Mitch Pileggi was born on April 5, 1952 in Portland, Oregon. He grew up as an athlete and was educated in University of Texas in Austin, where he received a degree in business. He also participated in theater during his schooling years but ended up as a defense contractor in Iran. When the Iranian revolution broke through, he and his brother fled to Greece. Later on he appeared in local theaters and in shows like Dallas, Married with Children, Walker, Texas Ranger and China Beach. He also appeared in several TV shows like Tarzan, The Mountain, Stargate Atlantis and Day Break. In 1994, after auditioning three times, he was cast for the role of Walter Skinner in the X-Files.

Walter Skinner is played by Mitch Pileggi in The X-Files, a sci-fi series. Skinner is the direct supervisor of Special Agents Mulder and Scully. Early on the series, it was hinted that Skinner is under the power of the Cigarette Smoking Man. However, Skinner's trust was built on Mulder and Scully's team, therefore he eventually rebelled against the conspirators that were trying to control him. He was also infected by nanotechnology, therefore letting him succumb to the orders of Krycek. He later breaks free from Krycek.



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