The X-Files, Improv Comedy and Finger-Puppets: A rollicking conversation with Lone Gunman, Dean Haglund

“X-Files” star, celebrated improv comedian and international man of mystery, Dean Haglund really has cracked the meaning of life. Best known for portraying Ringo Langly, one of the Lone Gunmen in “The X-Files,” Haglund has not rested on his esteemed laurels, and has built a career – and a reputation – that spreads from Edinburgh to Adelaide. Haglund and I met in a dimly lit hotel bar in Warwick and dived into what it means to be a native of Manitoba masquerading as a Michigander (and how he almost missed out on the role of this life).

Amadeus Finlay (Motif): So, Dean, why are you here in Rhode Island?

Dean Haglund: I am doing the convention, called X-Files United. It’s the first fan-run X-Files convention, and you know fans, they love to get together and celebrate what they enjoy, so this is great. I just moved back to the Midwest; my better half got promoted in the corporate culture, headquarters in Detroit, so suddenly I am the Midwest X-Files guy, so I am the cheapest to fly out! But it transpires that the organizers didn’t know that, they were just fans of the Lone Gunman, so they reached out to me first. I thought they went down, down, down the list until they came to me!

AF: Never! Everyone wants a bit of Dean. What they did was get you first and then worry about Gillian Anderson. I mean, who’s Gillian Anderson?

DH: “Yes,” they said. “We need Dean!” But also, Gillian is in London and that’s an expensive flight, plus she’s doing West End plays. She did Streetcar Named Desire and just finished All About Eve¸ so she’s ripping it up over there. But I knew Gillian as a young actress in her first big TV role, and there were scenes we did when she was nervous or doing actory things like writing in her script, and stuff like that. But now, to see her do things like Miss Haversham in Great Expectations… did you see that?! Fucking hell… I saw her at San Diego Comiccon, and said that Haversham is usually portrayed a crazy shut-in, but she does this ephemeral, floaty character. Exceptional! And now she is going to play Margaret Thatcher in The Crown… did you hear this?

AF: No… Can we print that? Is that an exclusive?

DH: Oh, of course. And no, it’s not an exclusive. Gillian didn’t email me and say, “Hi Dean, be sure to let Motif know that I am Margaret Thatcher.” I read it somewhere, so sorry, it’s not an exclusive.

AF: Let’s hope it’s the first time it’s been published in RI; nobody will know! Nobody’s even heard of Thatcher.

DH: Well, when I got picked up at the airport I said, “This is my first time in Rhode Island,” and the driver said, “Don’t worry about that, nobody even knows where Rhode Island is!” Who doesn’t know Rhode Island?! I knew Seth MacFarlane came from here, he’s a local lad, and Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe. I’ve even got an Edgar Allen Poe finger-puppet, complete with a magnet, so when you’re not performing your Edgar Allen Poe finger-puppet show, you can stick him on your fridge!

AF: Sure, everyone does that; it’s a frequent occurrence! While in the kitchen, stick your finger in Edgar Allen Poe… right?

DH: Absolutely! My Hot Pockets take a minute and thirty seconds, so I have to amuse myself! “I am now going to recite The Raven to a captivated audience of a blue Doberman puppy and a disgruntled black cat!”

AF: Well this is marvelous. We should make a show; you and me sitting at a bar chatting nonsense. But anyway … you’re living in the States again; what are you getting up to? Back to the acting, back to the comedy?

DH: Well, I’m doing improv comedy and I am teaching. But that was a brutal winter, and the nights when I was meant to teach a workshop I just said, “Wait ‘til spring!” Our furnace was on 24 hours a day, and the house never got above 60 degrees. Ice was forming on the inside of our bedroom window, we were buying insulation and jamming it in between the joists. I mean, L.A., I lived there for 15 years, we never saw ice. And then Australia, they put their parka on when its 45 degrees! Before that I was in Vancouver, and we only got snow once a year. So when a polar vortex comes down it’s unbearable. But anyway! There’s the Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale at 9^th and Woodward, I’ll be performing there, also the Ant Theatre in Hamtramck, opened by Keegan-Michael Key.

AF: So, the big one… let’s talk about “The X-Files.” What was that like?

DH: Yes, let’s! Let’s talk about “The X-Files.” Thirteen seasons expanding over 22 years. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! But I am always impressed when somebody recognizes me. Those glasses were fake – the hair was real – but now I have neither!

Anyway, when I auditioned my agent said, “Bah, aliens and the FBI, whatever,” because back then Vancouver was known for the day players, shows like “Street Justice” and “21 Jump Street,” so he just shrugged his shoulders and went, “How good can that possibly be?” Totally rubbish! So, I went to the audition and didn’t really care! I had been performing 10 nights a week at Vancouver TheatreSports(TM) League, and that was super successful, so all I thought was, “What do I care if I’m an extra in a crap show?” And the Gunmen were only meant to be in one episode, ergh…

So, I go in, meet Bruce Harwood for the first time and ask who was playing the other weird guy, and was told, “He’s the first assistant director.” And I think, “Ah fuck, how shitty is this show where they’re casting the assistant director to play a part?” It’s a cold morning, we’re in a bank, it’s unheated, they’ve built this crazy set, and that’s the first time I met David Duchovny, just another actor blowing through town. And then, Gillian Anderson, and David says, “I’ve heard this is your first TV show.” I had heard David had done some other shows, but I didn’t bother to research them. Anyway, we do our takes, get some close-ups, and we were out there before lunch.

But I had friends who were real-life computer nerds working on Unix, and at a party a while later they told me I was blowing up on a thing called the alt.tv.x-files newsgroup. So, they tell me, “Do read news Lone Gunman,” and whoosh! It’s all about me! It’s global! And it took my breath away.

AF: From your birthplace in Manitoba, to living in Australia, Detroit and Vancouver, finally ending up here in Rhody, you’ve traveled the world! Do you enjoy the jet setting lifestyle?

DH: I do! And bless “The X-Files” for that! Because it shows up in 169 countries across the world. And interestingly enough, as you would expect, it is done in German, and a young German actor, Benjamin Völz, was voicing Mulder for the TV show. But when the movies came out, some business people doing business things wanted to find a more “established” actor to take the part. So, I was asked to take part in a petition to keep him in the role, and I was more than happy to help. In the end, I believe Benjamin was kept on because the fans associated him with the character, and “X-Files” fans have such a beautiful passion for what they love and care about. And that is the reason why I am here in Rhode Island. Our fans are just incredible.