My Encyclopedia of My X-Files Fic Lists, Analyses, Fan Vids, and Fan Fiction Resources
So, I pushed all my little anthills into one dust pile because I got sick and tired of having to manually search through my colonies to find that ONE drone.Â
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David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson:
Twenty Years of Long Words
March 1996:
John: When we did our X-Files issue earlier this year, we noticed David Duchovny used long words like autoerotic asphyxiation in his interview. So, er, what is a typical David word?
Gillian Anderson: (laughs hysterically) Autoerotic asphyxiation! that is a typical David Duchovny word. Autoerotic, because it has to do with sex, and because it's long. Most of the time when I read his articles it takes me so long to decipher exactly what he's saying.
John: Does he actually talk like that?
Gillian Anderson: Yeah, he does! But mostly when he's doing interviews. I mean, I think it's because he's got such a vast knowledge of words. He's studied the theory of words. He pulls it out when it's needed most, like in interviews.
January 12, 2016:
DD: We met in the anteroom before going in to read--
Kimmel: Anteroom? I haven't heard anteroom before.
Found a gifset (or screenshots?) from the infamous Kimmel interview where DD whipped out anteroom and GA teased that he's feeling nervous. Does anyone know where I can find it, or one like it?
Tumblr nullified my placeholder like before I could come back/reblog, so it's gone. Can't find it in my laptop history, either.
Found a gifset (or screenshots?) from the infamous Kimmel interview where DD whipped out anteroom and GA teased that he's feeling nervous. Does anyone know where I can find it, or one like it?
Tumblr nullified my placeholder like before I could come back/reblog, so it's gone. Can't find it in my laptop history, either.
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Couch-snuggling during an interview first happened long before Kimmel! Gillian and David appeared on Entertainment Tonight immediately following their wins at the Golden Globes in 1997, when Gillian attended as Davidâs official date (featuring lots of cute hand-holding on the red carpet as shown in this post.)
INTERVIEWER (to David): Youâre so laid back about this. Inside are you really excited?
DD: I'm excited outside
GA: *gesturing towards David* This is excited! *lays her hand gently on his chest* (as shown in picture above)
DD: *deadpan* I'm beside myself! *gestures next to himself* I'm over here!
âFollowing this exchange they toasted their success with champagne, and itâs worth mentioning that David didnât remove his arm from behind Gillian during the entire interview (even whilst raising his champagne flute!)
DD and GA's Friendship: the Tense Times
(a Brief History)
Sections: 1993 THROUGH 2002, REWIND: MAY 1997,
AFTERSHOCKS, and 2003 TO PRESENT
A collection of quotes discussing the turbulent years.
Note: this retrospective doesn't highlight the multiple interviews wherein both complimented and expressed understanding for each other (namely because later David and Gillian didn't speak often of those moments, either.) Rest assured, they exist.
TL;DR:
November 1994:
Neil in Victoria (11 years old) asks if GA & David Duchovny are good friends off the screen?
GA: "It's a lot of work to work with someone as intensely as we do on a daily basis. Our relationship shifts and changes, and on the weekends we don't hang out because we're sick of seeing each other all week!"
April 1997:
Refreshed and read for the fourth season, David, cast and crew go to work. "We get along," David says with a natural ease. "But we have our moments, of course. I think sometimes we all just show up and go... 'I'd rather be anywhere else but here and I'm going to make you suffer for it.' But then other times, I'll look at Gillian (co-star Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agents, Dr. Dana Scully) and I'll think she's the only one that really knows what I'm going through, and vice versa. So there's a real bond there. We're all just trying to make it the best show we can make it. If we keep that common goal in mind, we can forgive a lot."
January 22, 2015:
âI donât knoooow if I handled it gracefully,â she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). âI just remember yelling at people a few times, which I donât normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasnât popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.â
1993 THROUGH 2002: SINK OR SWIM
November 1994:
Neil in Victoria (11 years old) asks if GA & David Duchovny are good friends off the screen?
GA: "It's a lot of work to work with someone as intensely as we do on a daily basis. Our relationship shifts and changes, and on the weekends we don't hang out because we're sick of seeing each other all week!"
May 16, 1996:
Q: Have you and David made a lot of public appearances together?
GA: We did at the beginning. Then the object was to individualize us a bit.
Q: Oh, so you are two different people?
GA: We are!
April 1997:
Refreshed and read for the fourth season, David, cast and crew go to work. "We get along," David says with a natural ease. "But we have our moments, of course. I think sometimes we all just show up and go... 'I'd rather be anywhere else but here and I'm going to make you suffer for it.' But then other times, I'll look at Gillian (co-star Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agents, Dr. Dana Scully) and I'll think she's the only one that really knows what I'm going through, and vice versa. So there's a real bond there. We're all just trying to make it the best show we can make it. If we keep that common goal in mind, we can forgive a lot."
**Note: May 1997: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson: "Best of Acquaintances" was moved into its own section, see further below.**
December-January 1997:
"I have a feeling David and I will be much closer after the series is done and we don't have to be with each other daily," Anderson observes. "We can come back together for a second feature four or so years from now. As much as I will feel a huge weight off my shoulders when the series is done, it's gonna be bittersweet. I'm sure all those wonderful moments that David and I have shared together will come to mind and I'll be reminiscing about it for years."
January 1998:
Stories about her alleged affairs with a whole string of men, including her X-Files co-star David Duchovny, break almost every week. They must have been difficult to read about, whether true or not?
"Er, I haven't actually read those stories. Are they recent?"
You never saw them?
"No, were there pictures? They were probably based on that infamous Rolling Stone cover."
Gillian appears to take the world's obsession with the two Paranormal investigators in her stride. But doesn't she ever feel stifled by ScuIIy?
"No not really, because I know what the truth is. It's the same thing with the manipulation of photos on the internet, putting my head on other people's bodies... these things only really hurt if they're true or if there's a degree of truth in them. The times when it hurts are when it gets spiteful. You know I read in a local paper recently that I had had David's wife banned from the set of the show. That's unfortunate, but I know what the truth is and they do too. But it's not nice to go around with people believing that you're capable of being mean in that way, because that's not who I am..."
But living a public life has taken its toll. With everyone suddenly interested in her, it's suddenly hard to trust people's motives. Entering into new romantic relationships is particularly hard.
"The thing is that I can't do things lightly. I can't be in public with any male person, who is a friend, without it being assumed that we are lovers. If you believed the tabloids, I'd be seeing a different guy every week!"
That isn't true?
"No! Sometimes it's funny, with a different guy being added to the list of people I'm 'seeing' every week - and after a year there are 50 people on list. I don't think I'd have time for 50 lovers in a year!"
June 14, 1998:
The relationship Anderson is most cautious in talking about is that with her X-Files co-star. "David and my relationship switches as much as Scully and Fox's does. Sometimes it's better than at other times.
"We're not close. Once in a while we find ourselves in intimate conversation, but we don't seek each other out. We don't visit each other's trailers or see each other on weekends."
September 1998:
Q: When you've read articles about the show, have you learned things about how Duchovny feels about you?
GA: I have, but I'm pretty intuitive about that stuff, anyway. I'm highly attuned to... well, to too much. Once I was surprised by something he said. He gave a description of our relationship that was particularly cold, and I was quoted in the article as saying that.
