Is there anything worse than an actress seeking a television audience by deliberately hyping the sex and violence in the show she is promoting?

This is exactly what Lucy Lawless -- who is really Lucy Ryan, an Irish New Zealand actress, is trying to do to try and revive her stalled career. She's essentially been nobody since she played Xena the warrior princes a decade or so ago.

I'm sure she is one of these actresses we will see condemning violence against women and preaching love and acceptance for all living things. Yet, she's not afraid to use blood and gore to try and further her stalled career

“I think a lot of people are going to be shocked and they are going to shut off their televisions,” Lawless told the Boston Herald newspaper breathlessly talking about 'Spartacus, Blood and Sand' her new violence addled cable series.

She says she is afraid-- like hell -- people may turn off the program because of the violence -- but she can live with it -- how noble.

“And I absolutely encourage that because if they’re shocked by the first few episodes, it ain’t going to let up,” she said.

“But for the people who have the stomach for it, this is a bloody good yarn.”

Lawless plays the character of Lucretia, who owns the slave Spartacus played by Andy Whitfield and her husband is played by John Hannah.

And here comes the sex tease.

“Really, I just feel like as long as it’s germane to the scene, it’s not offensive to me,” Lucy said of appearing topless and in explicit sex scenes. “If it is relevant and historically accurate, then artistically it makes sense. People in ancient Rome had completely different relationships to people and their bodies and sexuality and the law and religion.”

Spare me.

Review / Lucy Lawless lets it rip in 'Spartacus' / Click here

Video / Lucy Lawless in 'Spartacus' / Click here