http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/entertainment/DailyNews/xfiles000720.html
By David Germain
The Associated Press
L O S A N G E L E S, July 20 — Robert Patrick will team with Gillian Anderson on The X-Files next season, filling the gap for new episodes that will not feature star David Duchovny, series creator Chris Carter said today.
Duchovny’s character, FBI agent Fox Mulder, was abducted by aliens in the season finale, setting up the actor’s reduced role for the Fox series’ eighth season.
Under a new deal that will pay him more money for each episode and settle the actor’s lawsuit over X-Files profits, Duchovny will appear in 11 of the new season’s 20 episodes. Duchovny had been seeking more free time from the series shooting schedule.
Anderson has co-starred with Duchovny as agent Dana Scully, the skeptical comrade to Mulder’s pursuit of aliens and the paranormal.
Terminator Villain Cast
Patrick, best known as the evil liquid-metal cyborg in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, will appear in all 20 episodes, including those that feature Duchovny, Carter said.
“He’s not a replacement for David,” Carter said. “He’s a new character coming in.”
Patrick will play FBI agent John Doggett, a former policeman with a textbook approach to crime-solving. His character will not be an official member of Mulder and Scully’s X-Files team but rather an agent assigned to help in the search for Mulder, Carter said.
Mulder’s Mysterious Future
Duchovny will appear in the season opener, which begins shooting next week and will air in November, Carter said. Carter would not say at what point in the season Mulder would reappear.
“I’m not being coy about this, but the element of surprise is very important for X-Files fans,” Carter said.
Duchovny, Anderson and Carter are not under contract with Fox for a ninth season, but adding Patrick to the cast offers some options if the show continued beyond next year, Carter said.
“The future is something we’re thinking about,” Carter said. “Neither Gillian nor David have a contract for the ninth year. Right now, it’s too early to start talking about their participation.”
Carter would not say if he wants to keep The X-Files going after the upcoming season.
Patrick’s other film credits include The Faculty, Cop Land and the upcoming Texas Rangers and All the Pretty Horses.
Other actors reportedly considered for the X-Files role included Bruce Campbell, Hart Bochner and Lou Diamond Phillips.
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