Chris Owens (actor)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Bradley "Chris" Owens (born 7 September 1961) is a Canadian
actor
.
Owens was born in Toronto
, the son of Jeannette, a jazz singer, and Garry Owens, a jazz drummer.
Owens has performed in many feature film
s, often in minor roles, including appearances in Cocktail and The Recruit
. However, he is best known for his performances on the television series The X-Files
. Owens initially guest starred as the younger version of William B. Davis
's character, the Cigarette Smoking Man
, in a 1996 episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
". He returned in 1997 in the same role in an episode called "Demons
". Later that year, he played the Frankenstein
-esque Great Mutato in a surreal episode called "The Post-Modern Prometheus
".
In 1998, Owens was cast as special agent
Jeffrey Spender
, son of the Cigarette Smoking Man and alien abductee Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright
). Spender was credited as 'Also Starring' but only appeared in eight episodes, spread across the show's fifth and sixth seasons, before his character died at the hand of his father. Owens returned in a 2002 episode called "William", playing a hideously disfigured Jeffrey Spender who had survived the "murder". He appeared a few episodes later in "The Truth
", the series finale
.
He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a 2002 Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
for The Uncles.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Owens was born in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the son of Jeannette, a jazz singer, and Garry Owens, a jazz drummer.
Owens has performed in many feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s, often in minor roles, including appearances in Cocktail and The Recruit
The Recruit
The Recruit is a 2003 American spy thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan. It was released on January 31, 2003 in North America by Touchstone Pictures....
. However, he is best known for his performances on the television series The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. Owens initially guest starred as the younger version of William B. Davis
William B. Davis
William Bruce Davis is a Canadian actor, known for his role as The Smoking Man on The X-Files. He has also appeared in Stargate SG-1 as Damaris, a Prior of the Ori and as Mayor Tate on Smallville...
's character, the Cigarette Smoking Man
Cigarette Smoking Man
The Smoking Man is a fictional character and the antagonist on the American science fiction television series The X-Files. He serves as the arch-nemesis of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder. Although his name is revealed to purportedly be C.G.B...
, in a 1996 episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
"Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" is a 1996 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the seventh episode broadcast in the show's fourth season...
". He returned in 1997 in the same role in an episode called "Demons
Demons (The X-Files)
"Demons" is a 1997 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the twenty-third episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Demons" features Mulder waking up in a hotel with blood all over him and no memory how it happened...
". Later that year, he played the Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
-esque Great Mutato in a surreal episode called "The Post-Modern Prometheus
The Post-Modern Prometheus
"The Post-Modern Prometheus" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written and directed by series creator Chris Carter and aired in the United States on November 30, 1997 on the Fox network...
".
In 1998, Owens was cast as special agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
Jeffrey Spender
Jeffrey Spender
FBI Special agent Jeffrey Frank Spender is a fictional character in the American Fox television series The X-Files, a science fiction show about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of alien existence. Spender was in control of the X-Files office after Fox Mulder's and Dana Scully's...
, son of the Cigarette Smoking Man and alien abductee Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright
Veronica Cartwright
Veronica A. Cartwright is an English-born American actress who has worked mainly in American film and television. She is best known for her role of Lambert in Alien, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress....
). Spender was credited as 'Also Starring' but only appeared in eight episodes, spread across the show's fifth and sixth seasons, before his character died at the hand of his father. Owens returned in a 2002 episode called "William", playing a hideously disfigured Jeffrey Spender who had survived the "murder". He appeared a few episodes later in "The Truth
The Truth (The X-Files)
"The Truth" is the collective name for the 201st and 202nd, and final, episodes of the science fiction television series The X-Files. They first aired in the United States on May 19, 2002 on Fox in the United States and Canada. "The Truth" subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It...
", the series finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
.
He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a 2002 Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
The Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian actor.-1st Genie Awards:* Christopher Plummer, Murder by Decree...
for The Uncles.