Good luck getting the theme song out of your head! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re catching up with what the X-Files cast have been up to since the show’s end.
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00:00 "You really don't give up, do you?
00:02 But then you have so much to lose.
00:03 That's what we have in common.
00:05 We have nothing in common."
00:08 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're catching up with what the X-Files cast
00:13 have been up to since the show's end.
00:15 "Agent Mulder's our only hope."
00:17 Number 20.
00:20 Annabeth Gish.
00:21 Monica Reyes.
00:22 In season 8, the X-Files switched up the cast.
00:26 David Duchovny had left the show, and Annabeth Gish was brought on as Special Agent Monica Reyes,
00:32 and Robert Patrick as her partner John Doggett.
00:36 "Agent Reyes."
00:36 "Assistant Director Skinner."
00:42 "Agent Scully."
00:43 "Monica Reyes."
00:44 "Hi."
00:48 Reyes, who was similar to Mulder in her desire to believe,
00:52 remained with the show until it ended.
00:54 Even appearing in the final moments of the series finale.
00:57 "No!"
00:58 "Go!"
00:59 Since the show's end, Gish has kept very busy,
01:03 with roles in a slew of notable TV shows.
01:05 They include 'The West Wing,' 'The Bridge,' 'Sons of Anarchy,'
01:09 'Halt and Catch Fire,' and 'Succession.'
01:12 "The company, we have values here in this creative community."
01:16 "And I know, I get it."
01:16 Number 19.
01:18 Terry O'Quinn.
01:19 Lieutenant Brian Tillman.
01:21 Long before he ever met Michael Emerson on 'Lost,'
01:24 the two actors both appeared in separate episodes of 'The X-Files.'
01:29 Originally appearing in season two's 'Aubrey,'
01:32 O'Quinn also popped up for a brief moment in 'The X-Files'
01:35 'Fight the Future' motion picture,
01:37 and in season nine's 'Trust No One.'
01:40 "This is ridiculous. This has gone far enough."
01:43 "Do you want to see Mulder again?"
01:44 O'Quinn would go on to become known as Mr. 1013
01:47 after appearing in 'Harsh Realm' and 'Millennium.'
01:50 Both of which, like 'The X-Files,' were created by Chris Carter.
01:54 "A few things slip by. One salient oversight."
01:57 O'Quinn continues to be a very busy actor,
02:00 flourishing on television without a break since his time on the paranormal drama.
02:04 "If I could just work with these people for the next decade or so, I'd be very happy."
02:09 "I could probably put my feet up and relax after that."
02:11 Number 18.
02:12 Brad Dourif.
02:14 Luther Lee Boggs.
02:15 By the time he appeared in 'The X-Files' first season episode 'Beyond the Sea,'
02:20 Brad Dourif was already a well-known and established actor.
02:24 "The dead, living, all souls are connected."
02:31 He'd received an Oscar nomination for his role in 1975's 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,'
02:37 and was famous as the voice of Chucky in the 'Child's Play' franchise.
02:41 "So long, John."
02:42 As Luther Lee Boggs, Dourif put Scully's skepticism to the test,
02:48 adding a much-needed layer to her character.
02:50 Since then, he's had many, many roles in both TV and film,
02:55 winning particular acclaim for his portrayal of Doc Cochran in 'Deadwood.'
03:00 He's also been reprising his role as Chucky in the TV series of the same name.
03:04 "I know."
03:05 Number 17.
03:07 Cary Elwes.
03:09 Brad Fulmer.
03:10 Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Westley in 'The Princess Bride,'
03:14 Cary Elwes came to the X-Files with an expansive filmography under his belt.
03:18 "You used to ask me to close the door at work back in New York."
03:21 Introduced in season 9, his character Brad Fulmer was a love interest of Monica Reyes.
03:27 Although he only appeared in six episodes,
03:30 Elwes did a great job of being morally ambiguous and acting as a foil to Doggett.
03:35 "You have reason to believe he was involved?"
03:36 "I've got no evidence."
03:38 Since the show ended, he's appeared in a slew of notable shows,
03:42 including 'The Art of More' and 'Stranger Things.'
03:46 Perhaps his most memorable work, however,
03:48 has been as Lawrence Gordon from the original 'Saw' movie and its 3D sequel.
03:53 "Game over."
03:54 Number 16.
03:57 Tom Noonan.
03:58 John Lee Roche.
04:00 Some of the most memorable characters on the X-Files became that way
04:04 only because of the actor who brought them to life.
04:06 Such was the case for John Lee Roche,
04:09 a serial killer whom Mulder put behind bars during his earlier years at the FBI.
04:14 "I understand you take this very personally, Mulder."