Q: If you could have more of one quality that he has in abundance, what would it be?
GA: That level of intelligence. I wish I had more facts in my head. When I was in school, I didn't really pay much attention. That's the one thing in my life I regret: daydreaming. I needed to do it; it was a survival mechanism for me. [...]
Q: Lucky me. Now in turn, what do you have in abundance that you would want to give to David?
GA: I know what the answer is, but that leads to a tricky...How to put it? Oh, f-k...Patience. That's about as good as I can do without...
Q: Without what?
GA: Making him angry. (Big laugh) Without saying something I might regret.
Q: You're cagey.
GA: F-k, yes. These interviews are tricky, you have to be really careful. I can't talk abut details of the movie; it's not appropriate for me to talk about my divorce or recent relationships; and there's not really much about my adolescence or early adulthood that I feel comfortable talking about.
Q: So, if you hurt David's feelings, then you apologise. Big deal.
GA: Yes, but if there's something that I have trouble with - about his behaviour, let's say - it's something I need to deal with between the two of us, not expressed through the press.
So you have had a chat about, let's say, your difficulty with his impatience?
March 26, 2000:
Anderson:Â Here's one for you. How do you perceive our relationship
Duchovny:Â It's like the roots of a tree. It's very twisted, but it's growing. You know the tree is alive, and it works in its own treelike way, yet you couldn't untangle it. You could, but you'd need the help of a gifted professional.
Anderson:Â [roaring with laughter] Like a therapist?
Duchovny:Â Yeah. I always think back to the third or fourth episode. I was sitting in the office with ["X-Files" creator] Chris Carter, and he actually wanted us to get help. He was concerned with how we were relating onscreen. He said, "You seem bored or angry with each other. Maybe you should go see somebody." I thought, "What? We'll go as the characters? 'Hi, my name is Fox Mulder. This is my partner, Scully. We're here for couples therapy.'"
Anderson:Â I have no memory of that.
Duchovny:Â You might not have been in the room. But maybe we should have therapy for long-running series actors. It'd be good for the cast of "Friends" to have group therapy. We'd have couples therapy, because we're not an ensemble. Actually, when Chris said that, I thought he was insane. But we do spend so much time together, and it's a hard relationship to navigate. As soon as I say, "No, we don't see each other after work," then it's "You hate each other." There seems to be no room in fans' minds -- as the fans are portrayed through journalists -- for a complicated relationship between us. It can't be summed up with "I love her. She's the best!" or "I can't stand her!"
REWIND: MAY 1997, BEST OF ACQUAINTANCES
May 1997:
When David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson finally sit down together for an interview, it is politely, like family members who come together a few times a year purely out of obligation but who nonetheless recognize each other's importance in their lives....
Duchovny has talked Anderson into the two-for-one interrogation, but now that the time has come, he is slightly more impatient, answering tersely and waiting for the next scene to be completed, because then he will be done for the day. "I'm sorry," he says before we start, "but the second we finish filming, I'm not staying a minute longer." For her part, Anderson seems content to speak at length, if only to ensure that the story is told correctly.
They are not similar people, Anderson and Duchovny, but they are forced together in a coupling that the public views as idyllic, and because of this there is an oddly conspiratorial feel to their interaction. "It's a difficult relationship because it's like an arranged marriage," Duchovny says. "We didn't choose to be together." When the first question is asked â "How has your personal dynamic changed over the course fo four seasons?" â they look at each other as if to make sure they're on the same page, and Duchovny begins speaking.
"It changes all the time, right?" [Anderson nods in agreement.]
Duchovny: It's not that it used to be one thing and it's another thing now. It's cyclic.
Q: Are you in an up cycle at the moment?
Anderson: Today, yes.
Duchovny: Or else we wouldn't be here.
Q: Is it really that day-to-day?
Duchovny: It's like any relationship, only intensified, because we can't take a break. I can't say, "I'm going for a walk." [Anderson laughs.]
Q: There's a feeling that fans want you to be great friends off the set.
Duchovny: Or to be fighting.
Q: What's the reality?
Duchovny: We've never socialized. Since the pilot, we've not gone out even once.
Q: Why is that?
Anderson: Soon after we started, I got married and had a baby. On top of that, after working so closely during the week, the days off are time to spend with other people. [...]
Q: Why don't each of you say what strengths the other brings to the show.
Anderson: This is like a therapy session.
Duchovny: I think there should be a therapist that works only with television ensembles. Like Dr. Katz, TV therapist, sitting down with the cast of Friends. [Anderson laughs.]
Duchovny: OK, I'll start. At this point you can't imagine anybody else playing that part. There's not just one thing she does. She's made it her own part. So, there's nobody else to do it. She brings whatever her talents as an actress are.
Q: What about David?
Anderson: One thing I don't think people realize is a lot of the humor in the character of Mulder is not only heightened by David but a lot of times he will add his own lines. A lot of Mulder's dry sense of humor comes more out of David than anything the writers can conjure up.
Duchovny: So, what we've come away with is, I'm just f -ing like my character, and Gillian is a wonderful actress.
Anderson: [Laughs] That's not what I meant.
Q: Do you turn to each other for career advice?
Anderson: There have been defining moments over the past four years where we have, not necessarily for career advice, but when we have both been there for each other for support.
Q: Examples? We love examples.
Anderson: Well, I won't give any.
Duchovny: When my goldfish died.
Anderson: But most of the time, we have our own separate support systems and deal with things in our own way.
Duchovny: I guess the only thing we'd talk about now is when we want to do the X-Files movie. I think we both want to do it as soon as possible so we can get it over with. [Anderson looks genuinely startled.]
Duchovny: Oh. [Pause] I don't know if you do.
Anderson: Have we talked about it?
Duchovny: We did a little bit early in the year. [...]
Duchovny stands. There has been a call from the director, and the two stars glance at each other as if they are pleased to have survived something together They walk out, one after the other; and a few minutes later, as the scene starts and the camera rolls, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny immediately morph into Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, the partners considered to be one of television's most romantic duos. It is a feat of incredible closeness, considering the two characters have never even kissed and, stranger still, considering how naturally it happens once the camera rolls.
As Kim Manners explains it: "They're totally different human beings, but they can just look at each other and know exactly where they're going in a scene." He stops for a moment before continuing: "It's weird. David and Gillian are best of acquaintances; Scully and Mulder are best friends."
AFTERSHOCKS
March 20, 2003:
[David Duchovny] says, "It is not like we do not get on. We are somehow joined, at some significant level, for ever, for as long as we are alive, not just in the public's mind but our own. To have worked so long together at that intensity, to have gone through so many huge changes in our personal, professional and public lives, means that we have a very deep bond. We have never had a friendship of like minds, but we are soulmates in some senses. I love her and I think she loves me, but we do not have a huge interest in each other as people outside of this work connection."
May 7, 2006:
'You know, early twenties, all the emotions, and I had a baby, and then a divorce, and I was on a brand-new series that was doing well, and all the publicity surrounding that, all the nonsense about David and I, and there were times when it was unbearable.' Hastily, humbly, [Anderson] adds, 'And yet, I was so fortunate to be a part of something that was so exceptional. We did have fun.'
