What The Cast Of The X-Files Looks Like Today

"The X-Files" premiered in 1993 with an ingenious premise. The show centers around two special agents at the FBI who are assigned to investigate strange cases, looking into odd events that might have rational explanations ... or might be evidence of something paranormal. Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is the pragmatic one, the one who always looks to explain away a case's odd implications. Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), on the other hand, wants to believe.

The show was a massive success and eventually developed a focus on a vast government conspiracy, blending case-of-the-week episodes with installments focused on a more ongoing mythology. That meant picking up a sprawling ensemble cast, too. The show went off the air in 2002, but the "X-Files" fan base is still going strong; in addition to multiple films set in the universe of the show, the series itself has come back for additional episodes in both 2016 and 2018.

In other words, fans of "The X-Files" are very much still interested in what the former cast of the show is up to these days. Fan conventions still take place regularly, and anybody who's been associated with that deliciously weird theme song still gets asked about it any time they appear in public. If it's been too long since you checked in with your favorite actors from the show, read on to learn what the cast of "The X-Files" looks like today.

"The X-Files" was such a success, in part, because of the incredible chemistry between its two main leads. The show dragged out their will-they, won't-they relationship for years, and then they did, and then David Duchovny wasn't sure what should happen next. He left "The X-Files" for a while to see what else the industry had to offer, becoming a cautionary tale for actors who left cushy gigs for solo stardom, only to crash and burn.

Duchovny came back for the show's various revivals, and he also ultimately found success on other shows and in film. He led hits like "Californication," and in 2026, he starred in the Jay Duplass film "See You When I See You."

Gillian Anderson's Dana Scully appeared in more episodes of "The X-Files" than any other character; even when David Duchovny left the show behind, Anderson stuck with it. Unfortunately, even though "Sinners" director Ryan Coogler is in development on a reboot of the show, Anderson told ScreenRant in 2026 that Scully likely won't be involved. "I have not had those conversations or those thoughts," she said simply.

Fans of Anderson's work need not worry; they have plenty of opportunities to see her act in many other projects. Anderson's role on "The Crown" caused controversy, and she also led Netflix's  "Sex Education." She's also still a film star, having appeared in the 2025 film "Tron Ares" and 2026's "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma."

As "The X-Files" began exploring a deeper conspiracy taking place at the FBI, the show added a number of recurring characters to populate the bureaucracy that Mulder and Scully moved through. That included Mitch Pileggi's character Skinner, who first appeared at the end of the first season and became a recurring character moving forward.

If you're looking into whatever happened to the cast of "The X-Files," you can look no further than The CW's "Walker," which paired Pileggi with "Supernatural" star Jared Padalecki ... another actor who knows a thing or two about shows that center on duos investigating cases far outside our typical reality!

William B. Davis played the Smoking Man on "The X-Files," a mysterious character at the FBI who is gradually revealed to be one of the biggest antagonists on the show. He's there in the boardrooms where bureaucracy happens, smoking his cigarettes in the corner ... and maybe directing everything that happens from the shadows.

Davis still acts in shows like "Upload" and "The Midnight Club," and he is a regular on the convention circuit, still talking about "The X-Files." He told Mad Bros Media that he initially had no idea the Smoking Man would become such a central figure on the show, revealing that he was initially only cast for one silent appearance. "I didn't know if that was ever going to turn out to be anything except that one gig," he said.

Depending on your age, you may know Robert Patrick from several very different beloved sci-fi properties. If you were too young to meet Patrick in his role as the silvery, shape-shifting robot in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," you may instead know him from the cast of "Spy Kids." On "The X-Files," Patrick was brought in to play Doggett when David Duchovny left the show, giving Scully another partner in exploring the supernatural.

Patrick continues to act regularly, including on streaming hits like "1923," "Tulsa King," and "Peacemaker."

Annabeth Gish has had a long career in the entertainment industry, starring in "Mystic Pizza" more than a decade before Agent Monica Reyes joined the revolving-door cast of characters on "The X-Files." She later brought the character back for the show's streaming revivals, and she told SciFi Vision that she'd be happy to do so anytime she was asked because she appreciates her co-stars so much. "I will always say yes to working with them," she said.

