An Audience with William B. Davis -- Glasgow, 28-29 October 2000
First Encounters As trips to meet the celebrity you idolize and want to name your children after go, ours couldn't have gotten off to a more inauspicious start. My husband Paul and I had booked a Saturday evening flight from London's Stansted airport to Glasgow Prestwick -- perhaps the most fortuitous of our decisions, since a fatal train wreck outside London two weeks before had resulted in the knee-jerk stoppage of many train services throughout the country while faulty rails were replaced. We thought nothing of the brisk wind that had lifted that afternoon, heralding the forecasted gales due in over the weekend. Merrily, I say, we drove to Stansted and boarded our flight. Only as the plane lifted into the air did the foolhardiness of our exploit become apparent. Gale-force winds buffeted us in every direction as the engines roared to gain altitude. I didn't dare look down, fearing I'd see garden sheds and cows flying around out there, or worse the ground rising up to meet us. Then--a sudden, sickening silence. The nose of the plane dipped. Frantically I turned in my seat to the sound of someone hyperventilating. "What was that they just turned off??" I asked. There was no reply, which was just as well because I would have started screaming like a lunatic if anyone had voiced my suspicion: an engine had cut out. Never before have I felt my own mortality so keenly. Of course, I wouldn't be typing this now if we hadn't survived. Suffice it to say I made my peace with the concept of death by the time the engine was restarted (silent chants of "Go with DIGNITY!" helped), and a ground-speed of 650 mph put us into Prestwick in record time. If that wasn't enough, the subsequent train ride into Central Glasgow at near-on 100 mph left us shell-shocked. So by the time Paul and I reached our hotel and got the message Bill had left for me to call him, I felt impervious. Immediately on reaching our room I picked up the phone, while Paul staked out our digs. The next thing I heard was that voice in my ear -- and I needn't describe it to anyone familiar with Bill's character on The X-Files. But this was the first time I'd spoken with him, and familiar as I am with his reputation for being a 'nice guy', the warmth in his voice was startling. And there, my friends, is where awe took over. "My god," I burbled, "you sound just like you do on TV!" Thankfully, Bill laughed. "I hope that's a good thing," he said. I assured him it was. Since he and his partner, Barbara, had got their second wind after their flight from Vancouver and wanted something to eat, he asked if we would like to meet them in the bar. Well, what do you think I said? When the elevator doors opened on the bar 20 minutes later, I saw two figures ten paces ahead of us: one female, slender and petite, the other male, tall and lanky. They had their backs to us as they surveyed the quiet bar. Paul didn't seem any more certain what to do than I. Shouting was out, and I didn't want to run up and scare them. True to form (think Dharma & Greg) I did the next best thing and made the sound one uses to call a cat. "Psst, psst, psst!" They swung around as we walked up and introduced ourselves, and I got my first hug from Bill. Now I have to admit straight off the bat that I don't remember too much of dinner. Put yourself in my place. I was in the presence of a man whose talents and personality I've grown to deeply admire, I'd just survived the hell-ride of my life, I hadn't eaten all day, and I was drinking the first glass of alcohol to pass my lips since our 4th of July party. Before it was half-downed I was feeling, well, giddy to say the least. But I do remember highlights. We discussed The X-Files of course, particularly Bill's lack of a contract for Season 8. The subject ticks me off because I perceive it as having been handled unfairly, but let me just say that Bill is philosophical about the situation. Nothing is carved in stone as far as he is concerned; he may or may not be back with the show or in one of the films; que sera sera. He also said something that made me feel a twinge of sympathy for Chris Carter: Fox Network owns The X-Files and want it to continue, pretty much regardless of what Chris's vision for its duration might be. Bill mentioned that he might appear on Channel 4's Big Breakfast programme while he's in London, on Thursday, November 2nd. That's now been confirmed. The other breaking news is that he filmed an episode of First Wave right before coming to the UK. Definitely worth a mention is Bill's girlfriend, Barbara, a lovely blonde who teaches 9th and 12th grade English in Vancouver and is a waterskier like Bill. Her family moved from Edinburgh to Canada when she was only ten, but she can still put on the accent and has fond memories of the place she spent her childhood. She and Bill complement each other fabulously. Where Bill is laid back and more the serene observer, Barbara is effervescent and involving. You couldn't hope to chat with two warmer or more interesting people. Bill's presence in the bar didn't go unnoticed by others. People seated at nearby tables tried to look indifferent as they leaned in to hear what he had to say, and I noticed the flash of a camera from behind Paul at one point. By the time we called it a night the four of us had set the world to rights, and the fact that Bill and Barbara were still talking to us the next day suggested my nervous chatter hadn't done much damage! Later that night there was a knock on our door. I wasn't sure what to make of the 6'2" blond who stood there wearing a dark suit, sunglasses and trench coat replete with FBI badge. Was it a bust? No, just David Bickerstaff, the talk organiser, on his way back from a fancy dress party! David is an actor with several awards to his name already, one for his Richard III, which he credits to Bill's influence. It seemed serendipity that while we talked there just happened to be an episode of Outer Limits on the TV, featuring an appearance by Nick Lea...The X-Files' Krycek.
