From THE X-FILES OFFICIAL MAGAZINE #2 As freelance villain Alex Krycek, Nicholas Lea has perfected the art of taking a beating -- in Season 4 everyone but Mulder's mother got to take a shot at him. But Lea will dish out the whuppings instead of take them now that he has his own series, JOHN WOO'S ONCE A THIEF. Created by acclaimed Hong Kong director John Woo (FACE OFF/BROKEN ARROW), the series focuses on a trio of special operatives who fight crime; two members of the team are former criminals, hence the series name. Lea plays a cop who supervises the reformed pair. Lea has high hopes for the show. "A lot of things come my way that I just turn down because working [on THE X-FILES] has taught me about the type of people I want work with and the type of show I want to work on," he notes. The new series should keep Lea busy until January 1998, when it will go ona three-month hiatus. Lea will likely spend at least part of that time in Vancouver on THE X-FILES set. Chris Carter recently confirmed that Krycek will slink back in Season Five. ONCE A THIEF premieres on the Canadian CTV network this fall. Plans for U.S. broadcast -- in syndication or on a network -- are still pending.