James Pickens Jr. is itching to play Alvin Kersh again in Ryan Coogler‘s highly anticipated The X-Files reboot.
“We put the word out,” the actor told Gold Derby on Monday night at Disney’s Toast to Television event at Soho House Holloway. “I’d love to go back and do a cameo or something. I did the final seasons of it, and when they rebooted it, I got the chance to go back to Vancouver and work with David [Duchovny] and Gillian [Anderson] again.
“I’d love to see if I could peek in and bring Alvin Kersh back. I had a lot of fun doing it.”
His FBI boss was “such a great character,” Pickens continued. “You didn’t know if he was good or bad — until the finale when he helps them escape. I think he’s waiting for his next assignment, patiently.”
Kersh was introduced in Season 6 of the original series as the antagonistic administrator to Duchovny’s Fox Mulder and Anderson’s Dana Scully. Kersh started out as an Assistant Director at the FBI, then was promoted to Deputy Director. In all, Pickens guest-starred in 21 episodes, with his last appearance being in the finale of the 2018 Fox revival.
Coogler’s version of The X-Files will star Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel as FBI agents investigating unexplained phenomena. Their character names and descriptions will be announced later by Hulu. Anderson hasn’t ruled out returning as Scully, and Duchovny told Gold Derby he “wishes them well” and that he hopes “their writers’ room is stocked with great writers.”
Coogler will write, direct, and executive produce the pilot, while Jennifer Yale will serve as showrunner and EP. Original showrunner Chris Carter is also returning as an EP. Artisans include cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw and VFX supervisor Michael Ralla, both of whom worked with Coogler on Sinners.
Pickens is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Richard Webber on Grey’s Anatomy. He’s one of only three original cast members to appear in all 22 seasons, along with Ellen Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Grey and Chandra Wilson’s Dr. Miranda Bailey.
Last year, to celebrate the medical show’s 20th anniversary, Pickens told us, “He still remains faithful to that hospital and to those interns and to those residents all through the years. That’s what I’ve cherished the most, that we see how incredibly human he’s been.”
