The Truth Is Out There: Things You Never Knew About ‘The X-Files’

7. Duchovny Sued Fox During the Seventh Season

Duchovny felt as though Fox wasn’t making enough profit when they sold the rights to affiliate channels — which was probably true — and so he filed a suit to get the money he was due. In the end, he ended up getting about $20 million and alienating himself from his coworkers and his bosses. It was this dispute that led, in part, to his quitting his full time commitment to the show.

8. John Doggett Was Almost …

When a replacement for Duchovny was needed, producers auditioned more than 100 possible contenders to play the stoic veteran John Doggett. The character — who was modeled after Russell Crowe’s Bud White from L.A. Confidential — was tackled by the likes of Lou Diamond Phillips and Bruce Campbell. In the end, it went to veteran actor Robert Patrick. He was once made the list of TV Guide’s Ten Sexiest Men of Sci-Fi.

9. The Show Was Shot In Canada

Chris Carter initially tried to shoot the show in Los Angeles, but he was hard-pressed to find the right locations. So he moved the production north to Vancouver, where it shot for the first five seasons. There were lots of versatile landscapes to shoot in the area, although one time they had to spray-paint rocks orange to simulate a New Mexican desertscape. Of course, Duchovny was annoyed at the Vancouver location (as was Anderson towards the end), mostly because his family was still living in the US, so the show shifted production back to LA after the fifth season.