Vince Gilligan, the writer of the episode, wanted Bryan Cranston to play the antagonist because he felt he would humanize the role.[6] “We needed a guy who could be scary and kind of loathsome but at the same time had a deep, resounding humanity," he later said.[7] In an interview with The New York Times, Gilligan stated, "We had this villain, and we needed the audience to feel bad for him when he died. Bryan alone was the only actor who could do that, who could pull off that trick. And it is a trick. I have no idea how he does it.”[6] Rick Millikan, the casting director for The X-Files noted that Cranston was nearly not chosen for this episode. Initially, the part of Crump had been assigned to a different actor, but Cranston came prepared to audition for the part. Although the character had already been cast, Millikan allowed him to audition and was very pleased with his performance and chose him for the part instead.[4]
Cranston's work on this episode later impacted his career. Gilligan later cast Cranston in his series Breaking Bad; AMC executives were initially unsure of this decision as they were familiar only with Cranston's work on the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, but were convinced after viewing his performance in "Drive"