Sci-Fi TV

All right, so what�s the deal on The X-Files?

We now know that Special Agent Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) is the son of the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis). But if all the hints dropped about another father-son cover-up are true, then doesn�t that make him Fox Mulder�s (David Duchovny) half-brother?

CO laughs. �Apparently,� he explains, �I am Mulder�s half-brother. Has it been said in an episode, specifically, that I am Mulder�s half-brother? I don�t know. It�s funny, because I was with David at Thanksgiving dinner and he was introducing me to his family as his half-brother. So, I guess there must be some truth to it.�

Of course, all of the Spender-Mulder-CSM familial issues came into play in the intriguing two-parter, "Two Fathers" and "One Son." In typical XF fashion, the show answered a number of nagging questions and set up further mysteries. �It was a very good two-parter,� praises CO, who first arrived on TXF scene as the young CSM in Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man, and played the Cher-adoring peanut butter-chewing Mutato in the CC-directed "Post Modern Prometheus." Then, DD convinced CC to cast CO as JS, who was introduced in the "Patient X"-"The Red and the Black" two-parter. 2F and 1S really saw the black oil hit the fan. �Chris gave me a lot to do as Spender. I had been a disbeliever for a long time and for many good reasons. So, in the two-parter I began to see Mulder and Scully�s [Gillian Anderson] work in a different light. I also had my relationship with my father, which went back and forth as trust and mistrust.�

In 2F, viewers also caught up with the agent�s decidedly alienated mother, Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright), saw Krycek (Nicholas Lea) finish up a bit of murderous dirty work the CSM had assigned to Spender and witnessed Spender lobbying hard to have Mulder tossed not only off of the X-Files, but out of the FBI. CO found all of it fascinating. �CSM explained to me that there are Rebel Aliens, and that there is a way to kill them with the stiletto poker thing. Poker thing would be the technical phrase for it. So, CSM gave me one and said, �There is a man who has infiltrated the group [the Syndicate], but he really is an Alien Rebel. You will plunge this in the back of his neck.� Now, for a fellow like Spender, who had been a firm non-believer, that was quite a leap to finally find myself confronting someone I did not know and killing him. Krycek seemed to help me, but he�s a very slippery character and you never know what he�s really up to, especially because he wants to protect his position as CSM�s right-hand man. Despite their problems in the past, Krycek still feels the need to impress the CSM.�

1S provided plenty of other revelations. �We saw a little bit of the story through Spender�s eyes,� CO notes. �We learned more about what�s really going on with the black oil, with the Rebels, with regard to how and why Samantha, Mulder�s sister, was abducted. My mother was revealed to be an alien-human hybrid. It tied back a bit to TXF movie [which CO was not in because CC hired him to play JS �pretty much after they completed the film�]. It was the Syndicate�s way of protecting themselves. What they were trying to do was buy time before the aliens colonized Earth. They said they were trying to develop a hybrid, but what they were really working on was a vaccine against the black oil.�

CO catches himself in a torrent of X-speak and chuckles. �It�s funny. Nick Lea and I were talking about this the other night,� CO recalls. �When we receive the scripts, we have to go over them quite slowly, because there�s a lot of information in them. You want to make sure that you know what�s going on. Know who�s a Rebel, who�s not a Rebel, who�s an alien and who�s not. It can get confusing. Anyway, in the two-parter, you saw me go back and forth on my feelings for Mulder and his work. At the end, it was revealed that, in my mind, my father is evil because of what he has done to my mother. I now think that Mulder�s work deserves all the attention it can get. So, I even attempt to reinstate him on the X-Files, through Assistant Director Kersh [James Pickens, Jr.] Then I headed off to have one last scene with my father.�

As viewers may recall, that confrontation with CSM proved to be a rather deadly one. Nevertheless, CO - who says he�s contracted for further episodes - still ponders his alter-ego�s fate. After all, fans never saw a body. �I would like to know where Spender goes from here,� CO admits. �If indeed I believe somewhat in Mulder and Scully�s work, then how do I fit into that? What part do I fulfill in their journey through the paranormal? Will I branch off and out on my own? You saw that I decided to clear out my office. Now, that might mean I�m going to pursue my father on my own terms, or it could mean something else. So, Chris left Spender in a very curious place, and I�ve not shot another episode yet. What Chris has done - and he has done this with every character on the show - is give Spender a certain ambiguity. So, I can go either way. There are times it appears that I�ve gone over to the dark side with my father, but I�m also trying to get things from him. I knew [after 1S] that Chris was going to let everything hang for a little bit. Right now, I�m just enjoying LA, playing some hockey and checking out clubs.�

But what�s the truth about the man behind Spender?