2007 TO PRESENT: A MATURE FRIENDSHIP
April 16, 2008:
Shock: Whatâs that like with David now that youâre not with each other 16 hours a day on a series?
Anderson:Â Itâs great, but it was great then, too. This is like a sibling relationship and I never had siblings. I had brothers and sisters that started when I was 13, so I was out of the house and didnât have that experience. There was always this love/hate â hate is too big of a word â but there was always something. It was a natural relationship over a period of time. Now weâve grown up and weâre older, weâre more appreciative of the relationship period and the unique experience we had together and have an opportunity to continue that and foster it. Weâve always loved each other and weâre always going to be a battle sometimes.
July 22, 2008:
Duchovny: I wouldnât characterize me as the one who really wanted to get it going, but Iâm certainly someone who would always say yes whenever Chris and I would talk about it. The love/hate has nothing to do with the actual content, the actual people, the actual anything. The love/hate had to do with me wanting to get on with the rest of my life, the rest of my career and when you think about it, that I did eight years and Gillian did nine, thatâs a lifetime. There are no other dramas that keep the same characters that run that long. If you look at âLaw & Orderâ or âERâ, theyâre twenty years old or whatever they are, but theyâre completely recast. So itâs just not something you see. You donât see actors not get fatigued and not get frustrated in a drama where weâre working, cell phones or not, everyday for many, many hours playing the same characters. So itâs just natural to burnout. There was always love for the show and love for the character. There was never any hate for that.
Anderson: But itâs interesting that itâs always something for the press to latch onto. Itâs always a surprise, in some way or itâs a good headline, that someone wants to leave. It creates good drama and so it always becomes this thing, where actually itâs just a natural thing.
Duchovny: Right, like youâre ungrateful in some way. Yes, I love âThe X-Filesâ and I love Vancouver. Those things are true.
July (29?) 2008:
DD: No, uh, there was something, you know, even that kind of brought us together. And then when we were doing the show, it just, you know, no matter what kind of troubles we had as people off the show, or with one another off the show, it, it just never affected that [chemistry.] So, time doesn't affect it, either. It's like nothing affects it. It's weird.
Q: And Gillian, you feel the same way, or...?
GA: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there, there have been times, you know, when we were in the, in the, in the midst of shooting the series where we were exhausted and fed up with ourselves, with each other--
DD: We didn't talk to one another.
GA: We didn't talk to-- and yet, we could do these scenes where--
DD: The only time we talked to one another was as Mulder and
Scully-- [GA: Yeah.] --for, you know, weeks at a time.
GA: And yet the chemistry was there; and we were, you know.... There was one time actually when somebody called me and said, and said, "You guys are really angry." [Both laugh.]
DD: But the weird thing is, like, even the anger, uh, reads as-- [GA: Yeah.] --kind of, you know, interest.
Q: Well, it played the scenes well-- [DD: Yeah.] --where there was tension or whatever. It played well. [GA: Yeah.]
DD: Anger looks like love on film, actually. [GA: Smiles, amused.]
Q: Absolutely.
GA: And in real life sometimes.
DD: Yeah. [Makes a face of exaggerated anger.]
August 1, 2008:
Q: After working so closely together for eight years you must have been sick of the sight of each other.
DD: Absolutely. Familiarity breeds contempt. Itâs nothing to do with the other person. All that fades away and youâre just left with the appreciation and love for the people youâve worked with for so long. We used to argue about nothing. We couldnât stand the sight of each other.
August 2, 2009:
The actor - who reprises his role as Fox Mulder alongside Gillian's Dana Scully in new movie 'The X-Files: I Want To Believe' - admits he'd "had enough" of Gillian by the time the original 'X-Files' TV show finished in 2002, but was thrilled to return to the character after a six-year break.
He said: "Gillian and I are not as close as Mulder and Scully but who could be? Nobody is as close as Mulder and Scully. But we worked together for so long that by the time the series ended we had enough of each other.
"But six years having passed, it's like, I don't make jam, but I'm assuming you pour away the boiling liquid so after six years the liquid is all boiled off and all that remains is the jam of appreciation."
October 16, 2013:
"I think we've become more friendly as time has gone by," Ms. Anderson said. "We went through something quite profound together and there's only one other personâ"
"Traumatizing," Mr. Duchovny interjected. "We were traumatized."
"Traumatized. OK, that's the wordâtraumatized," she said. "And there's only one other person who has had that experience, which is me, and I don't think we've ever really fully had that conversation yet."
"You want to have it right now?" Mr. Duchovny asked.
Despite a reporter's encouragement, they politely declined.
(Bonus: DD and GA Talk About Their X-Files Trauma)
October 20, 2014 (source: HappySadConfused):
Q: Was there a sense of almost a bunker mentality where you were at least going through this process with David? You mentioned he had more experience, he had done some bigger films but still the phenomenon that emerged within the first couple years was pretty remarkable. Did it help to have him there too and kind of like âAre you getting this too? Are you going through this too? Is this weird?âÂ
GA: No. No, not really. We talk about the fact that itâs crazy that we didnât. And that we didnât take advantage of the fact that we had each other but it was complicated. These were long hours that we were working. We spent more time in each otherâs presence than we did with our, you know, spouses and children, etc.
But also, you know, I think we p-ssed each other off, quite frankly. And I have no doubt that after theyâre waiting â weâre gonna roll and somebody has to come in and redo my lips and the difference between the maintenance for guys and gals and weâre shooting in all weather â you know, we never shut down except for one day for weather in the entire show. We were shooting up in Vancouver through rain, sleet, everything. And my hair would frizz up to here in between takes and theyâd have to get the blow dryer out under the tent and weâd be waiting for Gillianâs hair to do another take. You know, that p-sses you right off. It adds up. So I, you know, Iâm sure there were plenty of things he did that p-ssed me off too. It just wasnât, you know, but on the other hand.. NOW, we get to talk about that and weâre probably closer than weâve ever been.
December 28, 2015:
âWeâre probably closer today than weâve ever been,â Anderson told me. Whatever happens with the new series, The X-Files is a fixture in the pop-culture firmament, and she and Duchovny now understand that, in her words, âitâs just the two of us that have had this particular unique experience.â In the past, she reflected, âI donât think that was necessarily important enough an element to draw us together.â But they both have children, and their friendship has grown. âI think weâre old enough to realize,â she said, maybe a little coyly, âthat thereâs value in our staying onside and supporting each other.â
January 22, 2015:
âI donât knoooow if I handled it gracefully,â she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). âI just remember yelling at people a few times, which I donât normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasnât popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.â
January 14, 2016:
Mulder and Scully, Duchovny and Anderson, were and still are in many minds one of the most compelling on-screen partnerships. Rumors of rifts and romances abounded about their off-screen relationship, too, with little foundation. But Anderson isnât concerned about a repeat of such gossip, despite acknowledging the chemistry between them. âPeople know we are good friends now and that weâve found our way into an adult friendship."
