In her title role of Xena: Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless, portrayed a warrior in a quest to seek redemption for her past sins as a ruthless warlord by using her formidable fighting skills. These days, as a Greenpeace activist, Lawless still has hopes in changing the world.
Last February, Lawless and six other activists climbed a drilling tower on the Arctic-bound vessel Noble Discoverer to protest oil exploration in the Arctic. Another protester helped from the ground, and Lawless spent four days atop the 175-foot drilling tower, camping - and blogging- her experiences, according to the Associated Press.
Due to these actions, Lawless and seven others were each fined about $547 U.S. dollars to a port company and complete 120 hours of community service on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to trespass charges, the Associated Press reported.
Shell Todd Oil Services, which chartered the ship, sought about 650,000 New Zealand dollars - equivalent to $545,000- in reparations from the protesters. The activists' lawyers, contend that the amount was excessive.
"I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous," Lawless said.
She said she was happy to clean toilets, pick up litter or do whatever else was required for her community service and that she has no regrets about taking part in the protest. She said her actions with Greenpeace has helped to highlight concerns about oil exploration in the Arctic.
Lawless will continue on in her fight to protest against climate change and oil drilling, she said.
