John Doggett/Background Information

The character of John Doggett was modeled after and originally named for Bud White, an extremely no-nonsense character from the novel and film, LA Confidential. Having already named after baseball commentator Vin Scully, writer decided to rename his new character John Doggett as an homage to commentator Jerry Doggett, who had partnered up with Vin Scully between 1957 and 1987. However, John Doggett was still erroneously referred to once as "Agent White" in a version of the script that was used to film "", the first episode to feature the character.
Lou Diamond Phillips and Hart Bochner were among the actors who were originally considered for the role. Bruce Campbell was also considered, although he had already starred as Wayne Weinsider in "", and eventually won the role.
Robert Patrick described his casting as "equivalent to winning the SuperBowl for me" and described the character as one of his favorites, saying: “If that show hadn’t been canceled, if I may use that word, if we hadn’t stopped, I would have done it forever. I’d still be doing it. You can’t get a better character than John Doggett.”https://www.thecompanion.app/2022/08/11/the-x-files-doggett-reyes-werent-done-watch-reunion-video/
In an interview, Chris Carter said of the character's creation, "I think it was something that we all talked about, but I wrote his voice. So, I think he was someone we all came up with together, but his voice came out of my head. But, it was something that was helped in a large degree by casting Robert Patrick.
An article printed in the LA Times in November 2000 quoted Chris Carter as saying that Robert Patrick had "tremendous intensity about him and there is a lean, dangerous quality to him too. It translates so beautifully on screen--those piercing eyes and that gravely voice serve to make the character believable and also different from Mulder."
According to , the introduction of the new character in of was one of two main factors that influenced the series' production personnel to decide "not to do comedy or parody episodes" in that season. The other major reason was to avoid "trivializing the absence of Mulder".
Robert Patrick appeared as John Doggett in all of the character's filmed appearances and in the opening credits of Seasons 8 and 9, while the actor's wife, Barbara, played Doggett's wife, also named Barbara, in two episodes of the series.
Some fans criticized the introduction of John Doggett, claiming that the character had been intentionally created to replace Mulder's work on the X-Files or his close relationship with Scully. However, Chris Carter later denied the accuracy of these claims and stated, "what he brings is a different approach to the X-Files. First of all, he’s a knee jerk skeptic so he couldn’t be more different than the character of Mulder. He’s an insider at the FBI, well liked, has buddies. Mulder, of course, he’s been banished to the basement along with all of his X-Files. So when he’s put together with Agent Scully, who has become something of a reluctant believer, the dynamic on the show changes completely".
Although Chris Carter believed that The X-Files could continue for another ten years with Doggett and Agent serving as new leads, this belief was not to be the case, however, as the new main characters ultimately failed to provide the ratings boost Carter had hoped for.
Robert Patrick declined to reprise his role for Season 10 saying "I had time to think about, 'Do I want to revisit that character?' and I wasn't so sure I did". Despite this though, he stated he was open to reprise the role for the , although he hadn't yet been contacted for any offer. Originally Chris Carter had wrote Doggett into one of the earlier installments of season 11, however upon finding out he wouldn't be available due to his commitments to the television series Scorpion he wrote him out. Doggett's role was eventually given to Jeffrey Spender.
Category:John Doggett