Chris Owens (actor)

2025-10-25T01:43:53Z

2604:3D09:447F:9DD0:324:FE6F:B1C8:398D:

{{short description|Canadian actor (born 1961)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{distinguish|Chris Owen (actor)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chris Owens
| image = Chris_Owens_and_Farah_Merani.jpg
| caption = Owens (left) with actress Farah Merani at 2016 CFC Annual BBQ Fundraiser
| birth_name = Christopher Bradley Owens
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1961|9|7}}
| birth_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| occupation = Actor
| years active = 1983–present
}}

'''Christopher Bradley Owens''' (born 7 September 1961) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his performances on the television series ''[[The X-Files]]''.

==Early life==
Owens was born in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], the son of Jeannette, a jazz singer, and Garry Owens, a jazz drummer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/19/Chris-Owens.html |title=Chris Owens Biography (1961-)|work=filmreference.com}}</ref>

==Career==
Owens has performed in many feature films, often in minor roles, including appearances in ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]'' and ''[[The Recruit (film)|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 (The X-Files)|Demons]]". Later that year, he played the [[Frankenstein's monster|Frankenstein]]-esque Great Mutato in a surreal episode called "[[The Post-Modern Prometheus]]".{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In 1998, Owens was cast as [[special agent]] [[Jeffrey Spender]], son of [[The Smoking Man]] and alien abductee [[Cassandra Spender]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Glenn |last=Teichman |work=[[The Albany Herald]] |location=[[Albany, NY]] |title=Sixth season of 'X-Files' sets small screen afire |page=TV8 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d8tEAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zLYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6304,1714094&dq=chris-owens+spender&hl=en |date=8 November 1998}}</ref> Owens 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 X-Files)|The Truth]]", the [[series finale]].<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The State (newspaper)|The State]] |location=[[Columbia, SC]] |title=Closing 'The X-Files'; As the series looks to its last year, we take on 20 mysteries Mulder and Scully still haven't solved |page=D1 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CS&s_site=thestate&p_multi=CS&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAC557D9E2F7633&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=20 May 2000}}</ref>
Owens appeared one final time as Jeffrey Spender, on January 3rd, 2018, in [[The X-Files]] Eleventh Season Premiere, "[[My Struggle III]]", in order to warn Agent Scully and also divulged the last name of her son’s adoptive parents.

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]]''.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television |work=Canada's Awards Database |title=Chris Owens |url=http://www.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?nname=Chris+Owens&winonly=0&awards=1&rtype=1&curstep=4&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 |accessdate=10 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706164137/http://www.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?nname=Chris+Owens&winonly=0&awards=1&rtype=1&curstep=4&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1985 || ''Cages'' || Billy Simpson || Short film
|-
| 1987 || data-sort-value="Big Town, The" | ''[[The Big Town (1987 film)|The Big Town]]'' || Garage Boy ||
|-
| 1988 || ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]'' || Soldier ||
|-
| 1990 || ''[[The Nutcracker Prince]]'' || Erik || Voice
|-
| 1996 || ''Sabotage'' || Young Security Guard ||
|-
| 1998 || ''[[Disturbing Behavior]]'' || Officer Kramer ||
|-
| 2000 || data-sort-value="Uncles, The" | ''[[The Uncles]]'' || John || Nominated—[[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor|Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]]
|-
| 2003 || data-sort-value="Happy Couple, The" | ''[[The Happy Couple]]'' || Dwayne ||
|-
| 2003 || data-sort-value="Recruit, The" | ''[[The Recruit (film)|The Recruit]]'' || Art Wallis ||
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Breach (2007 film)|Breach]]'' || Trunk Cataloguer ||
|-
| 2008 || data-sort-value="Incredible Hulk, The" | ''[[The Incredible Hulk (film)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' || Commando ||
|-
| 2008 || ''[[High School Musical 3: Senior Year]]'' || Dancer ||
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Saw VI]]'' || Additional voices ||
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Red (2010 film)|Red]]'' || Hanged Man ||
|-
| 2010 || ''Saw 3D: The Final Chapter'' || Additional voices ||
|-
| 2011 || ''[[Dream House (2011 film)|Dream House]]'' || Tom Barrion || Uncredited
|-
| 2017 || ''[[Molly's Game]]'' || LA Player ||
|-
| 2024 || data-sort-value="Apprentice, The" | ''[[The Apprentice (2024 film)|The Apprentice]]'' || Jay Pritzker ||
|-
|}

===Television films===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role
|-
| 1986 || ''As Is'' || Pickup #2
|-
| 1986 || ''[[9B (TV series)|9B]]'' || Steven Lapiere
|-
| 1987 || ''Haunted By Her Past'' || Thomas
|-
| 1996 || ''Double Jeopardy'' || Rocco
|-
| 1994 || ''Paris or Somewhere'' || Shawn
|-
| 1995 || ''Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story'' || Nebraska
|-
| 1996 || ''Giant Mike'' || Tom Aitken
|-
| 1997 || ''Their Second Chance'' || Jeff Colvin
|-
| 2000 || ''Python'' || Brian Cooper
|-
| 2001 || data-sort-value="Glimpse of Hell, A" | ''[[A Glimpse of Hell (film)|A Glimpse of Hell]]'' || Agent Flynn
|-
| 2001 || ''[[My Louisiana Sky]]'' || Lonnie Parker
|-
| 2002 || ''Guilt by Association'' || Roger
|-
| 2002 || ''Power and Beauty'' || Weston
|-
| 2008 || ''[[Victor (2008 film)|Victor]]'' || Dave Stubbs
|-
| 2018 || ''[[Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey]]'' || Detective Wolf
|}