January 19, 2016:
Duchovny and Anderson werenât always so easygoing on set, and they presented about as far from a united front as two co-leads could. âThe crucible of doing that show made monsters out of both of us,â Duchovny admits, but says that reuniting on âI Want to Believeâ changed things for the better. âOnce we got to step back, it was like, âOh, wow, we really like each other. I didnât know that was going to happen.â
âThe way we work together has changed,â he adds. âWhatever rapport we have as actors, we earned. Itâs nice to be able to play that without ever even feeling like youâre playing it.â
Anderson agrees. âOur relationship has definitely become a proper friendship over the last few years. I think weâre more on each otherâs side. Weâre more aware of the otherâs needs, wants, concerns, and mindful to take those into considerationâ and just sharing more about our experiences in the moment, under the sudden realization that weâre both in this together, and wouldnât it be nice if it were a collaboration?â
February 13, 2016:
There's no doubt, however that the pair's closeness brought with it a degree of friction. [GA:] "I think the grind of working every single f--- day, 17 hours a day, with each other, in those circumstances, just took its toll. I think when we did the last film, we got closer, as time had passed and we'd, I don't know, matured, grown up, gotten a different perspective on life and work."
June 17, 2016:
Anderson: David and I have solidified and intensified our friendship and our working relationship since the series ended, so it really is just going back and choosing to work with somebody, and feeling like we are doing something that only the two of us have the experience of. Weâre there for each other, and enjoy that in and of itself. It was something I looked forward to with this series, and something I would potentially look forward to doing again. Itâs a nice thing to have in oneâs life.
Duchovny: I agree with that, and itâs going to sound really pedestrian, and not at all lofty, but when I think back to the beginnings of the show, and what I thought acting wasâwhat I thought I could do as an actorâthe gift this show gave me was having to go to work. Having to work as hard as we did, every day, for 14 hours a day, over 10 months, for five years in a row. That was a gift in that I took myself to school, and taught myself how to be an actor. For both Gillian and me, it was really sink or swim at that point, and to be able to do that with great material, and talented people helping us along⌠it could have gone in another direction, so Iâm thankful, I think, just for the hard work that it was in the beginning, and the appreciation it gave me for what I do. It didnât kill us, anyway.
June 8, 2025:
The original runs of the show â from 1993-2002, 2016 and 2018 â were beset with what Duchovny and Anderson spent years euphemÂisÂtiÂcÂally referring to as mutual Ââtensionâ. For long periods, the two were not âeven dealing with one another off-cameraâ, as Duchovny revealed last year during a heartfelt Âconversation with Anderson on his Fail Better podcast, in which he admitted to a âfailure of friendshipâ with his co-star. Was there something specifically combustible about their two personalities in combination?
âMy memory would be faulty, you know? Itâs like Rashomon,â says Duchovny, vaguely, alluding to Akira Kurosawaâs 1950 classic in which every eyewitness to a murder tells a contradictory version of events. âJust, I donât recall.â
CONCLUSION
1997 David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson: "Best of Acquaintances"
The Vancouver Move: Gillian Anderson Welcomed the Change and
The Vancouver Move: David Duchovny, FOX Studios, and the Rain
90s DD and GAâs Relationship: Othersâ Thoughts
2000-2024: DD Reminding GA about CCâs âCoupleâs Therapyâ Suggestion
David Duchovny: IWTB Was Personally âRedemptiveâ
David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and the Paparazzi: Correcting the Record
DD and GA: on Assault from the Paparazzi
2008: DD and GA on Burnout and Opportunistic Headlines
2013 DD: "We Don't Live Together," the Explanation
For the next few months, David ran up the bills on his cell phone and worked at convincing Chris Carter, who created and produces The X-Files, to move the locale of the series to Los Angeles where Tea was shooting a sitcom.
The 1,000-mile commute was wearing him down. "We're [he and Tea] like passing ships in the night because of our different schedules," he said at the time. His co-star Gillian Anderson supported the move, adding, "I love Vancouver. I think it's a beautiful city. But it is not and never has felt like home. Los Angeles feels like home."
She said: "Divorce has not left me bitter or sceptical about marriage, love or romance. I still love the idea of marriage and what that commitment entails.
"But over the past few years, I confess there were times when I thought my heart was just going to stop and I'd keel over.
"The marriage, pregnancy, divorce, the series ... I didn't think I could stand any more stress and live. Or be sane."
The stress eased when filming on the show moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles.
Piper stopped being the daughter of a television star at school and has become another celebrity sibling who is left alone.
The youngster is also playing match maker, desperate for her mother to go out on dates. But Gillian would prefer something more long term and refuses to do the wild things she did as a teenager.
Doing the show, which requires 16-hour days 10 months of the year, has been grueling, and Anderson says her biggest fear is âinsanity.â (She was previously quoted as calling her stint in Vancouver âa death sentence,â which did not go over well with Carter.)
1998:
During a brief break, Anderson, looking radiant in a long red cocktail dress, said she was invigorated by filming in Southern California.
âItâs really been going great, and the episodes are really good this season,â she said. âItâs really made a difference for me being here. I have a lot of friends and a great support system.â
Anderson added: âThe sunshine does have a lot to do with my mood, feeling healthy and whole. Itâs nice to sit out in the sunshine with my daughter.â
Gillian Anderson:
"The Move Has Rounded Everything Out"
January 30 - February 5, 1999:
The woman described as the thinking man's sex symbol has come a long way since her first TV role in the pilot of The X-Files - the same day her last unemployment cheque arrived six years ago. That job took the Los Angeles based actress to Vancouver, Canada, for five years, where she married Clyde Klotz, in 1994 and had daughter Piper that same year. She separated from her husband in 1996 before the show finally moved back to Los Angeles for its current session. Now Gillian and Piper share a house on the beach in Malibu. Her eyes light up as she describes her new life.
"I'm at home where the majority of my friends are. It's a warm, comfortable feeling," she says. "I feel more grounded and my daughter is thriving in the environment we're living in right now. The move has rounded everything out in a wonderful way."
Creating a breadcrumb trail with David Duchovny's personal growth.
âWhat a sparky talk with, uh, Graydon Carter! Time flew by. Really enjoyed that.Â
âAnd we got to it at the end-- Iâm not sure if itâs in the podcast itself, but I, Iâve had kind of a, a bit of a⌠as I said--â [laughs] â--as I said with great rancor, a bee in my bonnet about the fact that Air Mail had never, um, reviewed one of my novels. And Graydon informed me that Air Mail does not review fiction. So, there you have it! Iâve been harboring this kind of--â [lighter tone] â--you know, just a little bubbling resentment against Air Mail because Iâve seen how, how theyâve, uh, reviewed memoirs of actors. And they must be memoirs at this point because Iâve seen how theyâve reviewed actorsâ writing; and Iâd be like, âUh, why are they not addressing me?â So, there you go. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is forgiveness. Iâm an idiot.
