Mitch Pileggi (born April 5, 1952) is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in Shocker, Walter Skinner on The X-Files, Colonel Steven Caldwell on Stargate Atlantis, Ernest Darby in Sons of Anarchy, and Harris Ryland in the TNT revival of Dallas (2012–2014). Early life and education Pileggi was born in Portland, Oregon, the son of Maxine, a homemaker, and Vito Pileggi, a defense contractor. Pileggi's family moved frequently because of his father's occupation, and Pileggi lived in Oregon, California, and Texas before spending most of his adolescence in Turkey. Career Pileggi began acting while he was a high school student in Turkey, playing musical theater. After returning to Austin from Iran, he performed in local theaters and continued his acting career with small roles in B-movies and guest roles in television series, such as Dallas, China Beach, Code of Vengeance, and Walker, Texas Ranger. In the 1980s, Pileggi starred in several films, including Three O'Clock High, as Duke "The Duker" Herman, an overzealous tough-as-nails high school parking lot security guard. In 1988, he starred in "Brothers In Arms" as one of the villains (Caleb) and in Shocker as body-possessing serial killer Horace Pinker. The latter was directed by horror icon Wes Craven. Pileggi played the villain in the 1991 television film, Knight Rider 2000, a sequel to the original television series Knight Rider. He also appeared briefly in the 1992 film Basic Instinct as an investigating police officer in the interrogation scene of Michael Douglas. He also appeared in the 1995 vampire film Vampire in Brooklyn (also directed by Craven) starring Eddie Murphy as an Italian mobster. His most notable role was as the FBI's Assistant Director Walter Skinner on The X-Files. The role was originally recurring, but the part expanded, and in 2001 he became a regular member of the cast. The character gradually became the most integral character besides the two leads. He remained with the series until its end in 2002. Pileggi played the character in the 1998 The X-Files film and in the 2008 film The X-Files: I Want to Believe. He also reprised the role in the 2016 miniseries. Pileggi's later work has included starring in the short-lived series Tarzan and co-starring with Barbara Hershey and Oliver Hudson in the short-lived series The Mountain. He played the recurring role of character Colonel Steven Caldwell, Commander of the Earth Battlecruiser, Daedalus, in the second (2005)