===Television series===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1983 || ''[[Hangin' In]]'' || Brian || Episode: "Video Fever"
|-
| 1985 || ''[[Night Heat]]'' || Mel Braddock || Episode: "Ancient Madness"
|-
| 1986 || ''[[Adderly]]'' || Gang Member || Episode: "Rich Kid"
|-
| 1988 || ''[[9B (TV series)|9B]]'' || Steven Lapiere || 5 episodes
|-
| 1988 || data-sort-value="Campbells, The" | ''[[The Campbells]]'' || Volunteer Rifleman || Episode: "The Rifle Company"
|-
| 1989 || ''[[Street Legal (Canadian TV series)|Street Legal]]'' || Ricky Palmer || Episode: "Slipping Through the Cracks"
|-
| 1990 || ''[[Top Cops]]'' || Astorotti || Episode: "James Garcia/Mike Coleman"
|-
| 1990 || ''[[Street Legal (Canadian TV series)|Street Legal]]'' || Seth Cuthbert || Episode: "Standard of Care"
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Rin Tin Tin K-9 Cop]]'' || {{n/a}} || Episode: "Under Siege"
|-
| 1993 || data-sort-value="Hidden Room, The" | ''[[The Hidden Room]]'' || Peter Semple || Episode: "The First Battle"
|-
| 1995 || ''[[TekWar (TV series)|TekWar]]'' || Roy Henry || Episode: "Chill Factory"
|-
| 1996 || ''[[Kung Fu: The Legend Continues]]'' || Tremaine || Episode: "Shaolin Shot"
|-
| 1996 || ''[[PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal|PSI Factor]]'' || Deputy Carl Hall || Episode: "Reptilian Revenge/Ghostly Voices"
|-
| 1996–1997 || data-sort-value="X-Files, The" | ''[[The X-Files]]'' || Young Cigarette Smoking Man || 2 episodes
|-
| 1997 || ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'' || Deputy Bill Sherman || Episode: "[[Monster (Millennium)|Monster]]"
|-
| 1997 || data-sort-value="X-Files, The" | ''[[The X-Files]]'' || Mutato || Episode: "The Post-Modern Prometheus"
|-
| 1998 || ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' || Armin Selig || Episode: "Secrets"
|-
| 1998–2018 || data-sort-value="X-Files, The" | ''[[The X-Files]]'' || Jeffrey Spender || 11 episodes<br>Nominated—[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series]]
|-
| 1999 || data-sort-value="Net, The" | ''[[The Net (U.S. TV series)|The Net]]'' || Sam Lloyd || Episode: "Y2K: Total System Failure"
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Blue Murder (Canadian TV series)|Blue Murder]]'' || Speltz || Episode: "Wrongful Convictions"
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Lexx]]'' || Biff || Episode: "Texx Lexx"
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Soul Food (TV series)|Soul Food]]'' || Jim || Episode: "Fly Away Home"
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Mutant X (TV series)|Mutant X]]'' || Mr. Delay || Episode: "Interface"
|-
| 2003 || ''[[Blue Murder (Canadian TV series)|Blue Murder]]'' || John Doe || Episode: "John Doe"
|-
| 2004 || ''[[This Is Wonderland]]'' || {{n/a}} || Episode: "#1.9"
|-
| 2004 || data-sort-value="Grid, The" | ''[[The Grid (miniseries)|The Grid]]'' || Polygrapher || Episode: "#1.2"
|-
| 2005 || ''[[1-800-MISSING]]'' || {{n/a}} || Episode: "Sisterhood"
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Air Crash Investigation]]'' || Scott Lustig || Episode: "Mistaken Identity"
|-
| 2007 || ''[['Til Death Do Us Part (U.S. TV series)|Til Death Do Us Part]]'' || Carl Lawford || Episode: "The Pond Scum Murder"
|-
| 2009 || data-sort-value="Line, The" | ''[[The Line (TV series)|The Line]]'' || Andy || 15 episodes
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Baxter (TV series)|Baxter]]'' || Sam || 4 episodes
|-
| 2011 || ''[[Combat Hospital]]'' || Sergeant Major Gaestner || Episode: "Shifting Sands"
|-
| 2015 || data-sort-value="Strain, The" | ''[[The Strain (TV series)|The Strain]]'' || Medical Officer || Episode: "Quick and Painless"
|-
| 2018 || data-sort-value="Expanse, The" | ''[[The Expanse (TV series)|The Expanse]]'' || Kolvoord || 6 episodes
|-
| 2020 || data-sort-value="Comey Rule, The" | ''[[The Comey Rule]]'' || Man Behind Him || Episode: "Night One"
|-
| 2021 || ''[[Mayor of Kingstown]]'' || Tom || Episode: "Orion"
|-
| 2023 || ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'' || Bruce Marshall || Episode: "Cool Million"
|-
| 2023 || ''[[Fellow Travelers (miniseries)|Fellow Travelers]]'' || Barker || 2 episodes
|-
| 2024 || data-sort-value="Madness, The" | ''[[The Madness (TV series)|The Madness]]'' || Levi || 2 episodes
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name | id=0654334 | name=Chris Owens}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Chris}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian male film actors]]
[[Category:Canadian male television actors]]
[[Category:Canadian male voice actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Toronto]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Welsh descent]]

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Chris Owens (actor)