âBut, you know, Graydon is a guy of great personal style; and Iâm a person of no personal style. I just wear jeans and a t-shirt. And people who have a dress code or a style of dress like Graydon, they fascinate me because--â [pauses] â--I think of style like a signal: style as a, almost a tribal thing. But he, he informed me that, you know, the original style of dressing up in that wear, of wearing a suit and tie at Spy, was almost like a Trojan horse: yâknow, the, that, âWe are serious journalists, but we are also storming the citadel, here, of hipness. Of the status quo. Weâre puncturing the status quo. And weâre wearing your clothes so that you talk to us, so that you let us in....â
âYou know, thereâs, we talked, weâve talked often with people about punk music as being kind of a, a âf-- youâ to the system, of whatever rock-ân-roll was at that point. Status quo. And I think that, the⌠Spy was punk not in the sense of punk music, but as I said, had that system-crashing energy, that young system-crashing energy in the same way that SNL was exposing the conventions of television that had been in place since the beginning of television. The veneer of professionalism, the veneer of, um-- [pause] --uhâŚ. almost worship, almost celebrity worship. But, uh, SNL put the light to all that. SNL exposed, in its liveness-- in its being prone to errors, in its being prone to accidents-- exposed the kind of amateurish nature to some of these things. And that was liberating, just as David Letterman, um, exposed the bull-t of the talk show format. I love Carson, yâknow? But when Letterman came along, Carson became impossible. Yâknow, âcause Dave exposed the bull-t factor underneath the celebrity interview, and he exposed the kind of coolness of the interviewer, of the Carson figure. He was constantly kind of making fun of himself, being ironic towards himself. And once we went there, we never went back. So, I think Graydon, Lorne [Michaels], and Dave really created a, a style that weâre still in, in many ways.
âBut what I wanted, what I didnât ask Graydon, and what I was thinking of, is the, in Spy and sometimes in Vanity Fair (maybe, I could be getting this wrong; but more in Spy), you know, the kind of possibly... humiliation of a person, whether or not they deserved it.â [Sucks in a breath through his teeth.] âDoes anybody really deserve humiliation? Iâm thinking of a few people that do. But, but, you know, the way that people get humiliated on the internet now is a whole different ballgame. That style of takedown, you know, âowningâ peopleâŚ. It makes failure harder, I think. I think it can inhibit people from taking chances. It can inhibit people from telling the truth. So I think, um, I want to think about that. I want to think about whether the glee that I might take reading a Spy takedown, or an internet takedown of somebody I personally donât like or donât like whatever about them. It... as that exists in the culture, um, failing gets harder and harder. And failing should get⌠not easier, but less humiliating and more humility inducing, something Iâve touched upon again and again.Â
"And speaking of Graydon, I see, like, his personal affect is not one of wanting to humiliate. But it is more humble, it is more one of humility. So I was, um, enlightened about that, in a way. And I, you know, I, I just come out of a place where I feel like, personally, I have felt humiliated at times publicly. And maybe thatâs just me being too self-serious. Maybe I should not take myself too seriously. Maybe I needed that. Maybe I needed that on the way to humility. Maybe I needed that to get better."
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DD and GA's Friendship: the Tense Times
(a Brief History)
Sections: 1993 THROUGH 2002, REWIND: MAY 1997,
AFTERSHOCKS, and 2003 TO PRESENT
A collection of quotes discussing the turbulent years.
Note: this retrospective doesn't highlight the multiple interviews wherein both complimented and expressed understanding for each other (namely because later David and Gillian didn't speak often of those moments, either.) Rest assured, they exist.
TL;DR:
November 1994:
Neil in Victoria (11 years old) asks if GA & David Duchovny are good friends off the screen?
GA: "It's a lot of work to work with someone as intensely as we do on a daily basis. Our relationship shifts and changes, and on the weekends we don't hang out because we're sick of seeing each other all week!"
April 1997:
Refreshed and read for the fourth season, David, cast and crew go to work. "We get along," David says with a natural ease. "But we have our moments, of course. I think sometimes we all just show up and go... 'I'd rather be anywhere else but here and I'm going to make you suffer for it.' But then other times, I'll look at Gillian (co-star Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agents, Dr. Dana Scully) and I'll think she's the only one that really knows what I'm going through, and vice versa. So there's a real bond there. We're all just trying to make it the best show we can make it. If we keep that common goal in mind, we can forgive a lot."
January 22, 2015:
âI donât knoooow if I handled it gracefully,â she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). âI just remember yelling at people a few times, which I donât normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasnât popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.â
1993 THROUGH 2002: SINK OR SWIM
November 1994:
Neil in Victoria (11 years old) asks if GA & David Duchovny are good friends off the screen?
GA: "It's a lot of work to work with someone as intensely as we do on a daily basis. Our relationship shifts and changes, and on the weekends we don't hang out because we're sick of seeing each other all week!"
May 16, 1996:
Q: Have you and David made a lot of public appearances together?
GA: We did at the beginning. Then the object was to individualize us a bit.
Q: Oh, so you are two different people?
GA: We are!
April 1997:
Refreshed and read for the fourth season, David, cast and crew go to work. "We get along," David says with a natural ease. "But we have our moments, of course. I think sometimes we all just show up and go... 'I'd rather be anywhere else but here and I'm going to make you suffer for it.' But then other times, I'll look at Gillian (co-star Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agents, Dr. Dana Scully) and I'll think she's the only one that really knows what I'm going through, and vice versa. So there's a real bond there. We're all just trying to make it the best show we can make it. If we keep that common goal in mind, we can forgive a lot."
**Note: May 1997: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson: "Best of Acquaintances" was moved into its own section, see further below.**
December-January 1997:
"I have a feeling David and I will be much closer after the series is done and we don't have to be with each other daily," Anderson observes. "We can come back together for a second feature four or so years from now. As much as I will feel a huge weight off my shoulders when the series is done, it's gonna be bittersweet. I'm sure all those wonderful moments that David and I have shared together will come to mind and I'll be reminiscing about it for years."
January 1998:
Stories about her alleged affairs with a whole string of men, including her X-Files co-star David Duchovny, break almost every week. They must have been difficult to read about, whether true or not?
"Er, I haven't actually read those stories. Are they recent?"
You never saw them?
"No, were there pictures? They were probably based on that infamous Rolling Stone cover."
Gillian appears to take the world's obsession with the two Paranormal investigators in her stride. But doesn't she ever feel stifled by ScuIIy?
"No not really, because I know what the truth is. It's the same thing with the manipulation of photos on the internet, putting my head on other people's bodies... these things only really hurt if they're true or if there's a degree of truth in them. The times when it hurts are when it gets spiteful. You know I read in a local paper recently that I had had David's wife banned from the set of the show. That's unfortunate, but I know what the truth is and they do too. But it's not nice to go around with people believing that you're capable of being mean in that way, because that's not who I am..."
But living a public life has taken its toll. With everyone suddenly interested in her, it's suddenly hard to trust people's motives. Entering into new romantic relationships is particularly hard.
"The thing is that I can't do things lightly. I can't be in public with any male person, who is a friend, without it being assumed that we are lovers. If you believed the tabloids, I'd be seeing a different guy every week!"
That isn't true?
"No! Sometimes it's funny, with a different guy being added to the list of people I'm 'seeing' every week - and after a year there are 50 people on list. I don't think I'd have time for 50 lovers in a year!"
June 14, 1998:
The relationship Anderson is most cautious in talking about is that with her X-Files co-star. "David and my relationship switches as much as Scully and Fox's does. Sometimes it's better than at other times.
"We're not close. Once in a while we find ourselves in intimate conversation, but we don't seek each other out. We don't visit each other's trailers or see each other on weekends."
September 1998:
Q: When you've read articles about the show, have you learned things about how Duchovny feels about you?
