William Bruce Davis (born
January 13, 1938) is a Canadian
actor, known for his role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on The X-Files. He has also appeared in
Stargate SG-1 as
Damaris, a
Prior of the
Ori and as Mayor Tate on
Smallville. Most recently he has
appeared in ABC's
Masters
of Science Fiction as the President of the United
States.
Davis was
born in Toronto,
Ontario
, to an attorney father and
psychologist mother.
In 1959,
he graduated from the University of Toronto
with a B.A. in philosophy. Afterwards, he went on
to become a drama professor at Bishop's
University
. He is also the founder of the William Davis Centre for
Actors Study acting school in Vancouver
, British
Columbia
. He
is also a former national champion
water
skier. Despite being known for his smoking character, Davis
actually quit smoking in the 1970s; when
The X-Files started up, he was given a
choice between
herbal cigarettes
and actual cigarettes. At first he chose the actual cigarettes, but
switched to herbal shortly after for fear of becoming addicted
again while playing the
Cigarette
Smoking Man.
Davis also hosts and narrates the series
Critical Eye on the
Science Channel.
Paranormal beliefs
Despite being on a TV show that did a lot to popularize UFOs and
paranormal topics, Davis is an
atheist and a
skeptic.
References
- William B. Davis Biography (1938-)
- The Amateur Scientist: The Amateur Scientist
Podcast: Episode 10
- William B. Davis - An Interview
- William B. Davis - Celebrity Atheist List
External links