04:16 Actor Tom Noonan was instrumental in crafting a performance that elevated the creep factor.
04:21 With his calm and understated demeanor,
04:24 Noonan used his impeccable talent to bring Roche to life.
04:27 "You bring me my hearts, and maybe I'll tell you more."
04:31 The actor continues to impress and chill audiences
04:34 with his abilities both in front of and behind the camera.
04:38 One of his most notable roles has been the pallid man in the TV series '12 Monkeys'.
04:44 "So, Doctor, this is hating."
04:46 Number 15.
04:48 Lucy Lawless.
04:49 Shannon McMahon.
04:50 Lucy Lawless had already made quite a name for herself,
04:54 starring in 'Xena Warrior Princess' before she appeared on the X-Files.
04:58 Originally intended to be a recurring character,
05:04 Shannon McMahon's story arc was reduced when Lawless became pregnant.
05:08 Nonetheless, she made quite an impression as a former colleague of John Doggett's,
05:13 and one of the first alien super soldiers featured in the series.
05:17 "And how?"
05:17 "I think you'd be more interested in why."
05:21 Since her time in the paranormal drama,
05:23 Lawless has appeared in other notable sci-fi and fantasy shows,
05:27 including a major role in 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Ash vs. Evil Dead'.
05:32 She's also an active member of Greenpeace,
05:34 participating in protests against oil exploration in the Arctic.
05:38 "Never bet against the house."
05:40 Number 14.
05:42 Stephen Williams.
05:43 X.
05:44 Mulder and Scully may have done their best to find the truth out there,
05:47 but they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without a little help.
05:51 "Data from a top secret military project,
05:53 born of the idea that sleep is the soldier's greatest enemy."
05:56 Starting in the second season,
05:58 Mulder began to mark the letter X in his apartment window with tape,
06:02 to signal a mysterious man for help.
06:04 Stephen Williams played this unnamed character for several seasons,
06:08 giving fans a stark contrast to Mulder's contact, Deep Throat.
06:13 "Where's Mulder?"
06:14 "Sorry, I must have the wrong apartment."
06:18 Despite appearing in countless other television programs since then,
06:22 Williams would once again become affiliated with paranormal television
06:25 when he landed a recurring role as Rufus Turner on Supernatural.
06:30 Today, he continues to appear in both television and film roles,
06:34 not all of them otherworldly.
06:36 "Do you know of any affordable motels in the area?"
06:39 Number 13.
06:41 Chris Owens.
06:42 Jeffrey Spender.
06:43 Fans of the show will remember Chris Owens for his portrayal of Jeffrey Spender,
06:48 son of the cigarette-smoking man.
06:50 "This is Special Agent Spender, who's this?"
06:52 But before taking on that role, he also played a young version of the cigarette-smoking man,
06:57 and buried beneath layers of prosthetics and makeup, the Great Mutato.
07:02 "Despite my appearance, which you see is quite horrible to the human senses,
07:06 I have never acted to harm another soul."
07:10 In the time between the original series finale and his return in season 11,
07:14 Owens kept a lower profile, but continued to work steadily in both film and TV,
07:20 appearing at conventions from time to time,
07:22 he still speaks quite fondly of his time on the X-Files.
07:26 "My father's dead."
07:27 "No he's not, he's alive."
07:28 Number 12.
07:29 Lori Holden.
07:30 Merida Covarrubias.
07:32 An informant character who was intended to replace Stephen Williams' ex,
07:36 Merida Covarrubias was a member of the shadowy syndicate, until she betrayed them.
07:41 "Because there are those of us who believe in you.
07:44 Believe in your search for the truth."
07:47 She and Alex Krychek even went as far as attempting to take out the cigarette smoking man.
07:52 While the role was met with mixed reviews,
07:55 Lori Holden went on to portray many other intriguing characters on TV shows like
07:59 The Shield and The Americans.
08:01 Perhaps most famously, she portrayed Andrea Harrison in The Walking Dead.
08:06 She can also be seen playing the Crimson Countess on Amazon's The Boys.
08:10 "There is no other place in the world a monkey will want to be than right here."
08:15 Number 11.
08:16 Doug Hutchison.
08:17 Eugene Victor Toomes.
08:19 The X-Files may have originally been set up as a UFO conspiracy-based show,
08:24 but the introduction of the character Eugene Victor Toomes changed all of that.
08:28 Appearing in the episode "Squeeze", actor Doug Hutchison set the stage for
08:33 all future Monster of the Week storylines with his creepy cannibalistic mutant.
08:43 He reprised the role again in the episode "Toomes".
