Monica Reyes/Background Information

===Character Creation===
Due to their decision to continue television series and try to appeal to a new generation of viewers, the production personnel knew, from the beginning of , that they were going to introduce another female character who would be a believer, as Mulder had been a believer. However, the writers wanted a different kind of believer character to work off of the skeptical nature of Doggett, who had already been established. The writers were required to create a character who was unlike any of the preconceived main characters that were a part of the series. Ultimately, the writers imagined a character who seemed open to beliefs and had a big heart.
This female character was initially named Karen Miller and then Jane Jones before the name "Monica Reyes" was decided upon, named after a friend of 's acquaintance who had an art gallery in Vancouver and later did all the artwork for Mulder's office in the film .
The character was considered by some to be like Mulder in her optimism, faith and enjoyment of being open to beliefs but considered by others as being quite different from Mulder as she was more spiritual and subscribed to a more New Age-like view than he did. Reyes was seen as different from both Mulder and the other main characters as she was somewhat more neurotic, scattered, and quirky. She smiled and laughed more than the other characters, having a nature that could be considered lighter, sunnier, brighter, warmer and more overtly sexy. Some also considered her to be more paranormally attuned than the average person.
====Official Biography====
Once the character was created and started appearing in episodes, the following biographical description of Monica Reyes was added to the The X-Files official website:
"Although born in Austin, Texas, Monica Reyes was adopted by Mexican parents and raised in Mexico. She has never identified her birth parents.
"She majored in folklore and mythology at Brown University, earning her bachelors and masters degrees in four years. After considering an academic career, she instead enrolled at Quantico in 1990. Reyes’ first FBI assignment was to serve on a special task force investigating claims of Satanic ritual abuse. None of the charges was ever substantiated, and a report was issued in 1992.
"Reyes then served in the New York City field office, where among her cases was the kidnapping of 8 year-old Luke Doggett, son of New York City police officer . The boy was eventually found dead, but no suspect was ever apprehended. In 1999, she transferred to the New Orleans field office. She remained there until the former cop-turned FBI Doggett convinced her to accept a post on the X-Files unit in Washington, DC."
Notably, much of the information in this official biography was never established in episodes and some facts were even changed, but the description provides an insight into how the writers originally perceived the character of Monica Reyes.
====Character Facets====
Production personnel working on The X-Files imagined that Reyes had been brought up in Guadalajara, Mexico, and her Spanish dialect in the episode consequently matches that region, thanks to dialect coach Allyn Partin. 
According to creator and writer , the inspiration for Reyes imitating whale song in the episode came from a Paul Winter album he had been given when he was a boy. The album had whale sounds incorporated into the music, which Chris Carter often thought was interesting and, although perhaps kooky, he believed it was much like the character of Reyes to appreciate similar whale sounds.
The character of Brad Follmer was created in Season 9 to provide a love interest for Reyes, as the writers believed the audience needed to know more about her. However, Follmer's unresolved relationship with Reyes also served to heighten the conflict between Doggett and Follmer, as both men had feelings for her.
Actress Annabeth Gish was pleased that the relationship between her character and Scully was similar to that of two sisters, rather than Reyes serving as an antagonist to Scully.
In her four individual appearances within Season 8, Reyes smoked Morley cigarettes, the same brand that the enjoyed in earlier episodes of the series. Actress Annabeth Gish was informed of this fact during the series' run.
The Season 9 episode , in which Reyes discovers that she was apparently reincarnated, began as an effort to give Reyes or Doggett a drive, as they were seen, by at least some writers, as the successors to Mulder and Scully. According to the writer of the episode, David Amann, executive producer was interested in giving Reyes some darkness to play and her past life was consequently written with extremely sombre and terrible overtones.
===Casting Monica Reyes===
According to Frank Spotnitz, a lot of actresses wanted to play the role of Monica Reyes. Annabeth Gish had no doubts about taking the opportunity to play the new female agent character on The X-Files and fought for the role until she was chosen. The actress played Monica Reyes in all of the character's appearances on The X-Files.
The first scene in which she appeared was filmed early in the morning and outside. She was not yet familiar with anyone working with her and was slightly nervous. One of the first things she was tasked with doing was to run down a steep hill, shouting, "Stop there! I'm a federal agent." Gish later remarked that filming the scene had been very memorable, as it did not take place during the day, and had also been quite exciting.
Because Gish became a member of the series' main cast in of The X-Files, she was also added to the opening credits for that season.
===Advertising First Appearances===
The X-Files used promotional footage, called a "promo", to advertise each episode. Two different versions of the promo for each episode was created and televised - a ten-second version, and a twenty-second version.
Although Monica Reyes first appeared in the episode , she did not appear in either of the promos for that episode. In fact, the character would not be seen in any of the promos until those used to advertise her next appearance, , both of which included a clip of Reyes exclaiming, "There's something here." As with the promo for "This is Not Happening", Reyes was again not featured in the promo for her next appearance, "Essence". In the twenty second version of the promo for , the final episode of Season 8, Reyes appeared several times and could be heard saying, "There's someone out there," off-screen. In contrast, she only appeared once in the ten second promo for "Existence" and none of her dialogue from that episode was used.
As Reyes became a regular character in Season 9, her appearances in the promos became much more frequent.
===Deleted Scenes & Concepts===
A scene filmed but later edited out of references Reyes several times. In the scene, asks AD Follmer to consider that Lukesh is guilty of having shot Doggett. However, Follmer recalls that Doggett claimed they were on stake-out with Reyes looking for Lukesh. Believing that claim to be untrue, Follmer later states that neither Skinner, Doggett or Reyes is telling him a story that makes any sense. In the scene's last line of dialogue, Skinner rhetorically asks Follmer if he really wants Reyes tried for attempted murder.
In a scene removed from , Reyes and Doggett inspect a room where Yves Adele Harlow killed one of her victims. The scene takes place before the agents discover that the "victim" was a terrorist. After seeing a tall drop from a window in the room, Reyes asks, "The kind of a jump only a supersoldier could survive?" but Doggett replies negatively. After leaving the window, Reyes wonders if the victim, who was working as a scientist, was killed because of his research. She also admits that she is considering working with Scully on the case, commenting, "She may have an insight on the science and we both know she has a big stake in the outcome". However, Doggett disagrees with that course of action and Reyes ultimately decides not to contact Scully, either.
In script sources used to film , the series' final episode, Monica's middle name is given as "Julietta". However, this fact is never established in the actual episode itself, nor in any other episode of the series.
A scene filmed for "The Truth" but deleted from the episode is set immediately after Reyes takes the witness stand in Mulder's trial and she can be heard slamming a door shut behind her as she leaves the court room.
Category:Monica Reyes