by Ian Spelling
New York Times Special Features
"I've never seen Krycek as a bad guy," says Nick Lea, who first appeared on The X-Files as FBI Agent Alex Krycek in the second season episode "Sleepless" and has since transformed Krycek into one of the series' most popular recurring characters. "He's a one-armed man on his own." And he causes every sort of havoc imaginable.
This Sunday in "Patient X," Krycek gets it on with Marita Covarrubias, kidnaps a young Russian boy, then exposes him to the mysterious black oil; loses a battle of wits with the Well-Manicured Man. He does all this as faceless alien creatures seem to be incinerating large groups of 'abductees.'
"Mulder's become so jaded and has so many doubts now. He thinks that everything he's learned or come to believe has been a government conspiracy, that there's no such thing as alien abduction or alien visitation, that he's been duped. It's a wonderful turn of events for The X-Files," Lea says, "because you're now watching Mulder undergo a real psychological transformation. I'm not that heavy in the show, but I've got nice, long scenes, important ones with a lot of impact not only on the show, but on the X-Files movie."
Lea will not be in the movie, due in theaters June 19. "The film stretches outside my realm of story," he says. "Also I was in Toronto working every single day on Once a Thief while they were shooting the movies, and getting away to do it would've been a logistical nightmare. Not being in the film was hard for me to swallow. I've come to terms with it now," Lea says. "I have a lot of respect for X-Files and the people who make it, and I'm very loyal to it."
"I was speaking to Frank Spotnitz, who is Chris' right-hand man, and he gave me some idea of what's going on," Lea says. "I said 'do I die?' and he said 'No, you don't, Krycek has nine lives.'"
