From FREETIME, July 31st-August 31st 1996 X Communications Currently the most popular TV show in the world is, without a doubt, the science fiction effort entitled THE X-FILES, a weekly delve into the world of the paranormal, unexplained and plain interesting. Caroline Vincent met two of the series' stars, Mitch Pileggi and Nicholas Lea, FBI agents Skinner and Krycek respectively, and attempted to determine just why the show is so darned successful. It's the latest worldwide phenomenon which has already grossed over $2 billion worldwide, a TV show which is watched in over twenty countries, and in each of those areas, regularly ranked among its top ten most watched shows. The mere mention of its name is enough to inspire a fanatic-like response from its legion of worldwide fans who fully believe in the authenticity of the show, and a picture of the two leads on the cover is all it takes to sell out a slow shifting magazine in a manner of minutes. What's even more impressive about all these achievements is the fact that this show is what you might call a "science fiction" one, usually the kiss of death in terms of family friendly entertainment values, wherein a show of this genre will either end up as a final product which is an obscure "cult rated" late night slot filler, or cheesy special effects driven drivel that folds at the end of the first series. THE X-FILES currently sits pretty as just about the most popular TV show in the world, generating so much income and interest it's more or less a license to print money, most of which merchandise featuring either of the show's not unattractive two leads, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. They play FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who work in the little advertised department known as "The X Files," an area of the bureau where they investigate all sorts of strange events, more often than not of the Unidentified Flying Object variety. But what most people who watch the show don't realize is that it's a bit more of an ensemble than the hype machine suggests, relying on the supporting characters almost as much as your ability to suspend disbelief while watching, such as Mitch Pileggi, who plays the pair's boss, Assistant Director Walter Skinner. After joining the show mid-way through its first season, he has a fairly good inside view on the ins and outs of day-to-day shooting, and has his own opinion as to why the show is so gosh-darned successful... "My response is David Duchovny looks great in a Speedo," Mitch, wacky guy that he is, told Freetime in a Bristol hotel recently, stopping off west as part of a nationwide promotional tour for the show. "Don't you think he does?" Erm, I suppose so, but seriously, Mitch.... "Okay, I think it's well done, it taps into certain things in human natures that is appealing," he adds on a slightly more strait faced note, "the paranoia that people experience concerning government conspiracy, regarding extraterrestrials or any other type of government cover-up, and people like to be scared, too." "It's in human nature that we like the thrill of being scared, the adrenaline rush, and I think THE X- FILES scares people..." Also present is Pileggi's co-star in the show, Nicholas Lea who plays Agent Krycek, an actor who also walked through the X-FILES' door rather late in the series' life after signing up as a recurring character for the show's second season. And although he initially appears to be on the side of the angels while working as Mulder's new partner, it soon transpires that the man has a bit of a hidden agenda which may mean long term problems for our heroes. Thankfully for your correspondent, none of his on-screen alter-ego's psychopathic tendencies are evident today, but instead, the twentysomething performer comes across as a down-to-earth actor who likes to chat about the staggering success of the show. For instance, if you ask him if he thought success for the show created by Chris Carter, (the man who currently serves in the role of executive producer), was always in the cards, his carefully considered response is a humble and philosophical one. "Well, you can never gauge the success of a show because some shows are wonderful and go six episodes and get cancelled," he says, "so you can certainly think you're working on a show which is good quality but you can never rely on anything." "It may not necessarily translate as success but right from my experiences on the show I knew I was working with good people, I had ho idea that it would explode into the kind of success that it's had." "I wouldn't say that I knew for sure from the start that it would be successful, but I knew that I was in a really good show." "I'd go along with that," nods Mitch, on the very same subject, "this show is written so well, not only with the material, but it's got an excellent cast and crew." "I was just commenting how comfortable I felt the very first time I came in, the first episode I did during the first season, I immediately felt accepted by David and Gillian, and the crew, right through to everybody else on the show, and that's a very, very unusual situation, because quite often you come in as a guest star and you feel like an outsider because everyone else is there, established, but this was immediate acceptance by everybody and it was a treat, as we like to say." "I think that's gone a long way towards its success." Ah yes, the other actors involved, which leads us to a very interesting point on that very same subject, because, as you're sure to have noticed, if you've seen the show at least once, THE X-FILES is probably the best cast show since STAR TREK in the sixties in terms of on-screen chemistry between the main characters. Not only do the two main players receive well over two thousand fan letters a week, but usually when they share the same camera shot, the characters of Mulder and Scully ooze charm and charisma, coming across as more than a little bit likeable. However, in true Hollywood tradition, it wouldn't be a surprise to discover that when those cameras stop rolling, these two overpaid prima donnas revert back to starlet mode and throw their fair share of temper tantrums. Alas it's not true going by going by Pileggi's response when quizzed on the subject. "As far as a working relationship goes, " he explains, "they're both consummate professionals and extremely, extremely good to work with, from an actor's standpoint, because they give so much, not only when they're doing their singles but when you're doing your singles and they're off camera." "David often complains that I save my best stuff for when I'm on camera, he kids me about it, we have a lot of fun and our working relationship is extraordinary." What about you, Nicholas, how do you find the actors to work with? "Horrible..." he deadpans with a chuckle. "Yeah," adds Mitch, "David's