This is probably far from coherent at this late hour, so bear with me. :->
So, I got to the set of "Two Fathers" just in time to witness the last hour of filming. I wasn't sure if Nick was filming, but if there's a chance, I was certainly going to grab the opportunity.
At first, all I saw were Cigarette Smoking Man and Spender. Oh, gawd, I'm in hell. So far I'd seen Scully, Mulder and Skinner in action on two different occasions, but not Krycek. And now SQUEAKY?? All they needed to do was throw Diana Fowley and Kersh in there and truly it would have been a custom-made hell.
I picked a streetlight to lean on and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. It's a little more possible when you're alone than when you're in a group. Of course, the downside is that when I'm alone, I lose all nerve. I'm glad I stood my ground, though. But I fooled no one trying to blend in as usual - I could see a few crew members whispering trying to figure out if I belonged there, but no one told me to leave.
Five minutes after I arrived, a very tall man in black, smoking a cigarette, walks right into my vision about 10 feet away. I do one of those Hanna Barbera double-takes. Could that be Nicholas Lea? No, it can't be that easy! After two set visits, the third time really couldn't be the charm! I convinced myself that Nicholas Lea looked much younger and wasn't he taller than that at the premiere? Nick sat down under the tent next to the director and watched the Spender-CSM scene being shot, listening to his walkman. Definitely Nick Lea. I forget the scene being shot and spend the next 15 minutes Nick-watching. I'd been told that in the preceding episode, SR-819, Krycek wears a fake beard and ponytail, but luckily I was spared that visual. No leather this time - he was wearing black jeans, black boots with a chain wrapped around them (very 80's, I must say), and a one of those butt-length heavy cotton jackets - black, of course. Watched who I think was Kim Manners bark out orders - this was interesting since when I'd worked on a live-action set, it was the AD, not the director, who yelled "Cut!" and "Action!" Then a policeman blocked my view, but I didn't dare move.
When they switched to another scene, and I had to move across the street anyway. This was fine since they were filming Nick driving CSM around (what - MORE chauffeuring??) and I was on the driver's side. I watched Chris Owens (Spender) play air baseball with an extra who was holding an umbrella (that one's for you, Amy). Watched Nick pretend to struggle with a prosthetic arm - boy they don't even bother trying to create one for him anymore. A few more takes of that and they were finished by 9pm. I knew they were finished when my eagle eye spotted an AD giving Nick a call sheet.
It was decision time - was I going to try to meet Nicholas, or count my blessings? I don't know - when it was Gillian it wasn't so important to press my luck, but this was Krycek! I figured I should test the waters. There were no other fans around, he wouldn't be inundated, why not?
Thank God the stop lights were working in my favor. Because I knew I had to catch Nick before he got to base camp where I'd be stopped. And thank God he didn't take a van back to camp. And thank God they didn't finish so late he'd be grumpy. For once, Murphy's Law wasn't lurking over my shoulder ready to strike! :->
I did one of those speed walks so I wouldn't look like a psycho running after the guy. Now, I have long legs and my friends and family are constantly screaming at me to slow down when I walk with them. Nevertheless, I was practically puffing by the time I was just behind Nick.
"Mr. Lea?" I timidly began. He turned around - an important moment, since part of me didn't really believe I'd been watching Nick Lea until he'd answered to the sound of his name. I flashed back to when I first met Nick Rhodes and I called him "Mr. Rhodes."
"Hi, my name's Emile and I'm sorry to bother you, but Krycek's my favorite character on the show and I just wanted to say hello."
He seemed both surprised and happy to meet a fan, and I'm completely relieved to report that he was very gracious and kind. It's surreal - since that Tuesday whenever I almost convince myself I didn't really meet Nick Lea, I flash back on the sweet look on his face, and suddenly I'm a puddle of goo again. I wasn't sure how much I'd be pushing it approaching him in the first place, so I was profusely apologetic, but he kept saying, "No, no, don't worry" - my worst fears were put to rest.
"Oh, thank you," he said. "Were you watching today?" Yeah. "Really? I didn't see you around today." Wow - Nick Lea notices the fans! "I only got to watch the last hour just now."