GA: I have, but I'm pretty intuitive about that stuff, anyway. I'm highly attuned to... well, to too much. Once I was surprised by something he said. He gave a description of our relationship that was particularly cold, and I was quoted in the article as saying that.
Q: If you could have more of one quality that he has in abundance, what would it be?
GA: That level of intelligence. I wish I had more facts in my head. When I was in school, I didn't really pay much attention. That's the one thing in my life I regret: daydreaming. I needed to do it; it was a survival mechanism for me. [...]
Q: Lucky me. Now in turn, what do you have in abundance that you would want to give to David?
GA: I know what the answer is, but that leads to a tricky...How to put it? Oh, f-k...Patience. That's about as good as I can do without...
Q: Without what?
GA: Making him angry. (Big laugh) Without saying something I might regret.
Q: You're cagey.
GA: F-k, yes. These interviews are tricky, you have to be really careful. I can't talk abut details of the movie; it's not appropriate for me to talk about my divorce or recent relationships; and there's not really much about my adolescence or early adulthood that I feel comfortable talking about.
Q: So, if you hurt David's feelings, then you apologise. Big deal.
GA: Yes, but if there's something that I have trouble with - about his behaviour, let's say - it's something I need to deal with between the two of us, not expressed through the press.
So you have had a chat about, let's say, your difficulty with his impatience?
March 26, 2000:
Anderson:Â Here's one for you. How do you perceive our relationship
Duchovny:Â It's like the roots of a tree. It's very twisted, but it's growing. You know the tree is alive, and it works in its own treelike way, yet you couldn't untangle it. You could, but you'd need the help of a gifted professional.
Anderson:Â [roaring with laughter] Like a therapist?
Duchovny:Â Yeah. I always think back to the third or fourth episode. I was sitting in the office with ["X-Files" creator] Chris Carter, and he actually wanted us to get help. He was concerned with how we were relating onscreen. He said, "You seem bored or angry with each other. Maybe you should go see somebody." I thought, "What? We'll go as the characters? 'Hi, my name is Fox Mulder. This is my partner, Scully. We're here for couples therapy.'"
Anderson:Â I have no memory of that.
Duchovny:Â You might not have been in the room. But maybe we should have therapy for long-running series actors. It'd be good for the cast of "Friends" to have group therapy. We'd have couples therapy, because we're not an ensemble. Actually, when Chris said that, I thought he was insane. But we do spend so much time together, and it's a hard relationship to navigate. As soon as I say, "No, we don't see each other after work," then it's "You hate each other." There seems to be no room in fans' minds -- as the fans are portrayed through journalists -- for a complicated relationship between us. It can't be summed up with "I love her. She's the best!" or "I can't stand her!"
REWIND: MAY 1997, BEST OF ACQUAINTANCES
May 1997:
When David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson finally sit down together for an interview, it is politely, like family members who come together a few times a year purely out of obligation but who nonetheless recognize each other's importance in their lives....
Duchovny has talked Anderson into the two-for-one interrogation, but now that the time has come, he is slightly more impatient, answering tersely and waiting for the next scene to be completed, because then he will be done for the day. "I'm sorry," he says before we start, "but the second we finish filming, I'm not staying a minute longer." For her part, Anderson seems content to speak at length, if only to ensure that the story is told correctly.
They are not similar people, Anderson and Duchovny, but they are forced together in a coupling that the public views as idyllic, and because of this there is an oddly conspiratorial feel to their interaction. "It's a difficult relationship because it's like an arranged marriage," Duchovny says. "We didn't choose to be together." When the first question is asked â "How has your personal dynamic changed over the course fo four seasons?" â they look at each other as if to make sure they're on the same page, and Duchovny begins speaking.
"It changes all the time, right?" [Anderson nods in agreement.]
Duchovny: It's not that it used to be one thing and it's another thing now. It's cyclic.
Q: Are you in an up cycle at the moment?
Anderson: Today, yes.
Duchovny: Or else we wouldn't be here.
Q: Is it really that day-to-day?
Duchovny: It's like any relationship, only intensified, because we can't take a break. I can't say, "I'm going for a walk." [Anderson laughs.]
Q: There's a feeling that fans want you to be great friends off the set.
Duchovny: Or to be fighting.
Q: What's the reality?
Duchovny: We've never socialized. Since the pilot, we've not gone out even once.
Q: Why is that?
Anderson: Soon after we started, I got married and had a baby. On top of that, after working so closely during the week, the days off are time to spend with other people. [...]
Q: Why don't each of you say what strengths the other brings to the show.
Anderson: This is like a therapy session.
Duchovny: I think there should be a therapist that works only with television ensembles. Like Dr. Katz, TV therapist, sitting down with the cast of Friends. [Anderson laughs.]
Duchovny: OK, I'll start. At this point you can't imagine anybody else playing that part. There's not just one thing she does. She's made it her own part. So, there's nobody else to do it. She brings whatever her talents as an actress are.
Q: What about David?
Anderson: One thing I don't think people realize is a lot of the humor in the character of Mulder is not only heightened by David but a lot of times he will add his own lines. A lot of Mulder's dry sense of humor comes more out of David than anything the writers can conjure up.
Duchovny: So, what we've come away with is, I'm just f -ing like my character, and Gillian is a wonderful actress.
Anderson: [Laughs] That's not what I meant.
Q: Do you turn to each other for career advice?
Anderson: There have been defining moments over the past four years where we have, not necessarily for career advice, but when we have both been there for each other for support.
Q: Examples? We love examples.
Anderson: Well, I won't give any.
Duchovny: When my goldfish died.
Anderson: But most of the time, we have our own separate support systems and deal with things in our own way.
Duchovny: I guess the only thing we'd talk about now is when we want to do the X-Files movie. I think we both want to do it as soon as possible so we can get it over with. [Anderson looks genuinely startled.]
Duchovny: Oh. [Pause] I don't know if you do.
Anderson: Have we talked about it?
Duchovny: We did a little bit early in the year. [...]
Duchovny stands. There has been a call from the director, and the two stars glance at each other as if they are pleased to have survived something together They walk out, one after the other; and a few minutes later, as the scene starts and the camera rolls, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny immediately morph into Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, the partners considered to be one of television's most romantic duos. It is a feat of incredible closeness, considering the two characters have never even kissed and, stranger still, considering how naturally it happens once the camera rolls.
As Kim Manners explains it: "They're totally different human beings, but they can just look at each other and know exactly where they're going in a scene." He stops for a moment before continuing: "It's weird. David and Gillian are best of acquaintances; Scully and Mulder are best friends."
AFTERSHOCKS
March 20, 2003:
[David Duchovny] says, "It is not like we do not get on. We are somehow joined, at some significant level, for ever, for as long as we are alive, not just in the public's mind but our own. To have worked so long together at that intensity, to have gone through so many huge changes in our personal, professional and public lives, means that we have a very deep bond. We have never had a friendship of like minds, but we are soulmates in some senses. I love her and I think she loves me, but we do not have a huge interest in each other as people outside of this work connection."
May 7, 2006:
'You know, early twenties, all the emotions, and I had a baby, and then a divorce, and I was on a brand-new series that was doing well, and all the publicity surrounding that, all the nonsense about David and I, and there were times when it was unbearable.' Hastily, humbly, [Anderson] adds, 'And yet, I was so fortunate to be a part of something that was so exceptional. We did have fun.'
