The X-Files

Well-Manicured Man

The Well-Manicured Man (abbreviated to WMM) is portrayed by English theatre and film actor John Neville. The Well-Manicured Man was featured on the show from 1995–1998. He is an English member of the Syndicate, a shadow organization within the United States government that exists to hide from the public the fact that extraterrestrials are planning to repopulate the Earth. He is an important member of the Syndicate, along with The Smoking Man and The Elder, and was a friend of William Mulder earlier on in his life.[45]

The Well-Manicured Man prefers subtlety to brute force, and will attempt to manipulate those in his way before using physical violence. Although the Syndicate's goals are opposed to those of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's, WMM will, at times, aid them with clues or information, believing that letting out a certain amount of information would help to keep the two close, and consequently allow for them to be controlled.[45] WMM openly despises the Cigarette Smoking Man, seeing him as too impulsive, violent, and as generally unprofessional. The two maintain a bitter relationship within the Syndicate throughout the series. In season 5, Well-Manicured Man takes under his wing Alex Krycek, an MIB operative who previously worked for, then had a falling out with, the Cigarette Smoking Man.[61]

In the 1998 feature film The X-Files: Fight the Future, when Scully is infected with the alien virus and taken to Antarctica as part of the above-mentioned repopulation program, it is WMM who, having grown disillusioned with the Syndicate, gives Mulder the coordinates needed to find her and a sample of the vaccine needed to cure Scully. Shortly after this meeting, during which he reminded Mulder to "Trust no one," he dies in an apparent self-inflicted car explosion, his last act being one of altruism. His only known subordinate was Alex Krycek. He also owned a large estate in Somerset, England.[43]