"I didn't do much today. I was just driving around." He seemed disappointed for me. Please, are you KIDDING??, I'm thinking. "Oh, it was so worth it just to see you," I told him, not believing that I was gushing to Nicholas Lea. :-P
Again not sure of myself, I asked him if I could get his autograph. "Sure!" I was prepared, dammit, whipping out the Official X-Files magazine with Krycek on the cover (I'm FOCUSED, okay?). "Oh, well, there you go," he commented wryly (my favorite quote from Nick now). Great, I know he must have been thinking I really got a live-wire on my hands. :->
As he was signing the magazine, someone walked past him and said, "See you tomorrow." Brainiac that I am, I asked, "So you're shooting tomorrow?" "Yeah." I made mental notes to see how late I'll be working the next day. ;->
"I just have to ask you," I continued, "I heard you used to be in a band. Beau Monde?" He was really surprised that I knew, but told me yes. Now my glasses were fogging up - I was probably two breaths away from hyperventilating - so I took them off. "Just a quick question - I heard that you were influenced by 80's bands like Duran?" (This was coming from a quote from an article from earlier this year.)
I had to ask, sorry! I'm merely living up to my name as Durannie Ambassador. :->
He smiled and rolled his eyes a bit, "No... not really Duran. It was influenced by bands more like Simple Minds - the more creative output from the 80's."
Okay, stop laughing. Freak No.2's and my original plan was if I ever got to meet Nick Lea that I'd ask him what his favorite Duran song is. But since he SHOT THAT ALL TO HELL, we just laughed - a much better reaction than getting into a heated argument with Nicholas Lea over Duran Duran - can you just imagine?? ;->
Once again, I prefer to be in denial - maybe after I gave Chris Carter the list of signs he's a closet Duran Duran fan, he warned Nick "If you ever see this girl... deny everything!" I'll be sending him a CD of Big Thing tomorrow, thank you. ;->
Then Nick told me that the band was also influenced by David Bowie. You think you'll be doing more of that?, I asked. "Yeah - actually I want to do a movie about it, about that kind of music," Nick told me. I said that would be cool, I'm a big fan of 80's music so I had to ask him.
At this point I fell into a dreamy reverie, focusing on the softness of his face. He's soooo tall. I was totally looking up at him and staring into those eyes (which are definitely HAZEL, by the way - I know some say blue, some say green, but they looked grey when I met him, and hazel eyes tend to change colors under certain lighting). Okay, I'm an eye-freak, I admit it, but pictures just don't do those eyes justice - they have such a brilliant shine and truly bear right into you. At this point, I was melting into those eyes and noticing how white and perfect his teeth are every time he smiled (and he's a smoker - imagine that). Oh, sorry, is he still talking to me? Ohhhh, those eyes.... Doesn't matter, he was just telling me to let the ink on the magazine dry so it wouldn't smear all over the place. Ah, those eeeeyyyyeeesss....
Sorry, where was I? I glanced at what he'd written - he was definitely trying his best to write something memorable for me. He wrote "Emile - Thanks for saying hello! Lots of (heart) Nick Lea '98"
At least he didn't write The Tru-... oh, nevermind.
"Oh, thank you," I said. "That's so sweet of you."
As we were saying goodbye, he touched me, rubbed my sleeve, and extended his hand, as if he knew this is everything a fan needs - an exchange, an autograph or picture, actual contact. I touched his butter-soft leather glove.
"You get home safe, honey," he said to me in that smooth-as-velvet voice. *sigh* "You too," I replied. He called me honey. Anyone else would have been knocked sideways into next Tuesday, but Nicholas Lea called me honey. And he can call me honey again. He can call me honey as often as he likes. *sigh* : -> I'm a dork, and who cares. :-D
We parted, I got to my car and SCREAMED my head off. :-> Rest assured Nick Lea is the nicest guy and I am the happiest Phile in the universe. I know everyone says that, but really at this moment, I am.
Emile,
on a cloud.
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
Like a moth to a flame, I go back for seconds the next day - not to meet Nick again - I'm more than happy with what I've got! But I was hoping to see more of Krycek in action. My shipper friend and fellow Nick fan Fontaine met me there, in spite of a test she had to study for - a focus knows no bounds. We lucked out in hooking up with two very friendly Philes, one of whom had already seen them shooting several times, including the film. At first we watched them film from across the street in a house that is meant to belong to one of the Elders. After a few minutes, we were told we were going to be in the way of the shot, so the AD actually moved us much closer to the house itself. It was so nice that we were a small group of fans and everyone was being very mellow and respectful so the crew was nice to us.
So, I'll get the semi-sucky news out of the way first: given Nick's comment to me that he wasn't doing much yesterday but driving around, the irony is that in the end all we got to see was them shooting interiors and one exterior scene... of Krycek chauffeuring Spender. :-P I have to laugh - but that's really the worst of it. The news gets better from there because I got to talk to Nick a bit again.
