"Beyond Mulder and Scully: The Mysterious Characters of 'The X-Files'"

by Andy Mangels; p. 128

Peter Boyle had never intended to be an actor. He decided to persure acting while he was

a monk in the Christian Brothers order, and he moved to New York, where he studied with Uta

Hagen. Off-Broadway plays followed, as well as a tour with "The Odd Couple" and work with

the Chicago troupe Second City. His earliest roles were small, but in the title role of

"Joe" (1970), Boyle moved into the bigger leagues, as his portrayal of the hard-hat bigot

garnered him critical notice. He later amused audiences with the role of Frankenstein's

monster in Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein" (1974). Boyle led the film "Crazy Joe" (1974)

and had memorable roles in "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Outland" (1981), "The Dream Team" (1990),

and "The Shadow" (1994). Recently, as Dan Breen, Andy Sipowicz's AA buddy on the series

"NYPD Blue", Boyle has created another memorable and tragic character.

Initially, Boyle was not enthusiastic about appearing on the series [The X-Files]. In

"X-Files Confidential", producer Robert Goodwin says "Peter is not really interested in

episodic television. I don't know whether it was a combination of coercion and bribery or

what, but when he first arrived, you could tell he didn't want to be there." By the end of

the shoot, Boyle had apparently changed his mind. "He was very exuberantly thanking me for

the wonderful experience and asking for t-shirts."

"The part wasn't written for Peter Boyle because it was based on my father, and I had

a guy in mind who looks like my father. I always thought of Peter Boyle as too powerful an

actor to be this guy," said writer Darin Morgan in "Sci-Fi Universe". Morgan had originally

written the role with Bob Newhart in mind "but I saw (Boyle's) stuff last year in 'NYPD

Blue', and I thought he was great. Very understated, and I knew he could do it."

"I wasn't at all familiar with the show, but I had to get a crash course in what it is

about," Boyle said in a "Dreamwatch" interview. Now that he's done the series, he prefers

it to films like "Independence Day". "I think filmmakers are underestimating the audience

a little bit! I am pleased to be a member of the "X-Files" family, but I have never seen a

flying saucer, I don't know it there are any good restaurants in Area 51, and I believe that

we are the aliens."

Peter Boyle won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role

as Clyde Bruckman. But he wasn't the only Emmy-award winner for this episode. Writer Darin

Morgan won for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Morgan's was presented to him at a

ceremony on September 8, 1996, by none other than Peter Boyle!

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