Editing The X-Files (section)

== Cast and characters ==
{{main|List of The X-Files characters}}

=== Starring ===
* [[Fox Mulder]] is portrayed by [[David Duchovny]]:<br />Mulder is an [[Oxford University|Oxford]]-educated [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] [[special agent|Special Agent]], a [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]], a talented [[Offender profiling|criminal profiler]], and an ardent [[supernatural]]ist who believes in the existence of [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrials]] and a [[Conspiracy|government conspiracy]] to hide the truth regarding them. He works in the X-Files division, which is concerned with cases marked as unsolvable; most involve supernatural/mysterious circumstances. Mulder considers the [[X-file|X-Files]] so important that he has made their study his life's main purpose.{{sfn|Hurwitz|Knowles|2008|p=71}} After his [[Colonist (The X-Files)|abduction by aliens]] at the end of [[The X-Files season 7|season seven]], his role in the show diminishes and much of his work is taken on by Special Agent John Doggett.<ref name=nyt/> He appears in an episode of ''[[The Lone Gunmen (TV series)|The Lone Gunmen]]'' and in both the 1998 film ''[[The X-Files (film)|The X-Files]]'' and the 2008 film ''[[The X-Files: I Want to Believe]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Richmond |first=Alex |title=All About Yves |url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-lone-gunmen/all-about-yves/ |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |work=[[Television Without Pity]] |access-date=December 3, 2012 |archive-date=December 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206102402/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-lone-gunmen/all-about-yves/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Duncan|1998|loc=passim}}{{sfn|Hurwitz|Knowles|2008|pp=221{{en dash}}33}}
* [[Dana Scully]] is portrayed by [[Gillian Anderson]]:<br />Scully is an FBI Special Agent, a medical doctor, and scientist who is Mulder's partner. In contrast to his credulity, Scully is a skeptic, basing her beliefs on scientific explanations.{{sfn|Hurwitz|Knowles|2008|p=137}} However, despite her otherwise rigid skepticism, she is a [[Catholicism|Catholic]], and her faith plays an important role in several episodes.{{sfn|Kowalski|2007|p=50}} As the series progresses, she becomes more open to the possibility of paranormal happenings.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gross |first=Terry |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1119302 |title=Interview with Chris Carter |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |date=March 2001 |access-date=December 3, 2012}}</ref> In the latter part of the eighth season, her position in the X-Files office is taken by Special Agent Monica Reyes, and Scully moves to [[Quantico, Virginia|Quantico]] to teach new FBI Special Agents.<ref name=alonebbc>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/xfiles/episodeguide/eight/page19.shtml |title=Alone |work=BBC Cult |access-date=March 21, 2012}}</ref> She appears in both ''The X-Files'' feature films.{{sfn|Duncan|1998|loc=passim}}{{sfn|Hurwitz|Knowles|2008|pp=221{{en dash}}33}}
* [[John Doggett]] is portrayed by [[Robert Patrick]] (seasons 8–9):<br />Doggett is an FBI Special Agent who makes his first appearance in the season eight episode "[[Within (The X-Files)|Within]]". Doggett served in the United States Marine Corps from the 1970s to the 1980s. Later, he started to work with the [[New York City Police Department]], reaching the rank of Detective.<ref name="Within">{{cite episode |title=Within |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director); [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=8 |number=1}}</ref> After his son's death, he joined the FBI's [[FBI Criminal Investigative Division|Criminal Investigations Division.]]<ref>{{cite episode |title=Empedocles |series=The X-Files |credits=Barry K. Thomas (director); Greg Walker (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=8 |number=17}}</ref> In 2000, [[Alvin Kersh]] assigned him to the [[X-files unit|X-Files unit]] as Scully's partner after an unsuccessful task force attempt to find Mulder.<ref name="Within"/> He does not appear in ''The X-Files'' feature films.