a little too touchy for my tastes...." "No, I'm only kidding," picks up Lea once more. "Unfortunately, I don't spend a great deal of time away from the set with Gillian because she's married and she has a baby, but David, Mitch and I spent a great deal of time together, we've become good friends." "I go to his house in L.A. and we hang out a lot, we eat a lot of dinners together, things like that, movies, basketball..." And when they do those things, they probably have a lot of common interests to talk about, such as the aforementioned high amount of fan mail they all get from the millions of X-FILES fans the world over, or X-Philes as they like to be called. However, it must be said that Lea's bulging postbag may not necessarily be full of the same adoring adulation which Messrs. Anderson and Duchovny receive, but on a slightly less friendly basis. Because, since Nicholas Lea's character of Krycek first showed his true colors as a treacherous turncoat in the second season episode "Ascension," the actor has come in for the traditional bad buy battering in the fan press. Not only have there been lengthy discussions on the ways to kill the character on the Internet, but there have also been convention panels discussing how devious Krycek really is and thousands of letters telling him off for being such a dastardly scoundrel who really should know better. Or something. It's an aspect of the job which has delighted Lea no end. "I think it's great because it means I'm doing my job on the show," he grins, "as long as I don't get attacked or approached at gun point. I think it also means that I'm doing well, or doing what I've been asked to do. Hopefully, the character's one of those guys that you love to hate, you don't just hate and want him off the show, but you love to hate him." "That's what I liked about the character when I first got the script...He was leading a double life and you know, he was all polish and shine on the outside and all bad on the inside, all very devious on the inside." "I wouldn't say he was bad, but he was lying his way through the very first episode and I thought that was very interesting, because it gives you the opportunity to play the good guy but then hopefully let little bits of things come out between the cracks, just little indications here and there, you know..." "Plus, being in the show has really opened door for me," he adds, "I go to auditions and people will recognize me from the show. I just did a pilot for Fox this spring and when I went in to audition the head of Fox Television already knew who I was and had watched me on the show. So, I mean, that sort of focus or spotlight or whatever is priceless, don't you think, Mitch?" "I haven't really had the opportunity," his coworker counters, "since I've been doing the show, I've just been doing the show and haven't had the opportunity to do anything else. So I don't know, I haven't tested those waters yet." On the other hand, appearing in such a successful show can sometimes be detrimental to an actor's long-term career. Take for example the aforementioned classic TV series, STAR TREK, another science fiction epic which was highly thought of back then, being that fans of the genre might describe it as the X-FILES of its day, equally groundbreaking and innovative whilst managing to catch the imagination of its viewers to such an extent that the legend still thrives three decades later. And although that show's two leads, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, didn't do too badly in terms of their bank balances, after the show had ended, their careers were somewhat shadowed by the characters they once played. Is that something that could happen to the X- FILES' actors? Lea's answer is swift and without hesitation. "I'm not worried about that at all," he counters, perhaps just a tad defensively. "I don't think this is the kind of show that's going to do that for us specifically, and I don't worry about that in my career anyway..." "There's no point in worrying about it, unless every single role that I do is like Krycek, then I'll be concerned, but I don't foresee that in the future at all...." While Pileggi, on the other hand, who has already played a wide range of characters and been around the acting block a few times, is a little more laid back in his answer. "The character is a departure for me," he says, "'cause in other characters I've done, I was pigeonholed and played a lot of psychos, so I think this is opening up new doors for me, it's showing people that I can play different types of characters other than I've played in the past, so it's been advantageous for me to play this type of character." And when those cameras aren't rolling, has the show changed the men on a bit more of a personal level? After all, as the show suggests, "The Truth Is Out There," although which truth depends entirely on your beliefs in the first place. So are Pileggi and Lea method actors? Do they take their work home with them so they can go home to their bedrooms and look through their telescopes in search of alien life? The answer, as someone once said, may surprise you.... "I believe in invisible elephants..." says Mitch, japester that he is. "I believe, certainly, in government cover ups and conspiracies that go on," adds Nicholas, keen to keep things at least semi-serious, "I believe in the possibility of alien life forms outside of our Earth, and I believe in ghosts and spirits as well." Pileggi refuses to be drawn into this serious business lark, and decides to have a bit of a sing-song instead.... "I believe in magic in a young girl's heart..." he croons to your correspondent before turning to his co-star. "Do you believe in magic?" "There's a song in there somewhere." Lea chuckles. "Yeah, I think so," Pileggi, the silver-tongued devil, answers. So has being on the show changed any of those beliefs? "Nope," states Nicholas, matter-of-factly. Mitch picks up once more. "My views were established before I started doing the show," he says. "So I don't think it's really made any difference in those views...." Which just about all we have time for, as they say on the news, as the pairs publicist is standing nearby and eager to wrap things up, thus enabling the boys to go sign a few more thousand autographs, have maybe a beer or two, meet and greet those fans and go on spreading the word of THE X-FILES.... But before they dash off, just for the record, lads, what is the latest on the much touted X-FILES movie? "All I know..." answers Mitch, "...is that Chris has written it, or is writing it, I know he's been working on it, and they're talking about doing it next hiatus, next summer, so we'll see..." But until that time, the show's legions of the paranoid, pedantic and just plain normal will just have to be content with their weekly dose of the unexplained X-FILES excitement....