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The X-Files: The Ridiculous Reason Cher Turned Down A Great Episode
Fox's The X-Files was a show that was more interested in using unknown actors than big stars, but when Cher was asked to appear, she turned down the opportunity and went on to regret that decision. The TV series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as two FBI agents investigating extraordinary and supernatural cases lasted 11 seasons (including two revival seasons) and two movies, also spawning a spin-off series and a comic book, creating a mythology on and off the screen. In the time that it was on the air, The X-Files featured several celebrity cameos, but usually before they became stars, so it was a bit of an anomaly for them to want to cast someone as well known as Cher.
Even though she is primarily known as one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Cher's acting career is rather extensive. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck and was most recently seen on the big screen in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Her TV career reaches as far back as the 60s with not only guest appearances, but with a few shows of her own. With all of that under her belt, it is easy to understand why she would be picky about a small role on an episode of the The X-Files.
That's especially true when the episode is a black and white homage to Frankenstein, as is the case for the The X-Files' season five episode "The Post-Modern Prometheus." Mulder and Scully find themselves investigating reports of a monster known as the Great Mutato in a small Indiana town after a woman reaches out to them to find out why and how she was rendered unconscious only to wake days later impregnated. They are led to geneticist Dr. Pollidori whose experiments resulted in the creation of Mutato, who was rejected and taken in by the doctor's father who wanted to help create a mate for his new friend. A murder and angry mob later, the townspeople come to realize that Mutato isn't the real monster, it's the doctor, leaning heavily on the themes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The episode inexplicably ends with Mulder and Scully taking Mutato to a Cher concert.
Cher was asked to appear as herself, but decided against it, as it was just a scene of her singing, not really giving her much of a chance to act. While an impersonator was needed to play her from a distance in the concert scene, several Cher songs and references to some of her films, including Mask, appeared throughout. It is now regarded as one of the best "Monster-of-the-Week" episodes of The X-Files, leading to series creator Chris Carter being nominated for Outstanding Directing by the Directors Guild of America, as well as seven Emmy Awards nominations, winning for Outstanding Art Direction. Cher is said to have noted that if she knew how good the episode would have turned out, she would have agreed to appear.
The X-Files episode was a bit of an anomaly with wanting to cast Cher and Roseanne Barr, who also declined the invitation. It did, however, feature Jerry Springer as himself. It's fairly easy to understand why Cher declined, with the small nature of the role and odd approach to the episode itself, but hindsight being what it is, it turned out to be a missed opportunity to be part of a very memorable episode of The X-Files.
