MITCH PILEGGI Born April 5, 1952, in Portland, Ore., Mitch Pileggi was raised literally all over the world. The Pileggi family moved several times because Mitch's father was a subcontractor for the Department of Defense. After high school, Pileggi attended Fullerton College; the University of Maryland branch college in Munich, Germany; and, after working briefly for the Defense Department, the University of Texas. There Pileggi became involved with regional theater, performing in such productions as Jesus Christ Superstar, Lone Star and Bent. After landing a few small parts on television, Pileggi made the move to Los Angeles. Pileggi's feature-film credits include Basic Instinct, Takedown, Gun Shy, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, The X-Files movie and the lead role in Wes Craven's Shocker. He'd made his debut in the horror film Mongrel (filmed 1982), followed by Rio Abajo a.k.a. On the Line (filmed 1984), an English-language U.S.-Spain co-production about American border guards; both went straight to video, making his first theatrical release director Phil Joanou's Three O'Clock High. The muscular, 6'2" actor found himself being typecast as security goons (It's Pat) and guys with names like Sarge (Return of the Living Dead Part II) and Bull (the telefilm Three on a Match). He landed his The X-Files role as F.B.I. Assistant Director Walter S. Skinner partly because the producers wanted to play against type and introduce a quietly dynamic bureaucrat rather than the stereotypical paper-pusher. "I had gone in and read for Chris [Carter] several times before for other episodes, different characters," Pileggi recalled. "And at that time I was shaving my head. So I came in for this [role as Skinner] and my hair had grown back, or what hair I have had grown back, and you know, it just clicked." The character's sex-symbol appeal has evaded him. "I don't know," Pileggi has mused. "I mean, I watch shows, and I watch the character, and it's like, 'Boy, he sure is grumpy.' What would appeal to anybody?" He discovered in hindsight that he had unknowingly used his father as the template for Skinner. "My family — my brothers, sisters and my mom — watched the show, and they said, 'My God, that's Dad,'" Pileggi recalled. "He was an operations manager and had a lot of people accountable to him. He was very tough on his employees, but he also cared about them a lot, too." Like Skinner, "He wore glasses, he was bald, he always wore a suit." And in what's probably the ultimate tribute, "My mom cries when she sees Skinner, because he reminds her of my dad." Pileggi's other television credits include a recurring role on Dallas and numerous appearances on such series as The A-Team, Alien Nation, China Beach, ER, Get a Life and the short-lived X-Files spin-off The Lone Gunmen. He has appeared in telefilms, including Absolute Strangers, Trapped, Knight Rider 2000 and Legion of Fire: Killer Ants! a.k.a. Marabunta: Terror in Burline Pines. He also hosted the popular series of FOX specials entitled Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. Pileggi is married to Arlene Pileggi, who was Gillian Anderson's stand-in and occasionally played Skinner's secretary. They have one daughter and reside in Valencia, Calif. close window