John Neville, ‘The Well-Manicured Man’ of 'The X-Files,' Dies

12:22 PM PST 11/21/2011 by Mike Barnes

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English actor also starred as title character in “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.”

John Neville, the veteran English actor who played “The Well-Manicured Man” on The X-Files, has died. He was 86.

Neville suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died Saturday in Toronto surrounded by family, said a statement from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where he worked as an artistic director in the 1980s. The actor emigrated to Canada in 1972 and became a citizen.

“John Neville was a superb actor, an outstanding director and a terrific artistic leader of our Festival," Des McAnuff, the current artistic director of the Stratford festival, said.

In perhaps his most high-profile performance, Neville starred in the title role in director Terry Gilliam’s fantastical 1988 adventure comedy The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

In eight episodes of Fox’s The X-Files series from 1995-98, Neville played The Well-Manicured Man, a member of the Syndicate who secretly helped FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). He also appeared in the 1998 X-Files film.

During his six-decade career, the London native portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 1965’s Study in Terror and had roles in such projects as 1969 British miniseries The First Churchills, TV series Emily of New Moon, Silver Surfer and Amazon and the features Little Women (1994) and The Fifth Element (1997).

In addition to the Stratford festival, Neville served as artistic director at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre in the 1970s and at Halifax's Neptune Theatre from 1978-83. He was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2006 for his work in Canadian theater and drama.

Survivors include Caroline, his wife of 62 years, six children and six grandchildren.