 mitchell craig "mitch" pileggi (born april 5, 1952) is an american actor, best known for his role as walter skinner on the x-files. he also had a recurring role on stargate atlantis as colonel steven caldwell. he appeared in the 2008 film flash of genius. in 2008, he began a recurring role as ernest darby in sons of anarchy. he starred as harris ryland in the tnt revival of dallas (2012â2014). ==early life== pileggi, one of several children, was born in portland, oregon, the son of maxine anna minor, a homemaker, and vito pileggi, a defense contractor. his family moved frequently because of his father's occupation, and pileggi lived in oregon, california, and texas before spending most of his adolescence in turkey. pileggi was a high school athlete, concentrating on wrestling and football. he attended the university of texas at austin, receiving a degree in business. for a while he worked in iran as a defense contractor, until the 1979 iranian revolution caused him and his brother to have to flee the country, escaping to greece. ==career== pileggi began acting while he was a high school student in turkey, playing musical theater.http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/mitch_pileggi after returning to austin from iran, he performed in local theaters, and continued his acting career with small roles in b-movies, and guest roles in television shows such as dallas, china beach, code of vengeance, and walker, texas ranger. in the 1980s, pileggi starred in several films including three o'clock high as duke "the duker" herman, an over zealous tough-as-nails high school parking lot security guard, and in shocker as body-possessing serial killer horace pinker. pileggi also appeared briefly in the 1992 film basic instinct as an investigating police officer in the infamous interrogation scene. his most notable role was as the fbi'
1952_births 20th-century_American_male_actors 21st-century_American_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_male_soap_opera_actors American_male_television_actors American_male_voice_actors American_people_of_Italian_descent Living_people Male_actors_from_Portland,_Oregon People_of_Calabrian_descent University_of_Texas_at_Austin_alumni