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From TV Guide (Canadian) November 18-24, 2000 Issue; Transcribed by Megan

New Fed on the Block: Robert Patrick helps fight the future on The X-Files

November 2000 - by Kevin Dickson

He's battled The Terminator, been beaten up by Tony Soprano. And now, Robert Patrick is about to face his most terrifying challenge: filling the job vacancy created on The X-Files where aliens abducted FBI Agent Fox Mulder.

"I was more nervous about the first shooting of The X-Files than I have been for many years," laughs Patrick, best known for his chilling turn as the indestructible T-1000 in Terminator 2. "All of a sudden it dawned on me, 'Oh my God, I'm about to shoot the first scene that anybody will ever see with this character.' All these people lined up at the monitor and I had to deliver."

Patrick has to do more than deliver. He has to help save the show. Although The X-Files still managed to be more intriguing and upredictable than most shows on TV, ratings slipped a little last season. Then there was the lawsuit from star David Duchovny.

The solution has been to bring in a new partner for Scully in the form of Agent John Doggett (Patrick) and to limit Duchovny's appearances. It's a risky proposition, especially when one of the world's most popular TV series is at stake. Patrick, who is a 16-year veteran of the silver screen and one of Hollywood's most reliable character actors, is aware of the risks, chiefly if the show's protective and highly vocal fan base, The X-Philes don't warm to him.

"I'm dedicated to working as hard as I can to achieve the goals for this character," he promises. And work hard he has. This interview is conducted on Patrick's first day off in nine weeks. So far, he's had an average work week of 70-80 hours, not including his prep time at home.

Wisely, the producers have not attempted to replace Mulder. In fact, Doggett seems so pragmatic as to be Mulder's total opposite. "Doggett's a real blue-collar guy," Patrick explains. "When he listens to Scully describe something, you get the feeling he's hearing this word for the first time. He's very bright, but he didn't go to Yale. He's not intimidated by the intellectual types, but he's not a doctor.

It seems that for Season 8, the basic premise of The X-Files has been turned on its head, and the former slave of logic, Scully, is now a card-carrying member of Mulder's "I Want to Believe" club. Patrick disagrees, "She's trying to continue Mulder's work on the X-Files, but she's still skeptical."

When talk turns to Patrick's co-star Gillian Anderson, he perks up noticeably. "I really enjoy working with her," he explains. "She's immensely talented. She and I get to play on screen and it's a lot of fun." Even though they've only worked together a few times, Patrick is equally complimentary about Duchovny: "I've enjoyed the little bit we've done together, and hope to do more as the season progresses."

Speaking of how the new season progresses, Patrick will only say, "I'm enjoying the relationship with Scully, the male/female part of it, the co-worker part of it. The fact is that I'm a new guy and she's got to get used to me, and there's the matter of building trust between the two partners."

Now that Mulder's out of the way, fans are wondering if we'll see Scully and Doggett get romantic. "Sure, I would expect it," Patrick confesses. "Doggett is a red-blooded male, he likes women, and he's very aware that he's got a hottie for a partner!"

OK, so while he's in such an expansive mood, does he think this will be the final season of the The X-Files? "I don't know if I want to say that," he replies warily. "Everybody's very optimistic and I don't think there's been a finite number set for The X-Files."

As for his personal future, Patrick's hectic schedule has all but rules out a return to The Sopranos and he's yet to hear whether or not his character has been included in Terminator 3. Nevertheless, he says he'd be "very interested" to read the script if James Cameron has written it or is directing.

But even though his X-Files gig may prevent him from working on these projects, Doggett's place in future X-Files movies is secure, says Patrick. "Everybody on The X-Files is excited about writing for this new character. If they make another film, I'm sure they'll give him stuff to do."

--TV Guide