08:46 Hutchison continued to squeeze into roles in other notable works,
08:50 including The Green Mile and Lost.
08:52 "I'm not making any sense, am I?"
08:54 He also formed a production company called Darkwater Incorporated.
08:58 At 51, he drew significant criticism when he married then 16-year-old singer Courtney Stodden.
09:05 The couple have since divorced.
09:07 "Excuse me. Could you help me find my dog?"
09:13 Number 10.
09:14 James Pickens Jr.
09:15 Alvin Kirsch.
09:16 "You will now report to Assistant Director Kirsch."
09:18 Alvin Kirsch made quite a first impression on fans when he first appeared on The X-Files.
09:27 Replacing Walter Skinner as Mulder and Scully's boss,
09:31 he became a new obstacle to their work in the paranormal.
09:34 Kirsch was relentless in his adversarial attitude,
09:37 until he finally showed a more caring side and helped break Mulder out of prison.
09:42 "You wanna go north to Canada? Get to an airport.
09:46 If you're not off the continent in 24 hours, you may never get out. You understand?"
09:49 Fans may not have liked the character,
09:51 but James Pickens Jr. thoroughly enjoyed his time on the show.
09:55 Today, you'll find Pickens performing as Richard Weber on ABC's Grey's Anatomy,
10:00 where he's been a regular since the hospital drama began.
10:03 "What the hell did he do?"
10:04 Number 9.
10:06 Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood, and Dean Haglund.
10:09 The Lone Gunmen.
10:11 As conspiracy theorists, The Lone Gunmen, Melvin Froehike, John Fitzgerald Byers,
10:17 and Richard Ringo Langley were always a source of entertainment and questionable
10:22 information for the FBI duo.
10:24 "That's why we like you, Mulder. Your ideas are weirder than ours."
10:27 They went on to star in their own spin-off.
10:30 Bruce Harwood, who portrayed John Fitzgerald Byers, has appeared on several TV shows since,
10:36 and co-founded Vancouver's Barred on the Beach Shakespeare Festival.
10:40 Tom Braidwood, the man behind Melvin Froehike,
10:43 took on a handful of other acting and production roles,
10:46 but retired from his work in the industry in 2010,
10:49 although he came back for the 2016 The X-Files revival.
10:53 Dean Haglund, who played Richard Langley, moved to Australia in 2015, where he hosts a podcast.
11:00 "Maybe both of you could wear one that says I'm with stupid."
11:02 Number 8.
11:03 Robert Patrick, John Doggett.
11:06 Despite his impressive resume, Robert Patrick is probably best known for playing the T-1000
11:12 in 1991's Terminator 2 Judgment Day.
11:15 During his time on The X-Files, he played John Doggett,
11:18 who came in to assist with the search for Mulder, and ultimately joined The X-Files unit.
11:24 "Like I said, maybe you really didn't know your partner."
11:27 As much as fans wanted to hate him,
11:29 Patrick's portrayal of a multi-faceted Doggett won them over.
11:33 "Looks like we got a suspect."
11:34 It's no surprise that he's continued to be a staple in both television and films ever since.
11:39 With major roles on Scorpion, Peacemaker, and True Blood,
11:43 Patrick has certainly kept himself busy.
11:45 He's also a dedicated motorcycle enthusiast.
11:48 Number 7.
11:50 Jerry Hardin, Deep Throat.
11:52 Jerry Hardin's Deep Throat was the first and possibly most important
11:56 secret informant to help Mulder in his search for the truth.
11:59 "What is your interest?"
12:00 "The truth."
12:02 Much of the reason fans enjoyed this character so much came from Jerry Hardin's performance,
12:07 which added a sense of conflict and gravitas.
12:10 "I, um, have the distinction of being one of three men to have exterminated such a creature."
12:17 A highly respected character actor, Hardin's career has spanned 150 appearances in film and TV,
12:24 which we're not gonna try to list here.
12:26 "And a lie, Mr. Mulder, is most convincingly hidden between two truths."
12:31 His wife and daughter are also actors.
12:35 You probably know his daughter Melora from The Office, Monk, and Transparent.
12:40 Number 6.
12:42 Nicholas Lee, Alex Krychek.
12:44 "That would be me.
12:44 Krychek.
12:47 Alex Krychek."
12:48 Another character the fans loved to hate was Alex Krychek,
12:52 portrayed by Canadian actor Nicholas Lee.
12:55 Starting out as an FBI agent poised to assist Mulder,
12:59 Krychek went on to become a character who switched loyalties whenever it served his own needs.
13:03 "They want to knock out any and all attempts by us to survive the final days."
13:08 After The X-Files, actor Nicholas Lee racked up a considerable number of other credits,
13:14 especially in TV.