Fans of Gish can see her regularly in many non-"X-Files" properties, too. She appeared on "Midnight Mass," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Haunting of Hill House" for Netflix, and she's also been on shows like "Mayfair Witches," "Barry," and "Chicago Fire."

As the world of "The X-Files" expanded, Mulder and Scully were occasionally joined by (and often antagonized by) Agent Krycek, played by Nicholas Lea. He's all too happy to keep talking about his role all these years later, telling The X-Files Fan Retrospective in 2023, "I am constantly knocked out by the energy of the people that love the show, and they come from everywhere to see us at events."

After "The X-Files" went off the air, sci-fi fans may have followed Lea to his role as part of the cast of "Kyle XY." Other roles have included "Supernatural," "The Stand," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Steven Williams played the enigmatically named Mr. X on "The X-Files," a character who, as you might imagine, becomes quite related to the ongoing mythos of the show ... and to say too much more would get us into spoiler territory. In a recent interview with The X-Files Fan Retrospective, he joked, "Thank you for watching; thank you for being a fan. If you're not a fan, go on, give it a shot."

He's still a regular actor, signing on to recurring television roles in shows like "Snowfall," "The Chi," "FBI: Most Wanted," and "The Family Business." He was also on "All Rise," which aired TV's first all-virtual episode over the COVID-19 pandemic.

As fans grew to love Mulder and Scully, the show introduced more of their home lives. That's how we met Maggie (Sheila Larken), the mother of Gillian Anderson's character. She recurred throughout the series, ultimately appearing on 17 episodes, including in the revival.

Larken doesn't act much these days; in fact, her 2016 episodes of "The X-Files" are her most recent credit on IMDb. Still, she's happy to keep "X-Files" fans fed with convention appearances and interviews. As she told The X-Files Fan Retrospective, "It just became like one great big family."

James Pickens Jr. played Deputy Director Alvin Kersh on "The X-Files," yet another layer of the FBI bureaucracy that seemed determined to get in the way of Mulder and Scully uncovering the truth about what's out there.

Any fan interested in seeing what Pickens looks like today needs to look no further than whatever they're calling Seattle Grace Hospital these days; Pickens is still part of the original cast of "Grey's Anatomy," more than two decades later.

In the first season of "The X-Files," fans first met The Lone Gunmen — a trio of nerds who were as  obsessed with the paranormal as Mulder and Scully. Dean Haglund, who played Richard "Ringo" Langly, explained to House of Geekery, "We had this cool office where we'd hack into high-level facilities so Mulder and Scully could get into all sorts of hijinks."

For a while, they were such popular characters that they got their own spin-off — fittingly called "The Lone Gunmen" — but aside from bringing back the characters in the show's revival, you're more likely to catch Haglund at an "X-Files" fan convention than you are to see him on-screen these days.

The Lone Gunmen also included Melvin Frohike, played by Tom Braidwood. Though Frohike became a reliable source of laughs, Braidwood was primarily a director on the show. He told EatTheCorn that he'd never intended to act, and that a buddy of his was supposed to be directing the episode where The Lone Gunmen first appeared. "Apparently, he made a joke to the producers during the casting session about needing someone slimy 'like Braidwood,'" he said. "So they came out of casting and asked me to do it."

Like his "Lone Gunmen" co-stars, Braidwood doesn't act much these days; the 2016 revival of "The X-Files" is his most recent acting credit.

The third and final member of The Lone Gunmen was John Fitzgerald Byers, played by Bruce Harwood — another once-popular television star you never hear about anymore. Unlike his co-stars, however, Harwood has continued acting intermittently since they brought back The Lone Gunmen for the "X-Files" revival. He was in a Hallmark movie called "Every Christmas Has a Story," appeared on shows like "Batwoman" and "iZombie," and most recently played Reverend McCoy in "The Taber Corn Alliance."

Harwood has chatted about The Lone Gunmen with his co-stars frequently, including at a 2023 convention panel (via YouTube). Their comedic timing is as sharp as ever, too. When Dean Haglund revealed, "I had to audition five times," Harwood couldn't relate. He bragged, "Just once."