Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish, and Frank Spotnitz are familiar names to The X-Files fans, but they're much more than that. Patrick and Gish, who starred as John Doggett and Monica Reyes in The X-Files, and Spotnitz, who was one of the minds behind some of the show's most memorable episodes, have successful careers outside of the groundbreaking sci-fi drama. With a passionate fanbase that, even almost twenty years since the show's premiere, is still pretty invested, it's hard to separate them completely from the show. In great news for the fans, they don't want to be.
The trio is reuniting for a tribute to beloved characters Monica Reyes and John Doggett in a special Q&A event that will also feature writer/executive producer Frank Spotnitz. The reunion and live Q&A will take place July 30 at 11 am PT/2 pm EST on The Companion. CBR had a chance to talk to Patrick, Gish, and Spotnitz about their careers, as well as The X-Files, in preparation for this reunion.
CBR: There's an entire generation that grew up on The X-Files. How does it feel to now look back and to encounter so many people who consider the show a defining moment for them growing up? Is that something you ever imagined as the show was going on?
Robert Patrick: Yes, I knew the show had a strong fan base. I knew the fans had a strong connection. It only makes sense they have a proprietary feeling toward the show.
Frank Spotnitz: It's a great feeling! When I was doing the series with Chris Carter, we talked about how we wanted to make a show that people would remember and not watch just once but again and again. I would say the longevity of The X-Files is a dream come true, except that this is better than I dreamt. I have met so many people who said they loved the series, and for some, it did more than entertain them -- it had a real meaning that affected their lives. The most famous example of that is the "Scully effect," the number of girls who grew up to follow Agent Scully into professional careers in science. That is truly beyond anything I dreamt.
Annabeth Gish: I was also a part of the generation that grew up on The X-Files -- at least the beginning of it seemed formative, and the wave of its popularity began when I was 18, a teenager… To later become a part of it was a bit surreal, even though it was shaping into a new iteration of itself. The fact that the show has left such an imprint upon multiple generations is a testament to its depth and breadth of resonance. It had science and mystery and faith and doubt. It had action and horror and love and yet a mixture that left much to imagine and desire. Many fans of The X-Files have made their own interpretations and theories of the mecca of The X-Files lore. It's quite a trip to be a small part of it.
Is there something you haven't gotten to do in your career that you'd like to try? Maybe a type of character or a genre?
Patrick: A musical!
Spotnitz: There is SO much I want to do. I am really thrilled that I've had the chance to try so many genres. Two more on my list that I would love to tackle are a Western and a love story.
Gish: There is much more I'd like to explore... That's the beautiful gift of this industry and this career path. The creative options are endless. That being said, I might be in the mood for some more grounded, reality-based work coming up. My cortisol levels might appreciate some calmer emotional states of being to play.
Do you have a favorite moment for your character in The X-Files or a favorite moment in general?
Patrick: It was all great! Every minute! I wish it never ended! I would still be doing it happily!
Gish: "Audrey Pauley" and "4-D" were my personal favorite episodes to film -- again, they very much suited my own sensibilities. I miss playing Monica, at least the Monica of origin. The Monica Reyes of the "revivals" was rather mystifying for me in too many ways. I mean, I quite struggled to make sense of her. I don't think I am alone in this.
Robert, you've played so many different characters. You went from Terminator to The X-Files and now, more recently, Peacemaker, and have had the chance to play many different iconic characters. Without attempting to pick a favorite, is there a particular defining trait from these characters you relate to?
Patrick: I went to The X-Files after doing The Sopranos, which opened my eyes to finding something to do on TV -- more specifically, something that would shoot in L.A. so I could be at home with my two young children and my wife. I was looking for a job. If it was good or bad, if it fit with what I was looking for at the time, it did not matter.
Annabeth, The X-Files always stayed in a gray area regarding supernatural things and whether there was really a logical explanation for them. You've gone on to do more fantasy and are now doing Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches. Do you have a preference between playing the normal person in a world of maybe supernatural stuff or full-on supernatural?
Gish: I love the gray areas way more than black and white. It's where all things mutable and mysterious live. So, I suppose it makes sense that I am drawn to sci-fi and fantasy and horror, even (albeit thoughtful horror rather than gore porn). I certainly have had a recent run in the realms of these worlds lately. Storytelling as heightened experience and realities is always fun to work with as an actor because the emotions are so readily present and dramatic.
What was your favorite thing about playing Monica Reyes?
Gish: Monica was an amalgam of contradictory traits. I loved playing her because I think that might be quite true for my own personality, too. She suited me very well.
Frank, you got to do a lot of different things in The X-Files. Was there a story you wanted to tell and didn't get a chance to?
Spotnitz: I remember fragments of ideas for episodes that we could never quite crack, but the story that I'm saddest not to have told was the culmination of the alien mythology. We ended the TV series on a cliff-hanger that I fully expected would continue in a movie franchise. That obviously didn't happen, and I consider it by far the greatest lost opportunity in the history of The X-Files.
Do you have a favorite The X-Files episode you were involved in? Mine might be "Memento Mori," but there is a great deal to choose from.
Spotnitz: Yes, I would have to say "Memento Mori," too, but that's at the top of a very long list!
Tune into the reunion and live Q&A on July 30 at 11 am PT/2 pm EST on The Companion.