makeup is that 'this is something to be protected'," she said.

"I'm not going to have sex with somebody I'm not attracted to, in front of all these people ... I think only trauma in young ages can make you impervious to it, which is a very sad thing."

The American makers of the show have confirmed that a third series will be filmed in New Zealand. But its future has been called into question after the death of the title-role actor Andy Whitfield. Whitfield, who died of cancer in September, has been replaced by Liam McIntyre.