'The X-Files' Creator Chris Carter: How Burt Reynolds Became God
The world of The X-Files is populated by a number of bizarre creatures, from a Flukeman to a Were-Monster. But the strangest being of all may be a certain higher power, who walks among us mere mortals with the face of — believe it or not — Burt Reynolds. According to series creator Chris Carter, the big-screen icon of Smokey and the Bandit fame was a huge X-Files fan, so Carter moved heaven and earth to cast him in the Season 9 episode “Improbable.” Premiering on Apr. 7, 2002, the standalone story involved FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) pursuing a serial killer and crossing paths with the godly Reynolds. “This is really a departure for The X-Files to go into this territory,” Carter tells Yahoo TV in the above video. “It’s not necessarily a scary episode, it’s a very personal piece for me.”
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Carter wrote and directed “Improbable,” and says that he had a very specific idea for how he wanted Reynolds to literally play God. “The first day on set, he said, ‘So how would you like me to play this character?’ And I said, ‘As Burt Reynolds!’” And lest you think that Carter only wrote “Improbable” as an excuse to cast Reynolds, he outlines the central metaphor behind the episode, namely his belief that “God creates these beautiful moments in life, and if you’re attuned… you feel the rhythms of that.”
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In the second video below, Carter talks about how The X-Files made its triumphant return to television after a decade-long absence, crediting stars Anderson and David Duchovny with being the motivating forces for bringing it back. “They are the beating heart of the show,” he says. With the finale of this shortened season fast approaching, we hope they have it in their hearts to return for Season 11.
The season finale of The X-Files airs Monday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
