Chris Carter

Chris Carter

Christopher Carl Carter, born on Saturday, October 13, 1956 in California, is the creator of The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, Millennium and Harsh Realm.

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 world-wide 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. Following Carter's decision to end The X-Files television series with the last episode airing on May 19, 2002, a second X-Files film was frequently rumored to be under development. However, in January 2006, news broke that Carter had sued 20th Century Fox for breach of contract, contractual interference and other claims over payments allegedly owed to him from The X-Files. As of April 2007, the litigation had wrapped up and Frank Spotnitz confirmed that a script for a second X-Files movie was in the works.

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

Writing Credits

• The X-Files:
  • Season 1:
    • "Pilot"
    • "Deep Throat"
    • "The Jersey Devil"
    • "Space"
    • "Young at Heart" (with Scott Kaufer)
    • "Miracle Man" (with Howard Gordon)
    • "Darkness Falls"
    • "The Erlenmeyer Flask"
  • Season 2:
    • "The Host"
    • "Duane Barry"
    • "Red Museum"
    • "Irresistible"
    • "Colony" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny)
    • "F. Emasculata" (with Howard Gordon)
    • "Anasazi" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny)
  • Season 3:
    • "The Blessing Way"
    • "Paper Clip"
    • "The List"
    • "Nisei" (with Howard Gordon and Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Piper Maru" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Apocrypha" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Talitha Cumi" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny)
  • Season 4:
    • "Herrenvolk" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Tunguska" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Terma" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Memento Mori" (with Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Unrequited" (Teleplay with Howard Gordon)
    • "Tempus Fugit" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Max" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Gethsemane"
  • Season 5:
    • "Redux"
    • "Redux II"
    • "The Post-Modern Prometheus"
    • "Patient X" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "The Red and the Black" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "The End"
  • The X-Files Movie (Screenplay, Story with Frank Spotnitz)
  • Season 6:
    • "The Beginning"
    • "Triangle"
    • "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas"
    • "Two Fathers" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "One Son" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Milagro" (Teleplay)
    • "Biogenesis" (with Frank Spotnitz)
  • Season 7:
    • "The Sixth Extinction"
    • "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" (with David Duchovny)
    • "Sein Und Zeit" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Closure" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Fight Club"
    • "Requiem"
  • Season 8:
    • "Within"
    • "Without"
    • "Patience"
    • "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:
    • "Nothing Important Happened Today" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Nothing Important Happened Today II" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Trust No 1" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Provenance" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Providence" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Improbable"
    • "William" (Teleplay, Story with David Duchovny and Frank Spotnitz)
    • "The Truth"
  • The X-Files: I Want to Believe (with Frank Spotnitz)

• Millennium:
  • Season 1:
    • "Pilot"
    • "Gehenna"
    • "The Well-Worn Lock"
    • "Lamentation"
  • Season 3:
    • "TEOTWAWKI" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Antipas" (with Frank Spotnitz)
    • "Seven and One" (with Frank Spotnitz)

• The Lone Gunmen:
  • "Three Men and a Smoking Diaper"

Directing Credits

• TXF:
  • Season 2
    • "Duane Barry"
  • Season 3
    • "The List"
  • Season 5
    • "The Post-Modern Prometheus"
    • "The Red and the Black"
  • Season 6
    • "Triangle"
    • "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas"
  • Season 7
    • "First Person Shooter"
  • Season 8
    • "Patience"
  • Season 9
    • "Providence"
    • "Improbable"
  • The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Acting Credits

• TXF:
  • "Anasazi" (as Another Agent)
  • "Hollywood A.D." (as Extra in cinema scene)

External Links

• Template:IMDb-link