The X-Files Episode With A Monster Actor That Wouldn’t Wear Any Clothes
When you think about X-Files monsters, you think about how weird they look…for example, the sight of something like the Flukeman would send most of us running for the hills. However, the monster in one episode had the crew of the show doing the opposite of running for a hilariously simple reason. You see, The X-Files episode “The Jersey Devil” had a stripper as a stunt actor, and her refusal to wear clothes onset meant that nobody could take their eyes off of her.
The Jersey Devil
For any of this X-Files story to make sense, we’re going to have to briefly review what “The Jersey Devil” is all about. Basically, Mulder and Scully end up investigating the title creature after it attacks residents of Atlantic City. Mulder eventually discovers that the creature is less like a monster and more like a scared animal out of her depth, but this discovery is too late, and she ends up getting violently killed by local law enforcement worried about their own survival.
Enter The Stripper Stuntwoman
Unlike most X-Files monsters, the Jersey Devil was basically a nude human, albeit one covered in dirt and grime. In order to simulate this look, actor Claire Stansfield had her breasts covered with her hair, and the only thing she wore when cameras were rolling was a G-string. Believe it or not, though, this isn’t the actor whose naked appearance had the entire cast staring at her.
One of the scenes in this X-Files episode involved the Jersey Devil climbing over a fence, and Stansfield begged the producers to let her do the stunt herself. However, union rules specified that a stuntwoman would need to be hired to prevent Stansfield from potentially getting injured and significantly delaying the episode. That made perfect sense, but what most of the crew couldn’t predict was that the stuntwoman the producers hired was, in fact, a stripper.
An On-Set Distraction
Whenever Stansfield finished shooting scenes, she would immediately conceal her modesty with a robe. However, the stripper stunt double hired by the X-Files producers was significantly less modest, and she refused to wear any clothes while “The Jersey Devil” was shooting. On one hand, it’s commendable that she had such a healthy view of her body and didn’t worry about what others would think of her nudity; on the other hand, having a naked woman hanging around a crowded TV show set was more than a little distracting.
Keep Going, FBI Woman
While he didn’t give any dirty details, X-Files writer Glen Morgan later noted just how distracted the crew was while making “The Jersey Devil.” In his words, “They had a naked woman running around the set, so people were pretty thrilled.” Perhaps the crew was channeling the lust of Agent Mulder himself, who would later teasingly tell Scully “keep going, FBI woman” when she started taking off her clothes.
R-Rated Behind The Scenes
As we have written about before, The X-Files was a surprisingly chaste show, one that hesitated to show us even the occasional kiss between Mulder and Scully. That’s what makes it so funny that “The Jersey Devil” was basically an R-rated episode behind the scenes, complete with an unapologetic stripper running around the set. The truth may be out there, but as the cast and crew discovered, “the naked truth” is sometimes more than just a phrase.
