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Canadian actor

William Bruce Davis (born January 13, 1938) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on The X Files. Besides appearing in many TV programs and movies, he founded his own acting school, the William Davis Centre for Actors Study. In his personal life, he is an avid water skier, lectures on skepticism at events such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry's CSICon, and advocates for action on climate change. In 2011 he published his memoir, Where There's Smoke The Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man.

Davis was born in Toronto to a lawyer father and psychologist mother. He began his acting career as a child in 1949, in radio drama and summer stock theatre. His cousins Murray and Donald Davis ran the Straw Hat Players in Ontario in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and rehearsed in the basement of Davis's house. When they needed a boy they gave William his first professional acting job. He subsequently became a boy actor on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio before his voice broke. In 1955 he enrolled at the University of Toronto to study philosophy, but actively pursued an acting career, as did his friend Donald Sutherland. In 1959, he graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy. While at university he switched his attention from acting to directing and with his partner, Karl Jaffary, ran the Straw Hat Players for four years.

In 1960, Davis went to England to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He worked in the UK for the next five years directing in repertory theatres and acting schools. He was artistic director of the Dundee Repertory Theatre. His last position in the UK was as an assistant director at the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier where he worked with Albert Finney, Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi, and Ronald Pickup among others. During this period he was also active as a freelance director at major Canadian theatres. In 1971 he joined the newly formed drama department at Bishop's University in Lennoxvile, Quebec. While there he became the founding artistic director of Festival Lennoxville, a professional summer theatre that ran for the next decade. Returning to Toronto in the late seventies, Davis spent several years as a radio drama director and on the faculty of Humber College. In demand as an acting teacher during this period, he resumed acting after an absence of nearly 20 years. He earned a number of roles on stage and film before accepting the position of artistic director of the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School, which required relocating with his wife and family. Davis writes in his memoir, "And so, in the fall of 1985, we hitched our second hand boat to our second hand car and drove across the country." While his time at the Vancouver Playhouse was short lived, he remained in Vancouver where he founded his own acting school, the William Davis Centre for Actors Study, Acting roles became more frequent, leading up to his iconic role as the Cigarette Smoking Man (also called the "Cancer Man") on the hit TV series The X Files, where he made frequent appearances for the next nine years. Davis has also had a wide range of roles in other series, including Stargate SG 1 and Smallville, and has participated in a host of television movies and other projects. From time to time he attends fan conventions, signing autographs and copies of his memoir. In recent years Davis has returned to directing theatre and film. He wrote and directed three short films, and co wrote and directed several episodes of a television series for CBC Television, 49th & Main. In 2011 he directed two plays for The United Players of Vancouver: Waste by Harley Granville Barker, and Hay Fever by Noël Coward. Most recently he directed The Habit of Art (2013) by Alan Bennett, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (2015) by Katie Forgette, and Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons at the Jericho Arts Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. During that period, he also appeared in 10 episodes of the Canadian hit show Continuum as Older Alec Sadler on Showcase. Most recently, he reprised his iconic X Files role in the six episode Season 10. [17]

Despite being known for his smoking character, Davis quit smoking in the 1970s. When The X Files started, he was given a choice between herbal cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes. At first he chose to use tobacco, but switched to herbal because he feared becoming addicted to them again. He used his notoriety on the show to assist the Canadian Cancer Society in its programs to combat smoking. In 2014, he donated his investments that supported fossil fuels to the David Suzuki Foundation in an effort to both ethically invest, and help fund work to fight climate change. He is a passionate advocate for action in response to climate change, believing it a critical issue of our time and speaking on the subject often. Taking action on a personal level, he drives a Tesla powered by hydroelectricity. He has two daughters, Melinda and Rebecca, from an earlier marriage, and two grandchildren.

While on The X Files, Davis was constantly challenged by fans of the show about his non belief in the paranormal and aliens. Davis credits Barry Beyerstein and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) for introducing him to the skeptic community. Davis became increasingly involved in the skeptic movement and began to give lectures as a skeptic spokesman at universities across North America and at skeptic conventions, including CSI's CSICon in New Orleans. When asked about his belief in the paranormal at the London Film and Comic Con in 2010, Davis replied, "The onus is on you to prove the extraordinary I did a lot of research and saw where a lot of the arguments were wanting." Asked about a debate Davis moderated with alien abduction believer John E. Mack, Davis said that many people expected him to support Mack, but they discovered that he was "way on the other side". Davis recounted that he had some great discussions with Mack; "He was brilliant he was wrong, but he was very good One of the problems with human intelligence is that we are so good at defending ideas that we arrived at irrationally." In 2002, Davis narrated a Discovery Science Channel docuseries, The Critical Eye. Produced in association with Skeptical Inquirer magazine, the series examined pseudoscientific and paranormal phenomena.