2007 TO PRESENT: A MATURE FRIENDSHIP
April 16, 2008:
Shock: Whatâs that like with David now that youâre not with each other 16 hours a day on a series?
Anderson:Â Itâs great, but it was great then, too. This is like a sibling relationship and I never had siblings. I had brothers and sisters that started when I was 13, so I was out of the house and didnât have that experience. There was always this love/hate â hate is too big of a word â but there was always something. It was a natural relationship over a period of time. Now weâve grown up and weâre older, weâre more appreciative of the relationship period and the unique experience we had together and have an opportunity to continue that and foster it. Weâve always loved each other and weâre always going to be a battle sometimes.
July 22, 2008:
Duchovny: I wouldnât characterize me as the one who really wanted to get it going, but Iâm certainly someone who would always say yes whenever Chris and I would talk about it. The love/hate has nothing to do with the actual content, the actual people, the actual anything. The love/hate had to do with me wanting to get on with the rest of my life, the rest of my career and when you think about it, that I did eight years and Gillian did nine, thatâs a lifetime. There are no other dramas that keep the same characters that run that long. If you look at âLaw & Orderâ or âERâ, theyâre twenty years old or whatever they are, but theyâre completely recast. So itâs just not something you see. You donât see actors not get fatigued and not get frustrated in a drama where weâre working, cell phones or not, everyday for many, many hours playing the same characters. So itâs just natural to burnout. There was always love for the show and love for the character. There was never any hate for that.
Anderson: But itâs interesting that itâs always something for the press to latch onto. Itâs always a surprise, in some way or itâs a good headline, that someone wants to leave. It creates good drama and so it always becomes this thing, where actually itâs just a natural thing.
Duchovny: Right, like youâre ungrateful in some way. Yes, I love âThe X-Filesâ and I love Vancouver. Those things are true.
July (29?) 2008:
DD: No, uh, there was something, you know, even that kind of brought us together. And then when we were doing the show, it just, you know, no matter what kind of troubles we had as people off the show, or with one another off the show, it, it just never affected that [chemistry.] So, time doesn't affect it, either. It's like nothing affects it. It's weird.
Q: And Gillian, you feel the same way, or...?
GA: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there, there have been times, you know, when we were in the, in the, in the midst of shooting the series where we were exhausted and fed up with ourselves, with each other--
DD: We didn't talk to one another.
GA: We didn't talk to-- and yet, we could do these scenes where--
DD: The only time we talked to one another was as Mulder and
Scully-- [GA: Yeah.] --for, you know, weeks at a time.
GA: And yet the chemistry was there; and we were, you know.... There was one time actually when somebody called me and said, and said, "You guys are really angry." [Both laugh.]
DD: But the weird thing is, like, even the anger, uh, reads as-- [GA: Yeah.] --kind of, you know, interest.
Q: Well, it played the scenes well-- [DD: Yeah.] --where there was tension or whatever. It played well. [GA: Yeah.]
DD: Anger looks like love on film, actually. [GA: Smiles, amused.]
Q: Absolutely.
GA: And in real life sometimes.
DD: Yeah. [Makes a face of exaggerated anger.]
August 1, 2008:
Q: After working so closely together for eight years you must have been sick of the sight of each other.
DD: Absolutely. Familiarity breeds contempt. Itâs nothing to do with the other person. All that fades away and youâre just left with the appreciation and love for the people youâve worked with for so long. We used to argue about nothing. We couldnât stand the sight of each other.
August 2, 2009:
The actor - who reprises his role as Fox Mulder alongside Gillian's Dana Scully in new movie 'The X-Files: I Want To Believe' - admits he'd "had enough" of Gillian by the time the original 'X-Files' TV show finished in 2002, but was thrilled to return to the character after a six-year break.
He said: "Gillian and I are not as close as Mulder and Scully but who could be? Nobody is as close as Mulder and Scully. But we worked together for so long that by the time the series ended we had enough of each other.
"But six years having passed, it's like, I don't make jam, but I'm assuming you pour away the boiling liquid so after six years the liquid is all boiled off and all that remains is the jam of appreciation."
October 16, 2013:
"I think we've become more friendly as time has gone by," Ms. Anderson said. "We went through something quite profound together and there's only one other personâ"
"Traumatizing," Mr. Duchovny interjected. "We were traumatized."
"Traumatized. OK, that's the wordâtraumatized," she said. "And there's only one other person who has had that experience, which is me, and I don't think we've ever really fully had that conversation yet."
"You want to have it right now?" Mr. Duchovny asked.
Despite a reporter's encouragement, they politely declined.
(Bonus: DD and GA Talk About Their X-Files Trauma)
October 20, 2014 (source: HappySadConfused):
Q: Was there a sense of almost a bunker mentality where you were at least going through this process with David? You mentioned he had more experience, he had done some bigger films but still the phenomenon that emerged within the first couple years was pretty remarkable. Did it help to have him there too and kind of like âAre you getting this too? Are you going through this too? Is this weird?âÂ
GA: No. No, not really. We talk about the fact that itâs crazy that we didnât. And that we didnât take advantage of the fact that we had each other but it was complicated. These were long hours that we were working. We spent more time in each otherâs presence than we did with our, you know, spouses and children, etc.
But also, you know, I think we p-ssed each other off, quite frankly. And I have no doubt that after theyâre waiting â weâre gonna roll and somebody has to come in and redo my lips and the difference between the maintenance for guys and gals and weâre shooting in all weather â you know, we never shut down except for one day for weather in the entire show. We were shooting up in Vancouver through rain, sleet, everything. And my hair would frizz up to here in between takes and theyâd have to get the blow dryer out under the tent and weâd be waiting for Gillianâs hair to do another take. You know, that p-sses you right off. It adds up. So I, you know, Iâm sure there were plenty of things he did that p-ssed me off too. It just wasnât, you know, but on the other hand.. NOW, we get to talk about that and weâre probably closer than weâve ever been.
December 28, 2015:
âWeâre probably closer today than weâve ever been,â Anderson told me. Whatever happens with the new series, The X-Files is a fixture in the pop-culture firmament, and she and Duchovny now understand that, in her words, âitâs just the two of us that have had this particular unique experience.â In the past, she reflected, âI donât think that was necessarily important enough an element to draw us together.â But they both have children, and their friendship has grown. âI think weâre old enough to realize,â she said, maybe a little coyly, âthat thereâs value in our staying onside and supporting each other.â
January 22, 2015:
âI donât knoooow if I handled it gracefully,â she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). âI just remember yelling at people a few times, which I donât normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasnât popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.â
January 14, 2016:
Mulder and Scully, Duchovny and Anderson, were and still are in many minds one of the most compelling on-screen partnerships. Rumors of rifts and romances abounded about their off-screen relationship, too, with little foundation. But Anderson isnât concerned about a repeat of such gossip, despite acknowledging the chemistry between them. âPeople know we are good friends now and that weâve found our way into an adult friendship."
