This article was originally published in 2013.
Played: X
Number of episodes: 14
When did you last see an episode?
About a month ago. I got 'em on tape and every once in a while I'll whip one out to show company. I show off! 'One Breath' is one of my favourites. X was such an interesting character to play. Who does he work for? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? It was cool stuff.
Do you have a favourite monster?
I think the most horrible monsters are the brothers who have their mother's arms and legs cut off and put her under the bed. Those motherfuckers are my monsters, man! Those are my monsters! Those stand out like gangbusters to me. And if you remember that scene, there was a beautiful Johnny Masters tune playing in the background. Horrific! I don't think you can go too far in entertainment, but that was dancing on the line with that one!
Do you remember any of your lines?
Yeah, that whole monologue with "You're not going to get me killed." X had so many cool lines. When he first appears and shoots the man in the head, then tells Mulder to leave, saying, "I'll take care of this." That little speech: "Apparently you're mistaken about the nature of our relationship, Agent Mulder." And of course I remember the opera moment. But my favourite scene was the confrontation with Skinner. It was so much fun. I love Mitch as a person and I love him as an actor, and that scene was two intense beings. We worked it out ourselves: "What would these cats do?" I said, "I'd headbutt you – I like to get stuff over and done with." He said, "Okay, I'll headbutt you back." To this day fans ask me who won the fight. I had a gun to his chest – I'm pretty sure I won that bout!
I got The X-Files on tape and every once in a while I'll whip one out to show company. I show off!
Did you come up with a backstory?
No. When I got this role, I thought, "How do I play this mystery man?" And the first time I was on set it came to me: be as ambiguous as you possibly can. I wanted him to be as shadowy to me as he was to the audience. There's a few moments where X panics, like in the parking garage, but for the most part he's very stoic. My idea was to let each audience member figure out what he was about. Try not to give the lines any emotional nuance. You didn't know his agenda.
Are you a Shipper or a No-Romo?*
I'm totally neutral on that. I'm neither one of those things. It really didn't matter. To be honest I have no idea if they did get together or not. By the end of the show, I didn't give a shit whether they hooked up!
What's the strangest encounter you've had with a fan?
I really can't think of any incident involving a fan that was in any way weird. I wish I had some shit to make up! All I've had is a lovely reaction, and I was amazed at how far it went. Even the FBI had an X on one of their windows in the Federal Building in Washington DC! I got to do a tour there and shoot off a submachine gun in their shooting range. Capone shit, man!
What's the best thing you kept from the set?
I've got a couple of pins and medallions that are really neat. And I've got a beautiful black Zippo lighter with "Steven Williams" etched on it, and an X in parentheses under my name, given to me by a fan. It's in my curio cabinet. But I didn't get to keep anything from the actual set. Everything's from conventions or from fans.
Mulder's obsession is aliens. What's yours?
I love shooting. I'm a member of SAS, the Single Action Shooting society – it's all Western guns, Winchester rifles and six-shooters. They take you to an Old West mock-up town and you shoot targets. You see some beautiful holsters and outfits. That's one of my favourite things to do. But I'm not obsessed with anything – obsession causes stress!
When did you last cross paths with someone from the show?
Mitch was probably the last one, and that was 12 months ago. We actually had another fight on Supernatural! He had a monster inside him and knocked everybody out, but me and the boys finally subdued him. It was an episode where we all got killed: Mitch got killed twice in the same episode, and they killed me once. It was mass destruction, man. Blood everywhere.
Sum up the conspiracy storyline in 30 seconds or less.
To me it was pretty simple. A brother believes in alien lifeforms being here, and there's a conspiracy to keep that knowledge from the public. As is happening now. It's the same old story, because that shit is still happening, man. My own existence is a mystery to me, so who's to say there's not other lifeforms out there on little bowls of water, floating around in space? The possibilities are positively prickly!
* Shippers want Mulder and Scully to hook up. No-Romos don't.