A director with a number of impressive television credits, David Nutter is best known for his work in the science fiction genre, working extensively as both producer and director on the Fox series "The X-Files" and "Millennium". Nutter began directing for television in 1987, helming episodes of the stylized Fox police drama "21 Jump Street". Work on the syndicated series "The Adventures of Superboy" followed, and he additionally had directing credits for 1992 episodes of the adventure comedy "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures" (Fox) and the cop show "The Commish" (ABC). In 1993, Nutter began a five-season run with "The X-Files", directing over 20 episodes including the particularly memorable entries "Ice" (set in the Arctic), "Tooms" (an examination of a cannibalistic serial killer) and "Revelations" (a religious themed episode centering around a child's unexplained stigmata). A writer, producer and director with the series from its early months, Nutter helped to create the eerie and unusually evocative narrative style that won the show critical acclaim and a host of devoted fans. He subsequently joined the team of "Millennium" (also Fox) for that similarly acclaimed series' first season (1996-1997) as producer and director and also worked in those capacities on NBC's short lived dream-themed drama series "Sleepwalkers" (1997).
While he has had greater success on the small screen, Nutter has contributed to film as well, making his feature directorial and editing debut with the gripping 1985 Vietnam War drama "Cease Fire", starring Don Johnson. The director next took on the direct-to-video horror sequels "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" and "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" (both 1994). In 1998, in the midst of a teen horror resurgence, he landed the directing slot for the feature "Disturbing Behavior". In this Stepford-esque thriller, the troubled teens' menace isn't an alien monster or a crazed slasher, but the threat of parentally authorized mind control. Although "Disturbing Behavior" was better than the average teen horror flick and starred "Dawson's Creek" favorite Katie Holmes, it did disappointing box office business. Nutter gave the teen market another try, and returned to form as a producer and director of the cult show "Roswell" (The WB, 1999-2001; UPN, 2001- ), an original and engrossing combination of romantic teen drama and sci-fi thriller. Set in the New Mexico town famed for its alleged UFO crash, the show followed a trio of otherworldly beings in teenage human form trying to disguise their true identity while searching for their origins.