LEXX: Biography: The Prince of Fire
Prince (of Fire) was played magnificently, by Nigel Bennett.
He was the sort of character that would alarm you and yet, at the same time, display a quiet and soothing confidence. He was ultimately evil, and very good with pain. If you were to meet him in a pub, he would be the head doorman (you know, the one with calluses on his knuckles that let you into a nightclub on the firm understanding that you would cause trouble so he could beat you up as he threw you out).
As the self proclaimed leader of the planet Fire, he commanded total loyalty from his followers. A loyalty that could lead to a voluntary (and violent) death. The only person to question Princes loyalty was another cool and callous leader called Duke (who was defeated).
Prince had an uncanny way of turning up at the wrong time. As with everyone else on Fire, he never actually died, well not for good. He was able to return – a sort of reincarnation. To say that Prince was a hard bloke to kill would be an understatement. The only way to subjugate him would be incarceration in a place where you could be sure to keep him alive. Killing Prince would simply allow him the luxury of returning again, usually to his own city.
Prince had a job, and no ordinary job. Basically his purpose of being was to make the life of his subjects as horrible as possible. “I am good with pain” he would often remark. You see he was, to all intents and purposes, the devil!
All the people who have, “made bad decisions” in life would invariably end up in his domain, the Planet Fire. And all the great and the good, would be reincarnated on the planet Water. As far as Prince was concerned, that made the people of Water his enemy and he initiated a war to wipe the planet out. This was the reason he continually hounded the crew of the LEXX. As far as Prince was concerned, the LEXX could destroy the planet Water and end all his troubles.
Like half the population of our planet, Prince fancied Xev – a lot! he often propositioned/challenged her to become his queen, and in one particular instance, he managed to reincarnate himself as Kai in the hope of winning her affections with deceit.
Xev, in actual fact fancied the Dark Prince too, but she always became hung up on his evilness and ruthlessness. He never stopped trying to win her affection or obedience – he could never win of course, he was too bloody stupid.
The Prince of Fire was possibly the most inanely unlucky or staggeringly stupid foe ever to confront the the crew of the LEXX. Every single one of his plans, battles or activities were defeated, and yet he strutted around as if he was the greatest!
In the end however, he was able to control the LEXX. He was obliged to take control (we don’t know how) when his planet was blown up. In the interests of keeping the balance, the essence of Prince steered the LEXX to blow up the Water planet. So maybe he won after all?
His essence then departed and it was last seen headed for Earth!
Nigel Bennet is an accomplished theatre actor. He has appeared in numerous West End productions (for fifteen years before moving to Canada in 1986) including, “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole”, “Ghosts”, “Private Lives” and “Rookery Nook”.
He also performed in Canterbury, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield. His feature film work includes co-starring with Gene Hackman, Anne Archer and James B. Skiing in “Narrow Margin,” and the starring role in “The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick,” a drama (voted Best New Film at both the Toronto Festival of Festivals and the Vancouver International Film Festival in 1988).
He also appeared in the film, “Legends of the Fall” starring Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt. His television credits in Britain include “Harry,” “Happy Hunting Ground,” “Elizabeth Alone,” “Housewarming,” “Reilly, Ace of Spies” and “Coronation Street.”
Canadian and American television appearances include “Beyond Reality,” “Sweating Bullets,” “E.N.G.,” “Counterstrike,” “Street Legal,” “Alfred Hitchcock,” “Mount Royal,” “Adderly,” “Night Heat,” “Friday the 13th” and “The Twilight Zone.”
But his most famous part to date (besides Prince in LEXX) is as LaCroix, the vampire community’s powerful and seductive master in “Forever Knight.”
As resident of Toronto, Nigel Bennet enjoys golf, skiing and ice fishing when the weather turns cold.
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This Character Biography is © 1999-2019 Tony Fawl.
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