Coming face to face with shifty Agent Alex Krycek in an abandoned airplane hangar doesn't sound like much fun. Not to worry: The worst Krycek will do is offer his autograph.
"They're making a real event of it," says Krycek's alter-ego, Vancouver actor Nicholas Lea, after learning he'll be attending The X-Files Expo, a touring exhibition that kicks off in San Francisco on March 7 and runs 10 straight weekends in U.S. cities.
It will hit major markets -- including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago -- but gets no closer to here than northern California.
"They're doing it properly," Lea says of the production, which is headed up by The X-Files. "It's all first-class."
Lea's offered his services to such conventions previously. But an in-house show -- influenced directly by series creator Chris Carter -- will make all the difference.
"(The other exhibits) were a lot about merchandising and selling T-shirts," Lea says. "This is more for the fans. You can see Chris feels a responsibility to the audience."
In the meantime, Lea shacked up in a local hotel for nearly a week, waiting to shoot an upcoming episode. And, in true X-fashion, he won't say any more about it than he has to.
"We find Krycek again in Russia, speaking more Russian," says Lea. "He's also being really evil."
Some things never change.