The Cigarette Smoking Man came about unexpectedly. In the first episode of The X-Files, we see the pivotal scene where FBI Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is reassigned to the FBI’s paranormal cases unit — nicknamed “the X-Files” — to assist Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Mulder has seemingly become obsessed with these cases, and the FBI seems to be indirectly assigning Scully to discredit his work.
The scene takes place in the office of FBI Division Chief Scott Blevins (Charles Cioffi) and it contains four characters: Blevins, Scully, another man who asks her questions along with Blevins (Ken Camroux), and a silent man who only stands in the corner, puffing away on a cigarette.
As William B. Davis, who played the Cigarette Smoking Man, has explained, he was merely cast in a non-speaking part for the pilot episode without any hint of what the character would become. But something about his steely look made the writers on The X-Files want to bring him back again and again. In time, the Cigarette Smoking Man became one of the most intriguing, important, long-running characters in the entire series.
By contrast, in the second episode of The X-Files, another mysterious figure was introduced that was intended to be a major recurring character in the series. And while he didn’t last as long in the show as the Cigarette Smoking Man, he certainly made an impact that fans still remember.
“Deep Throat”
In the second episode of The X-Files, named “Deep Throat,” Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the disappearance of an Air Force pilot in Utah, which comes after a string of similar disappearances with servicemen stationed at the same Air Force base. At the beginning of the episode, Mulder briefs Scully on the case in a crowded DC bar, fearing that someone at FBI headquarters might try to listen in. When Mulder goes to the bar’s bathroom, he is met by a mysterious man (Jerry Hardin) in a suit who warns him not to investigate this case. “The military will not tolerate an FBI investigation,” he cautions Mulder, before explaining that he can be of use to Mulder in the future.
Mulder ignores the advice and investigates the case anyway. Once he and Scully are in Utah, they discover that Air Force pilots are being used to test out aircraft built with alien technology. Mulder even sees an experimental, triangular craft before he is apprehended by servicemen and gets his memory wiped.
After that, Mulder and Scully abandon the case, and the same man from the bar bathroom approaches Mulder again while he is running on a track in a DC park. Mulder tells him that he saw something, but that it was erased from his mind. The man reiterates his offer to aid Mulder on the X-Files. “I can provide you with information, but only so long as it’s in my best interest to do so,” the man says. Mulder asks, “What is your interest?” and the man simply replies, “The truth.”
It’s their final exchange in this brief scene that is the most memorable, however. As the man walks away, Mulder asks, “They’re here, aren’t they?” The man then stops, turns around, and knowingly says, “Mr. Mulder, they’ve been here for a long, long time.”
Deep Throat on The X-Files
The character of Deep Throat was named after the real-life informant who provided journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with information about the Watergate scandal, which eventually resulted in the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in 1974. While it’s never explicitly said that The X-Files’ Deep Throat is the Deep Throat, the choice of the name gave The X-Files a real-world quality to it. Just like the real Deep Throat, who was eventually revealed to be Deputy FBI Director Mark Felt, the name “Deep Throat” helped to establish the character as a man deep within the government who is doing what he can to get the truth to the American people.
Jerry Hardin’s performance was informed by the two men who had most prominently portrayed Deep Throat on film, Hal Holbrook in All the President’s Men and Donald Sutherland in Oliver Stone’s JFK. In his early 60s at the time, Hardin played Deep Throat with an intriguing mix of guilt, world-weariness, mystery, and wisdom. In future episodes, Deep Throat’s intentions would often seem unclear. Sometimes he appeared to conspire against Mulder, but you still trusted the guy and hoped he was on the level, even if you weren’t really sure.
Deep Throat was merely sprinkled into the show throughout the first season, sometimes cautioning Mulder, or providing some random insight when asked for it. He even gave Mulder the occasional lead for a new case to look into. The character’s best episode is “E.B.E.” (which stands for extraterrestrial biological entity). In it, Deep Throat explains that, since the 1947 UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico, the governments of the world agreed to exterminate any living alien on Earth, and that he is just one of three people who have had to carry out this gruesome duty.
By the end of the season though, Deep Throat has revealed too much. He is killed off by the other members of the government conspiracy in a move that felt right, but far too soon, as it would have been nice to have the character stick around for more than just one season. The writers behind the show even seemed to indirectly acknowledge this, as a series of Deep Throat-like substitutes would fulfill the same function for Mulder in future seasons, but never with the same presence that Hardin brought to Deep Throat.
Deep Throat’s legacy
In the X-Files fandom, Deep Throat is still a beloved character, even if his role in the show was agonizingly short. In time, most X-Files fans come to the conclusion that the standalone episodes of the show are the best episodes and that the episodes centered around the show’s central conspiracy about the government’s cover-up of extraterrestrial life were often unfulfilling. This is because the show’s writers often piled more and more questions and lore on top of itself, while answering very few questions along the way. It made the show more and more frustrating and hard to follow as it went on.
In season 1, however, this was not the case. In the first season, as the show was still finding its footing, the conspiracy was the show’s most engrossing element and it was that central story that viewers couldn’t wait to get back to. A big part of that, of course, was that the show was still fresh and people assumed the mystery being laid out would eventually be paid off. But another big part of that was the deeply interesting character of Deep Throat, who we always wanted to know more about, but never really got the chance to.