Sometime while they were setting up another interior, Nick came out to talk to an AD. He was wearing a heavier overcoat than the night before - and no chain on his boots - but still wearing all black and looking sleek and trim in those black jeans. ==========:-O He looked over at our little group - and I waved to him. He recognized me and smiled and said, "Hey!"
As he walked back towards the house, he asked us, "So is this the closest they're letting you get?" "Yes," I said. "For now," said another Phile. "Well, why don't you - " Nick began. He held up a finger. "Hang on a second."
He went to talk to someone about letting us INSIDE the house to watch them shoot! It didn't work, but how freaking cool is it that he even TRIED?! I knew it wasn't going to work and I didn't want the others to get their hopes up so, I said to them, "Even if it doesn't work, it's so awesome that he's asking anyway."
Two hours later, our toes were numb (it may be LA, but at night in the winter it does get cold, thank you), but we stuck it out because we were promised they'd shoot exteriors "soon." We killed time doing Spender impressions and comparing the various monikers bestowed on everyone's least favorite weasel: Spudner, Squeaky, Weaselboy, Weezer, Wienerboy... One cool thing we saw is that apparently someone gets set ablaze in the house - we could see the effects from outside. And it looks like it's a faceless alien who gets set on fire. We were hoping that our fantasy of Spender spontaneously combusting would come true, but alas, it was not to be.
The exteriors were really just two shots - one of Nick driving and another Spender scene we didn't hang around for. Nick came back near us and said, "I asked if we could get you guys inside to watch, but they said, no, we're going to be shooting exteriors soon - which was a big lie - but they said no. I'm sorry about that." Can you believe this guy? He apologizes for not getting a bunch of fans inside a house to watch filming! Have I mentioned that Nick's my favorite actor on the show? ;-D
"It was really nice of you to try," I told him. "Yeah, thanks," we chorused. Funny thing is he still looked somewhat upset for us. But as the more experienced set-watcher among us noted, it's all hit or miss when you go - you can't always expect to see something exciting, and being there in the first place is the fun.
When the crew set up for the car scene, one Phile remarked, before we knew that Krycek was pulling chauffeur duties again, "Is Spender driving? Because I have to see the Nerdmobile. What kind of car do you think he'd drive? There are no Pacers left." Ah, it's so nice to be among like-minded Philes. We threw out possible candidates: Gremlin, Pinto before the recall (my favorite since I was envisioning Scully rear-ending Spender in the very last episode), Le Car, Yugo. We decided Spender's a good American boy: he'd drive a Ford Aspire.
Nick got into the car and we watched a crew member spray the car with water, which, if you have the kind of wishful imagination I have, looked like Nick was taking a shower. This led to my entertaining Fontaine with a litany of "Oh, yeah, baby. Keep going. More pressure. Ah, yeah, that's good." ;->
After Nick finished the scene, he hugged crew members goodbye (director Kim "Machine Gun" Manners kissed him on the cheek - now there's a visual). Nick turned to our group, "Bye, guys."
Since the last was the Spender scene, we were all in agreement there was no reason to freeze our tootsies any further. Just so you don't think we're completely mean, we did say goodbye to Chris Owens. Like I said, as far as seeing any shooting occur, it was a bust - but the interaction with Nick was so worth waiting around for.
That night, I invented a new drinking game for those freezing nights watching X-Files being filmed: bring a flask of something to keep you warm - brandy, whiskey, schnapps... in fact, you may need several flasks for this game. Now, every time you witness a crew member spitting chewing tobacco, take a swig. Trust me, you will be rip-roaring toasted in no time. Extra sips if they seem to be aiming at a target. I was a little worried when I spotted Nick lobbing his own loogie, but I don't think he shares the chewing tobacco obsession. At one point, someone yelled to the rest of the crew, "Don't step on the grass!" "Oh," I said, "it's okay to spit on the grass, but just don't step on it." Quipped another Phile: "They don't want you to step on it 'cause you'd probably go sliding." I pity the production assistant who's got clean-up duty...
You too have been blessed now, my sister. Know the peace and
joy that accompanies your having Met Nick... and that you, too,
will share in the eternal bliss of Nick-samadhi. Welcome to the
inner circle of enlightenment, sweetie. No greater thing will ever
happen in your whole life. Trust me (I know, Trust No One...),
I've Been There.