X-Files Wiki
Advertisement

Christopher Carl Carter, (born October 13, 1956) is an American television and film producer, director and writer, best known as the creator of The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, Millennium and Harsh Realm.

Carter was born October 13, 1956, in Bellflower, California. He is the son of William C. Carter (1930-1995), a construction worker and Catherine (née Mulder; 1930-1991), a homemaker.

After discovering a passion for surfing when he was twelve, Chris graduated from California State University at Long Beach in 1979 with a degree in Journalism. He was then hired by Surfing Magazine, where he spent the next several years writing articles, conducting interviews and experiencing the pressure of writing under deadlines.

In 1981, he was inspired to write screenplays by the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. On the strength of two screenplays, including the comedy, Rest Home For Spies, Jeffrey Katzenberg eventually hired Chris for a Hollywood powerhouse movie "factory."

In 1985, Chris began writing screenplays for Disney. There, he helped write several movies and contributed to established series, such as Cameo By Night, Rags to Riches and Brand New Life.

He also wrote two pilots for the series, Copter Cop and Cool Culture. Although they were met with praise, the series, unfortunately, proved impossible to produce due to unrelated circumstances.

In 1992, Chris was signed to 20th Century Fox and commissioned to develop three new series. His first attempt was The X-Files, which became a worldwide smash hit that ran for nine years and also spawned a feature film midway through its run. In 1996, Millennium started a run that would last three years, but his 1999 series Harsh Realm was dealt an early death. X-Files spin-off The Lone Gunmen debuted in 2001, but the unique mixture of humor and conspiracy also went to an early grave. The second X-Files movie, The X-Files: I Want To Believe, was released in 2008. Carter wrote the script with long-time collaborator and X-Files writer Frank Spotnitz and directed the movie. This was Carter's first outing as a director of a feature film.

Chris currently lives in Malibu with wife Dori Pierson, with a second home in Santa Barbara. He still has a passion for surfing that began in his childhood.

Credits[]

The X-Files[]

Episode Credit
Season 1
"Pilot" Writer
"Deep Throat"
"The Jersey Devil"
"Space"
"Fire"
"Young at Heart" (with Scott Kaufer)
"Miracle Man" (with Howard Gordon)
"Darkness Falls"
"The Erlenmeyer Flask"
Season 2
"Anasazi" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny) Actor/Writer
"Duane Barry" Director/Writer
"The Host" Writer
"Red Museum"
"Irresistible"
"Colony" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny)
"F. Emasculata" (with Howard Gordon)
Season 3
"The List" Director/Writer
"The Blessing Way" Writer
"Paper Clip"
"Nisei" (with Howard Gordon and Frank Spotnitz)
"Syzygy"
"Piper Maru" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Apocrypha" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Talitha Cumi" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny))
Season 4
"Herrenvolk" Writer
"Tunguska" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Terma" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Memento Mori" (w/ Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz)
"Unrequited" (Teleplay with Howard Gordon)
"Tempus Fugit" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Max" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Gethsemane"
Season 5
"The Post-Modern Prometheus" Director/Writer
"The Red and the Black"
"Redux" Writer
"Redux II"
"Chinga" (with Stephen King)
"Patient X" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"The End"
The X-Files: Fight the Future
(Screenplay, Story with Frank Spotnitz)
Season 6
"Triangle" Director/Writer
"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas"
"The Beginning" Writer
"Two Fathers" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"One Son" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Milagro" (Teleplay)
"Biogenesis" (with Frank Spotnitz)
Season 7
"Hollywood A.D." Actor
"First Person Shooter" Director
"The Sixth Extinction" Writer
"The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" (with David Duchovny)
"Sein Und Zeit" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Closure" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Fight Club"
"Requiem"
Season 8
"Patience" Director/Writer
"Within" Writer
"Without"
"Per Manum" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"This Is Not Happening" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"DeadAlive" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Three Words" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Essence"
"Existence"
Season 9
"Providence" (writer with Frank Spotnitz) Director/Writer
"Improbable"
"Nothing Important Happened Today" (with Frank Spotnitz) Writer
"Nothing Important Happened Today II" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Trust No 1" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Provenance" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"William" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny and Frank Spotnitz)
"The Truth"
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Director/ (Screenplay, Story with Frank Spotnitz)
Season 10
"My Struggle" Director/Writer
"Babylon"
"My Struggle II" (w/ Margaret Fearon & Anne Simon)
Season 11
"My Struggle III Director/Writer
"My Struggle IV
"Plus One Writer

Millennium[]

Episode Credit
Season 1
"Pilot" Writer
"Gehenna"
"The Well-Worn Lock"
"Lamentation"
Season 3
"TEOTWAWKI" (with Frank Spotnitz) Writer
"Antipas" (with Frank Spotnitz)
"Seven and One" (with Frank Spotnitz)


The Lone Gunmen[]

Episode Credit
"Three Men and a Smoking Diaper" Actor/Writer
"Pilot" (with Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz) Writer

References[]


External links[]

Advertisement