The X-Files - Cast and Characters

Cast and Characters

• Fox Mulder (seasons 1–7, main; season 8–9, intermittent) – is portrayed by David Duchovny. Mulder is an FBI special agent who believes in the existence of extraterrestrials and a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth regarding them. With his FBI partner Dana Scully, he works in the X-Files office, which is concerned with cases that were marked as unsolvable and shelved by the FBI; most of these cases involve supernatural or mysterious circumstances. Mulder considers the X-Files and the truth behind the supposed conspiracy so important that he has made their study the main purpose of his life. After his abduction by aliens at the end of season seven, his role in the show is diminished and much of his work is taken on by Agent John Doggett. He appeared in an episode of The Lone Gunmen and both The X-Files feature films.

• Dana Scully (seasons 1–9, main) – is portrayed by Gillian Anderson. Scully is an FBI special agent, partner to agent Fox Mulder. They work in the cramped basement office at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to investigate unsolved cases labeled "X-Files". In contrast to Fox Mulder's credulous "believer" character, Scully is a skeptic, choosing to base her beliefs on scientific explanations. However, as the series progresses, she becomes more open to the possibility of paranormal happenings. In season eight, she is assigned a new partner (agent John Doggett) after Mulder is abducted by aliens. Later in the same season, she leaves the X-Files office to be replaced by Agent Monica Reyes. She has appeared in both The X-Files feature films.

• Walter Skinner (seasons 1–8, recurring; season 9, main) – is portrayed by Mitch Pileggi. Skinner is an FBI assistant director who served in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. During this time he shot and killed a young boy carrying explosives, an incident which scarred him for life. Skinner is originally the direct supervisor of special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in the X-Files office. He later serves the same position for agents John Doggett and Monica Reyes. Although he is originally portrayed as a somewhat malevolent character, Skinner eventually becomes a close friend of Mulder and Scully. He appeared in an episode of The Lone Gunmen and both The X-Files feature films.

• John Doggett (seasons 8–9, main) – is portrayed by Robert Patrick. Doggett is an FBI special agent who makes his first appearance in the season eight episode "Within". Doggett served in the United States Marine Corps from the 1970s to the 1980s. Later, he started to work with the New York Police Department, eventually being promoted to the rank of detective. After his son's death he joined the Criminal Investigations Division of the FBI. In 2000, Alvin Kersh assigned him to the X-Files office as Dana Scully's partner after an unsuccessful task force attempt to find missing agent Fox Mulder in "Without". He did not appear in either of The X-Files feature films.

• Monica Reyes (season 8, recurring; season 9, main) – is portrayed by Annabeth Gish. Reyes is an FBI special agent who was born and raised in Mexico City. She majored in folklore and mythology at Brown University, and has a master's degree in religious studies. In 1990, Reyes enrolled in the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Her first assignment in the FBI was serving on a special task force investigating satanic rituals. She is a longtime friend of Agent John Doggett and becomes his replacement partner on the X-Files after the departure of Agent Dana Scully. Reyes was last seen in the New Mexico desert in 2002, where she warns Mulder and Scully of the arrival of Knowle Rohrer. She did not appear in either of The X-Files feature films.

• The Smoking Man (seasons 1–7, 9, recurring) – is portrayed by William B. Davis. The Smoking Man is the main villain of the show. In the episode "Requiem", The Smoking Man is believed to be killed after being pushed down a flight of stairs by Alex Krycek until the series finale "The Truth", where Mulder and Scully travel through remote New Mexico and reach a pueblo where a "wise man" reputedly lives and is revealed to be the Smoking Man. The Smoking Man is then later killed by a missile shot from a helicopter. He also appears in the 1998 feature film.