The X-Files

Background:

Italian-American actor Mitch Pileggi began his acting career in local theaters, B-movies, and as a guest star in a string of TV shows before making it big in 1994 when he was cast as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, the boss of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson's lead characters Mulder and Scully, on Fox's hit sci-fi drama series, "The X-Files," in which he stayed until its finale on May 19, 2002. He would later reprise the role in the show's feature film adaptations, "The X Files" (1998) and the upcoming "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" (2008).

Pileggi also played billionaire Richard Clayton on the WB action/drama series "Tarzan" (2003), land developer Colin Dowling on the WB drama series "The Mountain" (2004-2005), detective Armen D. Spivak on the ABC action series "Day Break" (2006), and provided the voice of Commissioner Gordon (2005-2007) on Kids' WB Emmy Award-winning animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero, "The Batman." He now plays USAF Colonel Steven Caldwell on the Sci-Fi Channel series "Stargate Atlantis.”

On the big screen, the actor appeared in the high-school comedy film "Three O'Clock High" (1987), the action thriller "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown" (1987; starring Charles Bronson), and the horror "Return of the Living Dead Part II" (1988) before landing his breakout film role as serial killer Horace Pinker in Wes Craven's cult classic horror/thriller, "Shocker" (1989). He has since added to his resume roles in the films "Basic Instinct" (1992), "It's Pat" (1994), "Gun Shy" (2000) and "Man in the Chair" (2007). Next, he will star in a film written and directed by Peter Coggan, "Woodshop."

Turkey-Raised

Childhood and Family:

Son to Italian-American parents Maxine Pileggi, a homemaker, and Vito Pileggi, who worked for a defense contractor, Mitchell Craig Pileggi was born on April 5, 1952, in Portland, Oregon. Because of his father's occupation, his family moved frequently. Mitch lived in Oregon, California, and Texas before spending most of his adolescence in Turkey.

Pileggi attended an American high school in Turkey and was a high school athlete (wrestling and football). Upon returning to the U.S., he attended Fullerton College in California for a year. He graduated with a degree in business from the University of Texas. He also once attended college in Munich, Germany.

In the late '70s, Pileggi, along with his brother Nick, worked in Iran until the 1979 Iranian Revolution caused them to escape to Greece. He eventually returned to U.S. in 1980 and settled in Austin, TX.

Meanwhile, on December 13, 1978, Pileggi married his first wife, Debbie Andrews. Pileggi and Andrews divorced on July 2, 1984.

In Hawaii, Pileggi married his second and present wife, Arlene Warren, whom he met on the set of "The X Files" (1993). On May 24, 1998, their first child was born, a daughter named Sawyer Pileggi.

Shocker

Career:

When he was a high school student in Turkey, Mitch Pileggi began acting in musical theater and impressed his teacher with his performance of the song "Maria" from "West Side Story.” He left acting after high school, but after returning to Austin from Iran, he resumed acting and became involved in the Zachary Scott Theatre as a bookkeeper, janitor and set builder. He was also an actor and appeared in the company's productions of "The Lark," "Lone Star," "Bent," and "Jesus Christ Superstar," in which he played Pilate.

After divorcing his first wife, Pileggi moved to Los Angeles to further his acting career. He landed a bit part in "On the Line" (1984) and made his first appearance on television in the made-for-television movie "The Sky's No Limit.”

Pileggi followed it up with guest spots on NBC’s series "The A-Team," ABC’s "Hooperman" and "Ohara," the long-running cop drama "Dragnet," FOX’s sci-fi series "Alien Nation," CBS’ soap opera "Falcon Crest," and ABC’s award-winning "China Beach." He also had a recurring role on CBS’ primetime television soap opera "Dallas" and appeared in a string of TV movies, including "Dalton: Code of Vengeance II" (1986), "U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart" (1987), and "Three on a Match" (1987).

Meanwhile, Pileggi was seen in Phil Joanou's high-school comedy film "Three O'Clock High" (1987; starring Casey Siemaszko), J. Lee Thompson's action thriller "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown" (1987; starring Charles Bronson), and Ken Wiederhorn's horror film "Return of the Living Dead Part II" (1988).

He was also cast in George Bloom's independent drama film "Brothers in Arms" (1989; with Todd Allen, Charles Grant, and Dedee Pfeiffer) and Alexandre Arcady's crime drama film "Union sacrée, L'" (1989; aka. "Brothers in Arms"; starring Richard Berry and Patrick Bruel) before landing his first feature lead in Wes Craven's cult classic horror/thriller "Shocker" (1989), in which he played serial killer Horace Pinker.