* [[Monica Reyes]] is portrayed by [[Annabeth Gish]] (season 9; also starring season 8; guest seasons 10–11):<br />Reyes is an FBI Special Agent who was born and raised in [[Mexico City]].<ref name="John_Doe">{{cite episode |episode-link=John Doe (The X-Files) |title=John Doe |series=The X-Files |credits=Michelle Maxwell MacLaren (director); [[Vince Gilligan]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=9 |number=7 |airdate=January 13, 2002}}</ref> She majored in folklore and mythology at [[Brown University]] and earned a master's degree in religious studies. Her first FBI assignment was serving on a special task force investigating rituals.<ref name="This_Is_Not_Happening">{{cite episode |episode-link=This Is Not Happening (The X-Files) |title=This Is Not Happening |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director); [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] & [[Frank Spotnitz]] (writers) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=8 |number=14 |airdate=February 25, 2001}}</ref> She is a longtime friend of Doggett's and becomes his partner after Scully's departure.<ref name=alonebbc/><ref name="This_Is_Not_Happening"/> She did not appear in ''The X-Files'' feature films.
* [[Walter Skinner]] is portrayed by [[Mitch Pileggi]] (season 9–11; also starring seasons 3–8; recurring season 2; guest season 1):<br />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.<ref name="One_Breath">{{cite episode |title=One Breath |series=The X-Files |credits=[[R.W. Goodwin]] (director); [[Glen Morgan]] & [[James Wong (producer)|James Wong]] (writers) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=2 |number=8}}</ref> Skinner is originally Mulder and Scully's direct supervisor.<ref name="Tooms">{{cite episode |title=Tooms |series=The X-Files |credits=[[David Nutter]] (director); [[Glen Morgan]] & [[James Wong (producer)|James Wong]] (writers) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=1 |number=21}}</ref> He later serves the same position for Doggett and Reyes.<ref name="Within" /> Although he is originally portrayed as somewhat antagonistic, he eventually becomes a close friend of Mulder and Scully.<ref name="Within" /><ref name="Requiem" /> He appeared in an episode of ''The Lone Gunmen'' and in both ''The X-Files'' feature films.{{sfn|Hurwitz|Knowles|2008|pp=221{{en dash}}33}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Richmond |first=Alex |title=The Lying Game |url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-lone-gunmen/the-lying-game/ |work=[[Television Without Pity]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |access-date=December 3, 2012 |archive-date=December 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206141206/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-lone-gunmen/the-lying-game/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Also starring===
* [[Cigarette Smoking Man]] is portrayed by [[William B. Davis]] (seasons 4–7, 9; recurring seasons 1–3, 10–11):<br />The Cigarette Smoking Man is the series' primary villain. In the ninth-season episodes "William" and "The Truth", it is suggested that he is Mulder's biological father.<ref name="William"/><ref name="The_Truth"/> In the seventh-season episode "[[Requiem (The X-Files)|Requiem]]", he is believed to have been killed after being pushed down a flight of stairs by [[Alex Krycek]] until the ninth-season finale "[[The Truth (The X-Files)|The Truth]]", in which Mulder and Scully travel through remote New Mexico and reach a pueblo where a "wise man" reputedly lives, who is revealed to be Cigarette Smoking Man.<ref name="truthbbc"/><ref name="Requiem">{{cite episode |title=Requiem |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director); [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=7 |number=22}}</ref> He also appears in the 1998 feature film.{{sfn|Duncan|1998|loc=passism}}
* [[Alex Krycek]] is portrayed by [[Nicholas Lea]] (seasons 5–9; recurring seasons 2–3; guest season 4):<br />Krycek is a Russian-American, the son of Cold War immigrants, and first introduced as an FBI Special Agent assigned as a temporary investigation partner to Fox Mulder.