Chris Owens' X Appeal
By: Marisa Paterson

Chris Owens is thankful for a lot of things. The Vancouverite is thankful just to be working; he's thankful he's on a hit show (he portrays Special Agent Jeffrey Spender on The X-Files); and he's thankful he doesn't have two heads.

You see, in a previous incarnation on the paranormal hit (which makes its season debut on Sunday), he played The Great Mutato, a two-headed creature from last year's "Post-Modern Prometheus" episode who loves peanut butter sandwiches and Cher (and before that he was the Young Cigarette-Smoking Man). "I really liked that episode [Prometheus]," he tells TV WEEK while in Vancouver on a long weekend break from L.A. filming. "It's a beautiful little fairy tale and I particularly liked the ending when Scully and Mulder danced together. It really said a lot about their relationship and the love and respect they have for each other."

What he didn't like, however, was the six or so hours of makeup work the creature required. Fortunately for him, during that episode Fox Mulder himself, David Duchovny, suggested to series creator/executive producer Chris Carter that maybe they could use Owens more, and not just for monsters. So now as Agent Spender, Owens is finished with makeup faster than you can say conspiracy theory. "I've got to tell you, when I walk into the makeup trailer and I'm in and out in 10 minutes and I've got a suit on, I couldn't be happier."

Chris Owens has a lot to be happy about. Raised in Toronto, he and his girlfriend, a law student at the University of Victoria, came out to Vancouver two years ago to try another market "and didn't look back. We love it here." In addition to The X-Files, he's appeared recently in Millennium, Psi Factor, Chronicles of the Paranormal and Stargate SG-1.

So how does he feel about having to pick up stakes again, this time for L.A.? Lower Mainlanders still mourning the loss of the show from the local landscape will be happy to know that he will miss our fair city. "I'm going to miss being able to walk to Stanley Park -- in L.A. I have to drive everywhere. Here there are beautiful places to run like Lost Lagoon, the seawall, it's a runner's paradise. The people are very friendly and I like the weather here, the change in it. In L.A. it's fairly consistent, various degrees of cloudiness; the fall here [in Vancouver] is beautiful. And, of course, I'll miss my girlfriend, but we get back and forth as much as we can."

But before you start feeling sorry for him, you must know that Owens is making the best of his California experience. "I've just been exploring L.A. I recently bought a computer -- that's kind of fun -- I'm going to the beach, playing some hockey, reading. It's pretty difficult," he laughs. When we spoke he was also excited about attending an upcoming Tragically Hip concert in L.A. "I think they're the best," he says with verve.

He has also, at 37, finally bought himself a car. "In L.A. you don't have a choice. I tried the bus -- that was a joke. The first day of work I arrived by bus -- it took more than an hour -- and then I'm walking up to the gate [of the Fox lot, which he describes as "a lot larger than any Canadian lot I've been on -- it's like a little city"], saying, 'Hi, I'd like to work on The X-Files today.' 'Ya, who are you son?' they reply. And there I am with my hockey stick tucked under my arm."

If Duchovny has his basketball (he often shoots hoops during breaks in filming) then Owens, for his part, is enjoying Canada's game as much as he can. "I love sports. I'm playing a pick-up game of hockey down in L.A. a couple of times a week. That's really put my feet on the ground, being a Canuck and all. I'd like to tackle basketball, though" --perhaps so he can take on Duchovny at his own game?

By the way, hockey fans will be happy to know that, believe it or not, Owens is enthusiastic about the Canucks' chances his year. "I think Vancouver's going to have a great season," he says. "I think they're gelling. I think the chemistry is going to be right, and Mark Messier is a fabulous captain." (Easy for him to say -- he's not going to be here to watch them.)

In any case, it's a nice rumor to start. But what about another rumor that Vancouverites revel in, the one that says the L.A. crews aren't up to snuff, that the cast is annoyed that filming isn't ticking like clockwork? Owens, unfortunately, dispels that one. "They've found some interesting locations in L.A. -- a few in the desert, one on the Queen Mary -- and the crew is first-rate. Once you get on the set it's the same job. I've found the crews totally up-to-speed, generous and professional. In the third episode, Chris Carter asked them to do some pretty difficult things, and had the wardrobe department outfitting 170 extras in period costumes [for the Queen Mary episode]. They worked around the clock and it looked really good."

Owens laughs when asked about yet another rumor, the one that swirled around last spring when he first showed up as Agent Spender. The tabloids, Howard Stern and Internet chat declared that he was the heir apparent to Duchovny, who had been causing far too much commotion in his plight to try to move the series down to L.A., where he could be closer to wife Tea Leoni.

"That was their take, adding a new cast member because Mulder wanted to move the show, so they thought, 'That's it for him.' But that's never been in the cards as far as I'm concerned. I mean, Mulder and Scully are the show -- I've just been added on as some extra color, more flavor."

So far he's indeed doing that. Last season he had sufficient run-ins with Mulder to give the promise of more sparks to come, especially now that we know he's the son of the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William Davis) and a UFO-obsessed mother, making him Mulder's half-brother. Some healthy brotherly conflict will be in order. And if he's a problem for Mulder he's undoubtedly going to have run-ins with his partner Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). "Expect sparks to fly," Owens smiles.

While there'll be on-screen friction between Spender, Mulder and Scully, there's no such tension off screen. "They're great," he says of the duo. "They're total pros. They're really quite easygoing and both have good senses of humor, which is important when you're on the set for long hours.

"I'm looking forward to the next leg of the journey," he says of his character, who has a significant role this season, appearing in about half the episodes. "I'm sure Chris [Carter] will be coming up with some interesting stuff."

But what kind of interesting stuff? Any scoop? He pauses, then laughs. "Aliens will abound." When prodded more, he is appropriately reticent in upholding the conspiracy to keep loyal viewers in the dark. "Are you kidding? I can't give anything away because they'll come after me. Would you like William Davis on your tail? I don't think so."

At this point, Owens is losing his voice (another conspiracy to keep us from the truth?). I suggest the L.A. smog has come back to haunt him. "Yeah, that L.A. gunk," he smiles. "But you can go up to Malibu and drive around there. It makes things a little less painful."