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  3. 19 stars you forgot were on The X-Files

19 stars you forgot were on The X-Files

See who had scene-stealing cameos on the sci-fi drama

By Madeline Boardman Updated July 27, 2022 at 10:10 AM EDT
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Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf
Credit: Fox

Just 13 years old at the time, Shia LaBeouf landed one of his first credited small-screen roles thanks to a 1999 episode of The X-Files. The future star played Richie Lupone, a young boy with a rare disease, in the show's seventh season.

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Octavia Spencer

Octavia Spencer
Credit: Fox

Years before she earned credits for The Help or Fruitvale Station, Octavia Spencer was making an early appearance on The X-Files. The future Oscar winner popped up on the show in 1999, playing a nurse at a mental hospital in the seventh season.

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Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul
Credit: Fox

Aaron Paul landed this small-screen gig in 2001, appearing in The X-Files' ninth season. Paul, who would go on to become a household name thanks to Breaking Bad, played David "Sky Commander Winky" Winkle, the leader of a risk-taking group of high school friends who film their out-there stunts for a cable show.

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Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin
Credit: Fox

The same year that she wrapped her run as Kay Carter-Shepley on Murphy Brown, Lily Tomlin made a cameo on The X-Files. Dropping by the show's sixth season, she played Lyda, a ghostly creature who has run-ins with Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson).

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Jack Black

Jack Black
Credit: Fox

Jack Black found his spot on The X-Files as Bart "Zero" Liquori. The Tenacious D star joined the show for one 1995 episode early in his career, playing an arcade employee who is friends with Darren Peter Oswald (Giovanni Ribisi).

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Minnie Driver

Minnie Driver
Credit: Fox

A few years after Good Will Hunting, Minnie Driver made a brief appearance in the seventh season of The X-Files. She played an unnamed member of the audience at the Lazarus Bowl screening.

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David Alan Grier

David Alan Grier
Credit: Fox

David Alan Grier found himself near Driver in the episode from 2000. He played another audience member at the Hollywood movie showing.

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Tea Leoni

Tea Leoni
Credit: Fox

Dana Scully got a new look in 2000, thanks to Tea Leoni. The actress depicted Scully in the movie about the agents.

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Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu
Credit: Fox

In one of her first onscreen roles, Lucy Liu played Kim Hsin in a 1996 episode of The X-Files. Her character is a leukemia patient whose father goes through dark avenues in an attempt to save her.

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Seth Green

Seth Green
Credit: Fox

Seth Green hit the small screen in 1993, appearing in a season 1 episode of The X-Files. The actor played Emil, a teenager who has an encounter with a UFO.

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Felicity Huffman

Felicity Huffman
Credit: Fox

In one of her first roles, Felicity Huffman popped up in the first season of The X-Files as Dr. Nancy Da Silva. She played a well-educated scientist who assists Mulder and Scully on a project in the Arctic.

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Kathy Griffin

Kathy Griffin
Credit: Fox

Kathy Griffin found a spot on The X-Files in 2000. The comedian played two characters in the season 7 episode, appearing as Betty Templeton, as well as her doppelgänger Lulu Pfeiffer.

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CCH Pounder

CCH Pounder
Credit: Fox

CCH Pounder popped up in The X-Files' second season. She appeared as Agent Lucy Kazdin, an FBI employee who works with the Hostage Rescue Team.

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Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston
Credit: Fox

Two years before he became Malcolm in the Middle's Hal and 10 before he debuted as Breaking Bad's Walter White, Bryan Cranston was Patrick Crump in one 1998 episode of The X-Files. He joined the sixth season as a man whose life is torn apart by military tests.

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Willie Garson

Willie Garson
Credit: Fox

In the midst of his run as Sex and the City's Stanford Blatch, the late Willie Garson made two appearances as two different characters in episodes of The X-Files. He played Quinton "Roach" Freely in 1995, returning as Henry Weems in 1998.

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Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless
Credit: Fox

Xena herself stopped by The X-Files in 2001. The same year that she wrapped her run on Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless appeared in two episodes of X-Files as Shannon McMahon, a super soldier.

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Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds
Credit: Fox

Burt Reynolds graced The X-Files with his presence in 2002. He played the aptly named character Mr. Burt in the ninth season, a mysterious man whom Mulder and Scully identify as a suspect in a case involving a serial killer.

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Jane Lynch

Jane Lynch
Credit: Fox

Eight years before Glee, Jane Lynch hit the small screen in a 2001 episode of The X-Files. The actress played Mrs. Anne T. Lokensgard in the ninth season, the mother of a boy with bizarre powers.

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Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds
Credit: Fox

Ryan Reynolds landed one of his first roles thanks to The X-Files. He appeared on the show in a season 3 episode, playing Jay De Boom, a student who dies under dark circumstances.

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 19 Shia LaBeouf
    2 of 19 Octavia Spencer
    3 of 19 Aaron Paul
    4 of 19 Lily Tomlin
    5 of 19 Jack Black
    6 of 19 Minnie Driver
    7 of 19 David Alan Grier
    8 of 19 Tea Leoni
    9 of 19 Lucy Liu
    10 of 19 Seth Green
    11 of 19 Felicity Huffman
    12 of 19 Kathy Griffin
    13 of 19 CCH Pounder
    14 of 19 Bryan Cranston
    15 of 19 Willie Garson
    16 of 19 Lucy Lawless
    17 of 19 Burt Reynolds
    18 of 19 Jane Lynch
    19 of 19 Ryan Reynolds

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