The Talk
Once upon a time the Glasgow Central Hotel served an affluent clientele. Now it plays host to conventions and meetings, making it the perfect venue for Bill's talk. A crowd of some 50 people showed up, far less than expected due to country-wide train service disruption. We felt terrible for those who weren't able to make it, but we had a lovely time meeting other fortunates like ourselves. (A special 'hello' to Emilia, who flew in all the way from Italy, and Tina, Birgit and Antje from Germany -- Antje, we need to discuss the tie. ;) Just after midday, David, our genial host, greeted us with a brief introduction. Then Bill strode in from the back of the room to enthusiastic applause and took his place at the podium. We were treated to a wonderful lecture that was both informative and hilarious, in which Bill compared and contrasted the various attributes of both Mulder and CSM, in an effort to convince everyone that not only is Mulder the villain of the show, but CSM is the real hero. Of course as far as I'm concerned, no convincing was needed! Bill: "...There is another matter I really wish I didn't have to raise, but we come to it every time we discuss this, and I have to say it--I think Mulder is a virgin." From the audience: "I'll remind you Scully's pregnant." Bill: "Who went on a trip with Scully? If you've seen Season 7 you know there's a better choice." We were in stitches!
David: "One of my favourite episodes is 'One Breath'--Do you remember that one?" Bill: "Oh, I remember that one." David: "In which he's first christened 'Cancerman'...and we get a glimpse of how he likes watching black and white war movies, drinking Budweiser and smoking lots of cigarettes. And in the scene Mulder attacks him." Bill: "He waves a gun in my face as he often does." David: "And of course you being ultra-cool...you just say, 'Don't threaten me. I've watched Presidents die.' Now, you also tell him that you have no wife, no children, but a little bit of power. In your opinion, in that scene which was the truth and which was lies?" Bill: "That's a good question. At the time they were all true. At the time I was not aware that I had any children or that I had any wife....As for watching Presidents die, I was never quite sure why that was such a threatening line, I mean, that someone would quiver because I had seen a President die...but I took it to mean -- and this was long before we did the episode 'Musings' -- I took it to mean that I was the other gunman in the Kennedy assasination, I was the Grassy Knoll gunman, so that became part of my back-story for a while." David: "Did you think he was?" Bill: "Well, it got all confused."
David: "You know the history as an actor. You are inventing a history which you think is credible and realistic..."
An autograph session concluded the afternoon. Bill was ever so warm and gracious with each fan, signing various momentos including the raffled tie and items purchased from the dealer's table Forbidden Planet had set up in the room, and posing for not a few photos.
Then a fan by the name of Paul Scroggie presented Bill with his choice of two delightful handmade CSM sculptures. After some agonizing, Bill and Barbara chose the one with the faceless alien rebel, and Bill signed the other for the talented sculptor.
[Paul Scroggie's miniature of Scully drew a thank-you note from Gillian Anderson, that's how good his work is! He'll sculpt any character/person you request, but until his website is up you'll have to get more info the old-fashioned way. Write:
Thanks also to Forbidden Planet Glasgow, who handled the ticketing and provided the tempting dealer's table. And last but not least, a grateful bear-hug to Bill Davis for making the trip to Scotland and entertaining us so thoroughly with his own unique thoughts and experiences on The X-Files. Words can't express our appreciation, but you know we love ya'! |
Following the lecture, David conducted an interview with Bill, after which questions from the audience were invited. The interview and questions covered many and varied subjects, including the inevitable 'Do you believe in aliens?', to which Bill gave full and frank reasoning for his skepticism. Other topics were Bill's acting school in Vancouver, current projects -- 'Fearing Mind' and 'First Wave' -- and a demonstration of CSM's smoking skills, herbal cigarette provided by David!
Following the interview and Q&A session a raffle was held. Up for grabs were 
|