In the early '90s, Pileggi guest-starred in an episode of the NBC crime drama "Mancuso, FBI," NBC’s detective show starring Fred Dryer, "Hunter," the sitcom starring U.S./Canadian actor Matt Frewer, "Doctor Doctor," CBS’ western family series "Paradise," as well as the FOX sitcoms "Drexell's Class," "Get a Life," and "Roc." He also appeared in the TV movies "Night Visions" (1990), "Knight Rider 2000" (1991), "Trouble Shooters: Trapped Beneath the Earth" (1993) and "Pointman" (1994).

On the wide screen, Pileggi co-starred with Rod Steiger and Isaac Hayes in Sam Irvin's independent vigilante film "Guilty as Charged" (1991) and alongside Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in Paul Verhoeven's critically-acclaimed thriller "Basic Instinct" (1992). He also supported Julia Sweeney in Adam Bernstein's comedy film "It's Pat" (1994) and was cast in the Lou Diamond Phillips-directed erotic thriller, "Dangerous Touch" (1994).

Pileggi hit it big in 1994 when he joined the cast of Fox's hit paranormal drama "The X-Files" in the recurring role of FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, the supervisor of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson's lead characters Mulder and Scully. In 1995, Pileggi signed a six-year deal to appear on the show before eventually being picked as a regular in the 1996-1997 seasons. He stayed on the long-running show until its finale on May 19, 2002, and collected three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series that he shared with the show's cast members. He also reprised his role in the show's film version that was released in 1998.

During his lengthy stint on "The X-Files," Pileggi also guest-starred in such TV series as "Pointman," "Models Inc.," "Players," "Walker, Texas Ranger," "That '70s Show," "ER," "Batman Beyond," and "The Lone Gunmen," as well as starred in the TV movies "Raven Hawk" (1996) and "Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!" (1998). He also had an unaccredited role in Wes Craven's horror/comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and Angela Bassett, "Vampire in Brooklyn" (1995), and was cast alongside Sandra Bullock, Liam Neeson, and Oliver Platt in Eric Blakeney's crime/comedy movie "Gun Shy" (2000).

After "The X-Files" ended in 2002, Pileggi hosted the Sci-Fi Channel short-lived revival of the syndicated documentary series, "In Search of..." (2002), and co-starred as billionaire Richard Clayton on the WB action/drama series "Tarzan" (2003). He also played land developer Colin Dowling on the WB drama series "The Mountain" (2004-2005) and had a recurring role as D.E.A. Agent Hammond (2003-2005) on the NBC cop drama series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Pileggi next played Armen D. Spivak on the ABC series "Day Break" (2006) and provided the voice of Commissioner Gordon (2005-2007) on the Kids' WB Emmy Award-winning animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero, "The Batman." He now plays USAF Colonel Steven Caldwell on the Sci Fi Channel series "Stargate Atlantis."

Pileggi was also spotted as a guest in an episode of the WB drama series loosely based on the DC Comics series, "Birds of Prey," ABC’s drama starring Tim Daly, "Eyes," NBC’s political drama "The West Wing," FX Networks’ Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning drama series "Nip/Tuck," CBS’ cop-crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS’ police procedural drama "Cold Case," ABC’s Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning primetime medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," ABC’s Golden Globe, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning legal drama comedy "Boston Legal," and the CW comedy-drama "Reaper."

He also appeared in the made-for-television movies "1st to Die" (2003), with Tracy Pollan, Gil Bellows, Carly Pope, Megan Gallagher, and Angie Everhart, and "Recount" (2008), starring Kevin Spacey. As for his film work, Pileggi won a Best Ensemble Cast award at the Method Fest for co-starring with Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, M. Emmet Walsh, and Robert Wagner in writer/director Michael Schroeder's award-winning independent drama film, "Man in the Chair" (2007).

Pileggi will revisit his “X-Files” role in the upcoming second feature film based on the popular sci-fi series, "The X-Files: I Want to Believe," which will be released on July 25, 2008, in North America. He will soon complete filming "Woodshop," a comedic drama written and directed by Peter Coggan.

Awards:

• Method Fest: Best Ensemble Cast, "Man in the Chair," 2007