REVISED Aug 27, 2001 (Thanks again Kate!)

"Lead the Way Home" incorrectly stated that actor Nicolas Lea would be working on a CBC movie based on the Clifford Olsen investigations. It's actually a CTV movie, "The Investigation", that will be part of the 2001-2002 season.

MacLeans' magazine - August 20, 2001
Transcribed by Kate

"Lead the Way Home"

Nicholas Lea is one of those Vancouver actors who got bit parts on Canadian TV, then larger roles on American series shot in Canada. Then, he moved to Los Angeles and is now enjoying a successful film and TV career. And like most of his fellow B.C. bred actors – including up-and-comers Barry Pepper, Lochlyn Munro, Chris Martin and David Cubitt – Lea remains disarmingly down-to-earth, with little Hollywood attitude. He pines for Vancouver – the outdoorsy lifestyle, the clean air and tranquility. "Vancouver is a really special place, and it becomes extraordinarily special when you compare it to Hollywood," says the actor best known as The X-Files’ Agent Alex Krycek. "All the local actors I know who live elsewhere talk about coming back."

But for now Lea lives in California – he rooms with Cubitt – and is constantly on the lookout for projects that shoot on the Sunshine Coast. He signed on to Lunch with Charles, a small Canadian romantic comedy currently in theaters, to get a taste of home. In the film, Lea’s character travels from Princeton, B.C. to Banff, Alta., in order to win back his girlfriend – played by singer Bif Naked – but falls for another woman on the way. "I basically did the money for no money," says Lea. "It was just a sweet story, a nice experience and that is what I was in the mood for."

Currently, Lea is in Regina shooting a comedy, and then he’s off to Calgary to film a CBC movie based on the Clifford Olsen investigations. Eventually, Lea will head back to Los Angeles for even bigger projects – albeit reluctantly. Says Lea: "There is just not a lot of love in that city."