Mitch Pileggi: I'm Not X-Files' Walter Skinner

"It can be a bit of an irritation sometimes," Pileggi recently told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman. "For example, I did an arc on 'Brothers & Sisters' that aired [Sunday night], and I saw some of the reviews of it, and there was one that the whole time they were referring to my character as, 'Skinner does this,' or 'Skinner does that.'

"That's a long time ago. I'm an actor who has played many characters other than Skinner."

One of those characters makes his debut Thursday night on The CW's "Supernatural." He plays Samuel Campbell, the maternal grandfather of the Winchester brothers Dean and Sam, in a situation that can only be described as ... awkward.

"Dean (Jensen Ackles) is sent back to Lawrence, Kansas in 1973 by Castiel (Misha Collins), and while he's there, he runs into his parents and his grandparents, so it's kind of a weird situation for him. He can't let them know who he is, and of course, it's kind of an interesting situation."

It's a one-time guest role for Pileggi, who has spent a lot of time in other genre series including SciFi Channel's "Stargate: Atlantis," but one he would love to reprise if ever given the opportunity.

"I've seen [the episode], and I'm really happy with it," Pileggi said. "Sometimes I'm not happy with seeing myself on camera, but I really like this episode and I'm really happy with every aspect of it. It will be interesting to see how fans respond."

Skinner aside, Pileggi still hopes that more genre roles will come his way like "Atlantis" and especially "Supernatural."

"I've always been a fan of horror and sci-fi and fantasy," he said. "It was a lot of what I read in high school and in college, so I've always been drawn to it. It was just a chance that led me to doing that genre [as an actor], but I can't complain."

Next up for Pileggi is a role in the CBS drama "Criminal Minds," which he started filming this week. He'll also play a Ford executive in the Greg Kinnear film "Flash of Genius," and will join a long list of popular names in the upcoming FX series "Sons of Anarchy." Pileggi plays a three-episode arc there as Ernest Darby.

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