Conceptual History
More than one hundred actors auditioned for the role, but only ten were taken seriously by the producers. Known actors such as Lou Diamond Phillips and Hart Bochner were among the auditionees for the role as Agent Doggett. Both Phillips and Bochner were considered for the role, but the producers eventually chose Robert Patrick. In an interview with, Chris Carter said "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."
Patrick had an obligation to work on another series after being cast as Doggett. The series was entitled L.A. Sheriff's Homicide and was shooting its pilot episode. Carter was able to broker a deal with the other studio, paving the way for Patrick's portrayal of Doggett in season eight premiere "Within". Doggett was modeled after Bud White from the 1997 feature film, L.A. Confidential. Carter had previously named Dana Scully after Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, and he decided to name the new character after Vin Scully's longtime broadcasting partner Jerry Doggett as an homage. Before the character got a name, he was referred to by the producers as "Agent White".
Carter was inspired to write the scene in which Scully splashes water into Doggett's face, due to Carter being aware that new actor Patrick would be facing opposition from some members of the fan community, Patrick has even called that scene his favorite ever shot for the series, admitting that he couldn't think of a better way to introduce the character and that the scene not only said a lot but that it had actually helped him. The introduction of the new character in the eighth season was one of two main factors that influenced the series' production personnel to decide to go back to more serious episodes. The other major reason was to avoid "trivializing the absence of Mulder".
Read more about this topic: John Doggett
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