<ref name="Tunguska">{{cite episode |episode-link=Tunguska (The X-Files) |title=Tunguska |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director), [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] & [[Frank Spotnitz]] (writers) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] |season=4 |number=8}}</ref><ref name="Sleepless">{{cite episode |episode-link=Sleepless (The X-Files) |title=Sleepless |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Rob Bowman (filmmaker)|Rob Bowman]] (director), [[Howard Gordon]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] |season=2 |number=4}}</ref> Krycek proceeds to work with Mulder and attempts to gain his trust. However, it later becomes evident that Krycek is actually an undercover agent working for Cigarette Smoking Man. Krycek plays an important part in several events that are harmful to Mulder and Scully.<ref name="Sleepless"/><ref name="Anasazi">{{cite episode |episode-link=Anasazi (The X-Files) |title=Anasazi |series=The X-Files |credits=[[R.W. Goodwin]] (director), [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] |season=2 |number=25}}</ref><ref name="SR">{{cite episode |episode-link=S.R. 819 (The X-Files) |title=S.R. 819 |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Daniel Sackheim]] (director), John Shiban (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] |season=6 |number=9}}</ref><ref name="Deadalive">{{cite episode |episode-link=Deadalive |title=Deadalive |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Tony Wharmby]] (director), [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] & [[Frank Spotnitz]] (writers) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] |season=8 |number=15}}</ref><ref name="Existence">{{cite episode |episode-link=Existence (The X-Files) |title=Existence |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director), [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] |season=8 |number=21}}</ref>
* [[Jeffrey Spender]] is portrayed by [[Chris Owens (actor)|Chris Owens]] (season 6; recurring season 5; guest seasons 9, 11):<br />Spender is a skeptic who is assigned to The X-Files after Fox Mulder's forced leave.<ref name=beginningepisode6/> He is the son of Cigarette Smoking Man and his ex-wife, multiple abductee Cassandra Spender,<ref name="One_Son">{{cite episode |title=One Son |series=The X-Files |credits=''Director:'' [[Rob Bowman (filmmaker)|Rob Bowman]] ''Writer(s):'' [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] & [[Frank Spotnitz]] |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company]] |season=6 |number=12}}</ref> as well as possibly being the half-brother of Mulder.<ref name="William"/><ref name="The_Truth"/> Initially thought to have been murdered by Cigarette Smoking Man, Spender returns, horribly disfigured in the [[William (The X-Files)|ninth season]] and helps Scully's son William.<ref name="William">{{cite episode |title=William |series=The X-Files |credits=''Director:'' [[David Duchovny]] ''Writer(s):'' David Duchovny, [[Frank Spotnitz]] & [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company]] |season=9 |number=16}}</ref>
* [[Alvin Kersh]] is portrayed by [[James Pickens Jr.]] (season 9; recurring seasons 6, 8; guest season 11):<br />As an assistant director (and later deputy director), he temporarily becomes supervisor to Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully when they are assigned away from the X-Files division.<ref name=beginningepisode6>{{cite episode |episode-link=The Beginning (The X-Files) |title=The Beginning |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director); [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer) |airdate=November 8, 1998 |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |season=6 |number=1}}</ref> During this time, Cigarette Smoking Man often visits him in his office.<ref>{{cite episode |episode-link=Triangle (The X-Files) |title=Triangle |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer & director) |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |season=6 |number=3 |airdate=November 22, 1998}}</ref> Kersh assigns Mulder and Scully mostly to menial tasks, such as terrorist details and Federal background checks.<ref>{{cite episode |episode-link=Drive (The X-Files) |title=Drive |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Rob Bowman (filmmaker)|Rob Bowman]] (director); [[Vince Gilligan]] (writer) |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |season=6 |number=2 |airdate=November 15, 1998}}</ref> Kersh is largely antagonistic to Mulder and Scully but in "The Truth" somewhat redeems himself by helping Mulder escape a death sentence.<ref name="The_Truth">{{cite episode |episode-link=The Truth (The X-Files) |title=The Truth |series=The X-Files |credits=[[Kim Manners]] (director); [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] (writer) |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |season=9 |number=19 & 20 |airdate=May 12, 2002}}</ref>