Step aside Mulder and Scully, it's Skinner's time to shine. The X-Files turns the spotlight on Mitch Pileggi's Walter Skinner in "Kitten," the sixth episode of the 10-episode second revival season.
"You're going to find out who Skinner is, why he is the way he is, some of the stuff that he's gone through to make him the person that he is…it was really interesting. I think it was a lot of fun, and Gabe Rotter wrote it and Carol Banker directed it, who was our script supervisor back in the day in Los Angeles and now she's doing very well as a director and I was so pleased to be able to work with her as a director and that she was directing that episode…And Gabe did a wonderful, wonderful job.
"I've heard nothing but great things about it…so I'm very excited to see it. And there's a surprise casting in it that is a pretty cool story that I can't talk about. I can't give you anything. That's all you get," Pileggi continued to E! News during a set visit ahead of The X-Files' second return to television.
In the episode, Skinner goes AWOL after his past comes back to haunt him, leading Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) to track him down. The episode features guest star Haley Joel Osmet, and the special casting Pileggi's teased is familial. Pileggi's nephew Cory Rempel playing a younger version of his long-running character.
Banker is one of the show's handful of female directors.
"How many it is, it's due and it's time and I'm glad it was her. You know, because I know her, she knows me, and she uh, it was a treat," he said.
Click play on the video above to hear more from the actor.
The X-Files airs Wednesdays, 8 p.m. on Fox.