 Hoping to continue the series , Carter introduced a new central character to replace Mulder : Doggett . More than 100 actors auditioned for the role , with only about ten considered by the producers . Lou Diamond Phillips and Hart Bochner were among the auditionees , and Phillips , Bochner and Bruce Campbell were considered for the role . In particular , Campbell , following his involvement with the sixth season episode " Terms of Endearment " , was considered , but , due to a contractual obligation , could not take any work during the filming of his series Jack of All Trades . On potentially being cast as the series regular , Campbell mused , " I had worked on an X @-@ Files episode before , and I think they sort of remembered me from that . It was nice to be involved in that – even if you don 't get it , it 's nice to hang out at that party . " Later in Campbell 's novel Make Love ! The Bruce Campbell Way , he joked that Patrick " stiffed him out of the role " . In the end , the producers eventually chose Robert Patrick . Reportedly , Patrick was cast due to the fact that his featured role in Terminator 2 : Judgment Day ( 1991 ) would attract a great 18- to 35 @-@ year @-@ old male demographic to the show . In fact , Fox executives reported a 10 percent overall increase in the demographic , solely due to Patrick 's casting . 
