Lexa Pierce, Mutant X
"LEXA COMES IN UNANNOUNCED AND uninvited, and she shatters Mutant X'S world," Karen Cliche explains. She's trying very hard to be serious for a few minutes - which is an effort - as she discusses her new character on Fireworks' action series. "She doesn't even want to be there! Season two of the show ended on a cliffhanger, which leads to a lot of changes for the new season, and Lexa basically comes in and tells them what those changes are going to be. She has her own mission: she's not saying, 'Hey, I want to be a part of Mutant X.' She has her own agenda, and she's a little cold and calculating about using them. She wouldn't be there if she didn't have an ulterior purpose. She knows a lot more than these kids do - she's been to some very dark places, and she's been through a lot."
All of which makes Lexa Pierce sound like a bit of a bitch, and that's certainly how she appears to be at the start of the year. However, appearances can be deceptive, and it's a description that could hardly be less appropriate for the actor who plays her. Cliche came across to Mutant X from the show Adventure Inc, which only lasted one season. There she appeared opposite Michael Biehn playing Mackenzie, a hard-fighting and hard-loving lady who she describes as "the happy medium between Pamela Anderson in VIP with everything low-cut and a short skirt, and the butch action girl."
"I wanted to play her as really accessible," Cliche recalls, "and you have no idea where she comes from and what she's up to." Elements of that character are similar to Lexa Pierce. "There was a lot of Mackenzie I took from myself," Cliche says. "Just being an army brat, having fun and being spontaneous - a tough exterior with a soft inside. Lexa has a lot of the same qualities, and it's always fun to play a character that has the same attributes as you. It makes it easier as well, because you can take your own experiences and put them in."
The characters part company when it comes to mutant powers. "Lexa has the ability to bend light," Cliche explains, "and she can shoot lasers from her hands. Bending light means she can become invisible, which can be quite useful. She can also create big flashes of light to distract people - big painful bursts of light that help get her out of sticky situations."
In practical terms, Cliche doesn't have to do that much on the set - her abilities are added in post-production. "It's like I'm striking a match when I create the big bursts of light," she says. "I'm rubbing my hands and creating them. When I turn invisible, I just really concentrate all my I energy and absorb the light - so there's nothing strenuous I have to do as an actress."
Having fun is a key component for Cliche on any job she does, and on Mutant X. "We have way too much fun, just way too much fun for our own good."
Watching her on set with Victoria Pratt, it's a wonder that any work gets done, as the two girls are constantly laughing and joking with each other. "It's like Vicky and I were separated at birth," Cliche jokes. "We just have such a ball." She gets a little more sober for a moment before adding, "When you're working for eight months with the same people, it's really great that it's this much fun. I knew some of the crew from Adventure Inc last year, and everyone is awesome."
Cliche enjoys the fight sequences, although she has less to do as Lexa than she did as Mackenzie. "I am such an active person, and on Adventure Inc my adrenaline kept me going all day," she says. "This season on Mutant X, we're doing much more character-based stories. There's so much new stuff being introduced that there's a lot of talking and explaining - which isn't a bad thing, because you do get to know the characters a lot better. But during the summer I've been saying, 'Can we go outside and play?'"
Although she's becoming known for her action roles, Cliche harbours a desire to play in different genres as the years go by. "I want to do comedy, and I want to do drama," she declares. "You can easily get typecast. People see you as one thing, and you think you're going to be the hot sexy girl for the rest of your life - but before you know it, you're 40, you've run out of plastic surgery to do, and you're thinking, Nobody wants me any more because I'm not the cool hot girl, and I can't kick my leg higher than my waist! In between seasons, I want to do something completely different so that people realise what I can do."
Her ideal roles range the spectrum of acting styles. "I love When Harry Met Sally, and I would love to play Sally," she says. "I want to do that sort of comedy. I'm such a goof in real life so it would be really nice to use that. But at the same time, I'd love to play a psycho drug-addict prostitute. Do something completely dark, and explore things and really scare myself shitless going somewhere really intense and dark. I've done a lot of comedy in my career, but I haven't had a chance yet to really go towards anything too intense. I'd like not to have any make up, and not to have to worry about all that being pretty shit - take it all off and just lose myself. That would be pretty amazing!"
Mutant X is currently airing on Sky One.
© SFX January 2004
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