Lawless's television debut was in the New Zealand sketch-comedy series,
Funny Business. Then she studied drama at the
William Davis Centre for Actors Study in
Vancouver, Canada. According to Lawless, the media attention about the accident increased viewership of the show.
Other acting work Lawless first appeared on
Broadway in September 1997 in the
Grease revival, as the "bad girl" character Betty Rizzo. She wanted to play the lead role of Sandy and later stated her belief that the producers typecast her to play "bad girls" following her success as Xena. She said the Sandy character was very similar to her sheltered childhood, growing up in New Zealand with many protective older brothers. From 2005 to 2009, she had a recurring role in the television series
Battlestar Galactica. Lawless appeared as D'Anna Biers, a reporter with the Fleet News Service who worked on a critical documentary about the crew of the
Galactica and was later revealed to be
Humanoid Cylon model Number Three. Lawless has also performed as a
voice actor in several animated features: In 2008, Lawless voiced the animated character of
Diana Prince/
Wonder Woman in the direct-to-video superhero animated film
Justice League: The New Frontier, adapted from the
DC Comics limited series. In 2014, Lawless voiced the militaristic "Queen of the Ants" in the American animated television series
Adventure Time on the
Cartoon Network. In 2007, Lawless was to appear as one of the leads in the ensemble cast of the
ABC television series,
Football Wives, based on the popular British series ''
Footballers' Wives''. The series did not continue past the pilot episode, but the network extended the options on its contracts with Lawless and the other actors slated to star in the series, including
Gabrielle Union,
Kiele Sanchez,
Ving Rhames, and
James Van Der Beek. Lawless returned to television on 10 November 2008 in a guest-starring role on the
CBS television series
CSI: Miami, in a Season 7 episode, "Cheating Death", playing a madam with connections to a murder and helping
Horatio "H" Caine with his inquiries. In 2009, Lawless appeared in two episodes of the final season of
The L Word as Sergeant Marybeth Duffy. She played a role in the
Adam Sandler film
Bedtime Stories released December 2008. In 2009, Lawless guest-starred in the
HBO series
Flight of the Conchords as Paula, assistant to the
Prime Minister of New Zealand. Lawless co-starred in the
Starz original series
Spartacus: Blood and Sand. The show was based on the life of
Spartacus, the famous gladiator, and the slave revolt he led, and was produced by long-time
Xena producers
Sam Raimi and
"Rob" Tapert, her own husband. Lawless played the role of
Lucretia, the wife of
Lentulus Batiatus, who were both the owners of a gladiator
ludus, which also saw Lawless doing
nude scenes for the first time. Lawless won the 2011
Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lucretia in
Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Lawless reprised her role as Lucretia in
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which chronicled life in the Ludus before Spartacus's arrival, and she also returned for the sequel
Spartacus: Vengeance. Lawless provided the voice of
Goldmoon for
Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, a direct-to-DVD animated film based on the
novel of the same name. From 2012 to 2014, she had a recurring role on the NBC series
Parks and Recreation as Diane, the love interest and eventual wife of
Ron Swanson. In 2014, Lawless guest-starred in
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as
Isabelle Hartley in the
season two premiere, and reprised the role later in episode 15 of season two, "
One Door Closes". In 2015, Lawless landed the recurring guest role of
Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg in
WGN America's
Salem. Countess Marburg is presented as one of the last remaining survivors of the legendary line of ancient German witches. The series ended in 2017. In March 2015, it was announced that she would be portraying the role of Ruby in
Starz horror-comedy series
Ash vs Evil Dead. The series ended in 2018. In 2019, Lawless began playing Alexa Crowe, a retired police officer turned police consultant investigator in
My Life Is Murder. The
Acorn TV series began in 2019 and reached its third season in 2022. A fifth season was announced on February 10, 2025 ==Filmmaking==