In the peculiar, paranormal universe of The X-Files, Chris Owens has fit in nicely. Having appeared on the Fox series in 1996 as a younger version of the shadowy Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM), he also played two other characters on the show. But it is as FBI Agent Jeffrey Spender that the Toronto native has found a recurring role. Introduced last season as the son of CSM, Spender has been more foil than friend to Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). However, Owens suggests that a two-episode story airing in February will alter that perception. "I'm going back and forth between trying to impress and understand my father [and] rejecting him. Now that I'm learning more about the kind of work [Mulder and Scully] do, my eyes are opening."

With the show now filming in Los Angeles, Owens, 37, has had to adjust to the move away from Vancouver — and from his girlfriend of more than five years, law student Tara Parker. "We just try to keep the daily communication going."

Owens had some interesting communication with series creator Chris Carter before he received his script for the second episode of the two-parter. "Chris told me something fairly drastic will happen, adding, 'Just trust me.' I told him I trust him implicitly. He chuckled and said, 'Trust no one.' When I hung up the phone, I swear, within four beats, this script arrived. I don't just play on X-Files, I live X-Files." — Ty Holland