13:15 One of his most notable roles was as Tom Foss on the sci-fi series Kyle XY.
13:21 He's also starred on numerous shows such as CSI, Men in Trees, V, Continuum, and Arrow.
13:28 "We believe that his policies will bankrupt Starling within the next eight months."
13:32 Number 5.
13:33 Bryan Cranston, Patrick Crump.
13:36 We all know what Bryan Cranston went on to do after his time on The X-Files,
13:40 but you might not know he even appeared on the cult paranormal show at all.
13:44 Well, back in '98, Vince Gilligan wrote an episode inspired by the movie Speed.
13:50 He insisted that Cranston be cast as the villain, Patrick Crump.
13:55 The episode garnered great reviews and served as a pivotal moment in both Cranston and Gilligan's
14:01 careers.
14:02 Gilligan would later insist on hiring Cranston for his new show Breaking Bad,
14:06 despite opposition from producers who only saw Cranston as a comedic actor from his time on
14:11 Malcolm in the Middle.
14:13 Luckily for both, Gilligan got the Walter White he wanted.
14:16 "I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger."
14:20 Number 4.
14:21 Mitch Pelleggi, Walter Skinner.
14:24 Portraying the on-again, off-again boss of Agents Mulder and Scully was Portland-born actor
14:30 Mitch Pelleggi.
14:31 Audiences wanted to believe that Walter Skinner was on his agent's side,
14:35 but would quite often find him led astray.
14:38 Skinner appeared in episodes throughout both the original and revival run of the show,
14:43 becoming a fan-favorite character.
14:45 "Do you have the damn tape?"
14:46 "I'll know more when we next meet."
14:50 Pelleggi himself continued to work steadily in television,
14:53 with big roles in Stargate Atlantis, Sons of Anarchy, and Dallas.
14:58 He can also be seen as Bonham Walker in the Walker, Texas Ranger reboot Walker on The CW.
15:04 Number 3.
15:06 William B. Davis, Cigarette-Smoking Man.
15:09 His character didn't even speak a single word during his first episode appearance.
15:14 But from that moment came another 42 appearances across both the original run
15:19 and its 2016 revival.
15:21 Described as the Darth Vader of the show by the series director Kim Manners,
15:26 Cancer Man became the most infamous character in the show.
15:29 "Don't try and threaten me, Mulder. I've watched presidents die."
15:33 The actor behind The Puffs of Smoke, William B. Davis,
15:37 has continued to act, appearing on shows like Continuum and Upload.
15:41 He's also founded his own acting school.
15:44 Outside of showbiz, he finds time to water ski,
15:48 give lectures on skepticism, and advocate for action on climate change.
15:52 "If you're desperate enough to eat those, all you've got left is a...
15:55 is an empty box."
15:58 Number 2.
15:59 Gillian Anderson, Dana Scully.
16:02 Gillian Anderson was a relatively unknown actress when she started on The X-Files.
16:07 "Agent Mulder, I'm Dana Scully. I've been assigned to work with you."
16:11 Today, Dana Scully is just one of countless memorable roles she's portrayed.
16:16 This has included roles in The Fall, Hannibal, The Crown,
16:19 and Sex Education, among many, many others.
16:23 "I am the king."
16:26 On the way, she's picked up two Primetime Emmy Awards,
16:30 two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
16:34 While continuing to find success in her acting career,
16:37 Anderson has also been very busy in activism and charity work.
16:42 She's also an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network,
16:46 and has been an outspoken supporter of women's, children's, and indigenous rights.
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17:12 #1 David Duchovny - Fox Mulder
17:17 David Duchovny had already been in several TV shows and films before starring in The X-Files.
17:23 But it was his portrayal of Fox Mulder that ensured his place in pop culture history.
17:28 "I think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot."
17:31 He's acted steadily since the end of the show, most notably as Hank Moody in Californication.
17:37 "You could not handle me hitting it off with somebody right in front of you."
17:40 But he's also expanded his interests into other areas.
17:44 His first novel, Holy Cow! A Modern Day Dairy Tale, was published in 2015.
17:49 He's since published four other books. Duchovny also took an interest in music,
17:54 releasing his debut album, Hell or High Water, in 2015 as well.
17:59 These days, when he's not writing or singing, he continues to appear in film and television,
18:04 while also advocating for environmentalism and electric cars.
18:08 "I usually don't try it on before I come out here. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not."
18:14 Which of your favorite The X-Files characters do you love spotting in current shows and movies
18:19 these days? Let us know in the comments. "Congratulations, Dr. Milburn."
18:23 "Thank you."
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18:34 [outro music]