CO was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and from an early age enjoyed telling stories and performing. As a teenager, he dabbled in writing and acted in his own shows with neighborhood pals. �Acting was just something that always intrigued me. I admired actors. I admired good stories. I started on stage. As a teen,� he recalls, �I went to New York City and studied acting at the HB Studio. Then I did years of community theater and episodic work, movies of the week and a lot of waitering and bartending, mostly in Canada.�

A glance at CO�s bio reveals that his resume of 40-something roles includes episodes of Stargate SG-1, Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal and Millennium, as well as Disturbing Behavior, a film directed by XF veteran David Nutter. Given all these genre credits, one might assume that he really gets a kick out of SF. Or perhaps it�s because CO lived in Canada, the home to so many SF productions, that he naturally migrated to the opportunities available. �I like doing SF, but it�s also Vancouver,� he explains. �There were many SF shows being filmed up there, and there still are. So, it was the work available. I didn�t envision myself doing SF or playing the variety of cops that I�ve played. So, you just never know what you�ll get into in the acting business.

�I enjoyed my Stargate. I had a couple of nice scenes with Richard Dean Anderson. I was on Earth, as a journalist trying to unveil the Stargate program to the public. That was a nice twist. My Millennium was good, too. Glen Morgan, who wrote "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man," also wrote the Millennium I did. And Lance Henriksen? You just can�t say enough about him. He�s a terrific actor with a great sense of humor.

�I had such a small part in Disturbing Behavior. I�m just at the very beginning as a cop, and I die very quickly. It was David�s little wink at X Files fans to use me.�

As for CO�s pre-Spender XF adventures?

�They were both great gigs. This is where I count myself as one very fortunate actor. It takes so much effort just to get a single job at any time,� he muses. �I�ve been in the business a long time. I�ve done a lot of bartending. To be on a show with the kind of writing The X-Files has is a pleasure. It gives an actor such an opportunity. You can�t believe you�re being paid, although I am glad I�m being paid. On "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man," Glen Morgan wrote and James Wong directed a wonderful script that, to my mind, was actor-proof. It was great to work on. "Post Modern" was written and directed by Chris. It was shot in black and white. I thought it was a wonderful fairy tale, and I especially enjoyed the ending when Mulder and Scully danced. I thought that said a lot about their relationship. It was fun to play the creature but I don�t know how often I would like to endure six hours of makeup a day.�

Looking back at his season six Spender episodes, CO points to the 2F-1S two-parter and "Triangle," the ship-bound hour in which he portrayed both Spender and a Nazi, as his most memorable outings. �The Queen Mary episode I enjoyed very much,� he says of the CC-directed "Triangle." �Even though I was playing a Nazi officer, I liked the story. It was shot [Rope-style] in continuous time. It was tough, but a lot of fun to do. The two-parter was great, too. So much happened, and I got to work with almost everybody, from Veronica, who�s a wonderful actress, to Nick, William B. Davis, Mimi Rogers and Mitch Pileggi.�

In "Triangle," Scully kissed practically everybody but Spender, a situation that amuses CO. Some people have surmised, half-jokingly, that jealousy caused Nazi/Spender to turn Scully in. �That�s possible,� agrees CO. �From Spender�s perspective, I hardly know Scully. I�ve had far more dealings with Mulder. Sometimes Scully is just an enigma to me. She�ll suddenly side with Mulder on occasion, and I don�t know why. To Spender�s mind, I�ve never done anything wrong to her. I guess she�s just siding with her partner. I loved Mulder and Scully�s kiss in that episode. I thought it was one of the show�s highlights. It�s funny, when I first came on everybody was buzzing, �Oh, Scully and the new agent. What�s going to happen?� But that�s not really X-Files style.�

That style offers a great deal of substance.

For CO, it begins with his co-stars, as well as CC and Kim Manners, another director who frequently helms Spender-heavy episodes. �At the risk of sounding like Mr. Wishy-washy, everybody is wonderful. It makes going to work a true pleasure,� he praises. �They all have their different methods of working, but each of them is great to play off of. There�s no acting required when you�re working with Veronica. Working with Mimi is a delight. She�s mischievous, a lot of fun. As far as the relationship between the two agents [Spender and Rogers� recurring character, Special Agent Diana Fowley], I�m not really sure what�s going on there. We�ve been paired together work-wise once in a while, but haven�t seen much else beyond our immediate assignments.

�Chris is very specific when he directs, and I�ve been fortunate enough to be directed by him a number of times,� the actor continues. �He�s also very poised and professional. He gives his actors individual direction. He�ll take you aside and whisper a direction in your ear. Chris always seems to know just the right thing to tell me, in terms of what direction to go in when I�m playing a scene. He also gives me enormous freedom. He�ll say, � I would like you to get to this place at some point during the scene. You find your own way.� Kim is very vocal on the set. He drives the set with his own energy. That�s very exciting, too. His favorite phrase is, �All right, let�s kick it in the ass.� You would never hear Chris say that.�

And just what was Spender doing on a typical day during those months he was in charge of the X Files? �He just sits in his basement office all afternoon, waiting for something to happen. It seems like he�s there to debunk Mulder and Scully, and that�s it. But he did have an assignment that was preoccupying him,� CO concludes. �When the two-parter started, it was actually the very first thing on his mind. He had been given all these X Files to take a look at, but he was only focusing on his mother�s disappearance. When I�m not doing that, I have the feeling that Spender just drinks scotch and hangs out at leather bars waiting for assignments.