Year Title Role Notes1983 The Dead ZoneAmbulance Driver1985Head OfficeUniversity Dean1989Beyond the StarsHal SimonLook Who's TalkingDrug Doctor1991 The HitmanDr. Atkins1995Dangerous IntentionsGroup Leader1996UnforgettableDr. Smoot1998 The X FilesThe Smoking Man The Last TzaddikMr. DrazienShort film2000Perpetrators of the CrimeHenderson2001 The ProposalAgent Frank GruningOut of LineRussellMindstormParishJay and Silent Bob Strike BackThe Smoking ManUncreditedAndhraxTye Crow2002PolishedPhillipShort filmAftermathDeputy Director EdwardsBody & SoulDr. Edward A. Esseff2003Broken SaintsBenjamin PalmerArbor VitaeOld SoulShort film2004Snakehead TerrorDoc JenkinsLyon KingFinance MinisterShort filmPacking UpJenkinsShort film2005 The Cost of LivingMark MortinsonShort film The Last RoundMitchellMax RulesRick Brinkley2006 The JanitorsHarveyShort filmSistersDr. Bryant2007The MessengersColby PriceNumbPeter Milbank2008 The Femme FataleSamVideo short film A PickleMackShort filmPassengersJackReverseChrisShort film2009PossessionDr. Creane The ShortcutBenjamin HartleyThe ThawTedDamageVeltz2010BlobThe BossShort filmFlowers for NormaOlder Gentleman #2Short filmAmazon FallsCalvin2011Goose on the LooseAlphonse DavidRise of the DamnedDoctor2012 The Tall ManSheriff ChestnutThe PackageDr. Willhelm2013Singularity PrincipleLawrence Cason2014FocusMr. Grant2016ResidueLamontAbductZane2BR02B: To Be or Naught to BeGranddadShort film2017Death NoteRadio Host2018Game Over, Man!Ray SecurityBad Times at the El RoyaleJudge Gordon Hoffman2019PhilFather Grant2019Crystal's ShadowZane Mcallister TBA Villain Lamont Rumored

Year Title Role Notes1985 The Cuckoo BirdTed1987Deadly DeceptionLawyerSworn to SilencePeter Massio The Little Match GirlDr. Sam Easton1989MatineeHeath Harris1990Anything to SurviveDr. ReynoldsItMr. Gedreau1991Omen IV: The AwakeningLawyerUncredited1992Diagnosis MurderMarvin Parkins1994Heart of a ChildVernBeyond SuspicionCapt. Dick RothDon't Talk to StrangersHuddleston1995Not Our SonPolice ChiefUncreditedCircumstances UnknownGene ReuschelCourting JusticeDr. Alexander1996 The Limbic RegionTeacher1998Voyage of TerrorDr. Norman Ellisy1999Murder Most LikelyDetective Inspector2000Killing MoonEdBecoming DickDr. Hardwin2002Damaged CareDr. Sam VerbushSaint SinnerFather Michael100 Days in the Jungle2003Word of HonorLewis Kaplan2004 The Cradle Will FallDist. Atty. Alex Myerson2005Dark PinesShannon Fraser2006Dark StormGeneral KillionHer Fatal FlawRichard O'BrienThe Secret of Hidden LakeJudge Landers2007Judicial IndiscretionSenator Garland Wolf2009Something Evil ComesMr. DuttonWeb of DesireDr. Charles Friedman2010Medium Raw: Night of the WolfDr. Robert Parker2011BehemothWilliam Walsh2013StonadosBen

Year Title Role Notes1984SCTV ChannelMan on the phoneEpisode: "Half Wits Save the World Parade"1986 The BeachcombersDave DouglasEpisode: "Trial Balloon"1987Danger BayNorrisEpisode: "High Five"Airwolf"Company" official4 episodes21 Jump StreetMr. WiedlinEpisode: "Mean Streets and Pastel Houses"1988Captain Power and the Soldiers of the FutureArvinEpisode: "Judgement"Danger BayJack KaneEpisode: "Racing Against Time"21 Jump StreetMr. WickentonEpisode: "Champagne High"WiseguyCurantEpisode: "The Merchant of Death"1989WiseguyInspector #2Episode: "People Do It All the Time"199121 Jump StreetJudge HarrisonEpisode: "Crossfire"MacGyverJudgeEpisode: "Trail of Tears" The CommishDon Chesley2 episodes1992Street JusticeBadgelyEpisode: "Homecoming"Nightmare CafeDoctorEpisode: "Sanctuary for a Child"1993North of 60Inspector NelsonEpisode: "Out of the Blue"1993–2018 The X FilesThe Smoking Man43 episodes1995SlidersProf. MymanEpisode: "Eggheads" The Outer LimitsEdEpisode: "The Conversion"1996Poltergeist: The LegacyDr. Bill NigelEpisode: "Do Not Go Gently" The Outer LimitsJohn WymerEpisode: "Out of Body"1999MentorsSir Arthur Conan DoyleEpisode: "The Truth Is in Here"2000The Fearing MindMichell CofaxEpisode: "Gentlemen Caller"2001First WaveSagonEpisode: "Checkmate" The Outer LimitsDr. BiemlerEpisode: "Worlds Within"MythQuestHead PriestEpisode: "The Oracle"AndromedaProfessor LogitchEpisode: "Pitiless as the Sun"2003SmallvilleMayor William 'Billy' Tate2 episodes2004Kingdom HospitalDean SwintonEpisode: "The Young and the Headless"Murdoch MysteriesAlderman Godfrey ShepcoteEpisode: "Expect the Dying"2005TiltFather MikeEpisode: "Nobody Ever Listens"Robson ArmsDr. Carlisle Wainwright10 episodes2005–2006Stargate SG 1Ori Prior Damaris2 episodes2006SupernaturalCollege ProfessorEpisode: "Scarecrow"Canadian Comedy ShortsFinance MinisterEpisode: "Episode #10.9"2007Masters of Science FictionThe PresidentEpisode: "The Awakening"2008Fear ItselfFather ChrisEpisode: "In Sickness and in Health"2009CapricaMinister ChambersEpisode: "Pilot"2010Human TargetWhitey DoyleEpisode: "Run"2012–2015ContinuumOlder Alec Sadler10 episodes 2013 The Haunting Hour: The Series Plumberg Episode: "Bad Egg" 2019 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Methuselah 2 episodes 2020, 2022 Upload David Choak 10 episodes 2020 50 States of Fright Frank TV short 2022 The Midnight Club Mirror Man