January 19, 2016:
Duchovny and Anderson werenât always so easygoing on set, and they presented about as far from a united front as two co-leads could. âThe crucible of doing that show made monsters out of both of us,â Duchovny admits, but says that reuniting on âI Want to Believeâ changed things for the better. âOnce we got to step back, it was like, âOh, wow, we really like each other. I didnât know that was going to happen.â
âThe way we work together has changed,â he adds. âWhatever rapport we have as actors, we earned. Itâs nice to be able to play that without ever even feeling like youâre playing it.â
Anderson agrees. âOur relationship has definitely become a proper friendship over the last few years. I think weâre more on each otherâs side. Weâre more aware of the otherâs needs, wants, concerns, and mindful to take those into considerationâ and just sharing more about our experiences in the moment, under the sudden realization that weâre both in this together, and wouldnât it be nice if it were a collaboration?â
February 13, 2016:
There's no doubt, however that the pair's closeness brought with it a degree of friction. [GA:] "I think the grind of working every single f--- day, 17 hours a day, with each other, in those circumstances, just took its toll. I think when we did the last film, we got closer, as time had passed and we'd, I don't know, matured, grown up, gotten a different perspective on life and work."
June 17, 2016:
Anderson: David and I have solidified and intensified our friendship and our working relationship since the series ended, so it really is just going back and choosing to work with somebody, and feeling like we are doing something that only the two of us have the experience of. Weâre there for each other, and enjoy that in and of itself. It was something I looked forward to with this series, and something I would potentially look forward to doing again. Itâs a nice thing to have in oneâs life.
Duchovny: I agree with that, and itâs going to sound really pedestrian, and not at all lofty, but when I think back to the beginnings of the show, and what I thought acting wasâwhat I thought I could do as an actorâthe gift this show gave me was having to go to work. Having to work as hard as we did, every day, for 14 hours a day, over 10 months, for five years in a row. That was a gift in that I took myself to school, and taught myself how to be an actor. For both Gillian and me, it was really sink or swim at that point, and to be able to do that with great material, and talented people helping us along⌠it could have gone in another direction, so Iâm thankful, I think, just for the hard work that it was in the beginning, and the appreciation it gave me for what I do. It didnât kill us, anyway.
June 8, 2025:
The original runs of the show â from 1993-2002, 2016 and 2018 â were beset with what Duchovny and Anderson spent years euphemÂisÂtiÂcÂally referring to as mutual Ââtensionâ. For long periods, the two were not âeven dealing with one another off-cameraâ, as Duchovny revealed last year during a heartfelt Âconversation with Anderson on his Fail Better podcast, in which he admitted to a âfailure of friendshipâ with his co-star. Was there something specifically combustible about their two personalities in combination?
âMy memory would be faulty, you know? Itâs like Rashomon,â says Duchovny, vaguely, alluding to Akira Kurosawaâs 1950 classic in which every eyewitness to a murder tells a contradictory version of events. âJust, I donât recall.â
CONCLUSION
1997 David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson: "Best of Acquaintances"
The Vancouver Move: Gillian Anderson Welcomed the Change and
The Vancouver Move: David Duchovny, FOX Studios, and the Rain
90s DD and GAâs Relationship: Othersâ Thoughts
2000-2024: DD Reminding GA about CCâs âCoupleâs Therapyâ Suggestion
David Duchovny: IWTB Was Personally âRedemptiveâ
David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and the Paparazzi: Correcting the Record
DD and GA: on Assault from the Paparazzi
2008: DD and GA on Burnout and Opportunistic Headlines
2013 DD: "We Don't Live Together," the Explanation
January 1996:
QUESTION:Â "What do you think Scully's dog should be named?"
GILLIAN:Â "There were two names that I came up for it. One was
Clyde -- but that's my husband's name, so.... The other was Yappi. [Cheering] Which do you like?"
QUESTION:Â "I prefer Yappi."
GILLIAN:Â "You like Yappi? That's the most obvious one, I would have thought."
May 1, 2013:
Q: Gillian Anderson, do you have a dog?
GA: You know, buddy, I don't have a dog. I used to have a dog. Oh, Queequeg! You want to know about Queequeg.
GA: Queequeg died, sweetie.
October 12, 2013:
everdeer: Don't you guys think Queequeg deserved better?
DavidDuchovny_: Yes.
gilliananderson: No. That dog killed people with its farts and it deserved to die a nasty death in the mouth of that alligator or whatever it was. Ugh. I had to shampoo it, or walk away every few seconds, because these puffs of nastiness kept happening.
DavidDuchovny_: "Puffs of Nastiness" should be your band name.
[Bonus: hilarious double standard--
April 1996:
A gunmetal grey trailer home, parked just to the left of the main X-Files set, is Gillian Anderson's sparsely furnished, functional home-from-home. Inside, Cleo, a large, black, slavering hound of undetermined breed is throwing toys from one end of the trailer. And she's farting. "Oh Cleo!" says Gillian. And then to me, "It's the food we're giving her."]
March 22, 2026:
Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your past self?
GA: My past self? [Q: Yes.] My younger self? [Q: Yes.] Or myself in a different life? [Crowd laughs.]
Q: Younger self.
GA: Okay. My past self: don't come back as Queequeg.
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DD and GA's Friendship: the Tense Times
(a Brief History)
Sections: 1993 THROUGH 2002, REWIND: MAY 1997,
AFTERSHOCKS, and 2003 TO PRESENT
A collection of quotes discussing the turbulent years.
Note: this retrospective doesn't highlight the multiple interviews wherein both complimented and expressed understanding for each other (namely because later David and Gillian didn't speak often of those moments, either.) Rest assured, they exist.
TL;DR:
November 1994:
Neil in Victoria (11 years old) asks if GA & David Duchovny are good friends off the screen?
GA: "It's a lot of work to work with someone as intensely as we do on a daily basis. Our relationship shifts and changes, and on the weekends we don't hang out because we're sick of seeing each other all week!"
April 1997:
Refreshed and read for the fourth season, David, cast and crew go to work. "We get along," David says with a natural ease. "But we have our moments, of course. I think sometimes we all just show up and go... 'I'd rather be anywhere else but here and I'm going to make you suffer for it.' But then other times, I'll look at Gillian (co-star Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agents, Dr. Dana Scully) and I'll think she's the only one that really knows what I'm going through, and vice versa. So there's a real bond there. We're all just trying to make it the best show we can make it. If we keep that common goal in mind, we can forgive a lot."
January 22, 2015:
âI donât knoooow if I handled it gracefully,â she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). âI just remember yelling at people a few times, which I donât normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasnât popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.â
1993 THROUGH 2002: SINK OR SWIM
November 1994:
Neil in Victoria (11 years old) asks if GA & David Duchovny are good friends off the screen?
GA: "It's a lot of work to work with someone as intensely as we do on a daily basis. Our relationship shifts and changes, and on the weekends we don't hang out because we're sick of seeing each other all week!"
May 16, 1996:
Q: Have you and David made a lot of public appearances together?
GA: We did at the beginning. Then the object was to individualize us a bit.
Q: Oh, so you are two different people?
GA: We are!
April 1997:
Refreshed and read for the fourth season, David, cast and crew go to work. "We get along," David says with a natural ease. "But we have our moments, of course. I think sometimes we all just show up and go... 'I'd rather be anywhere else but here and I'm going to make you suffer for it.' But then other times, I'll look at Gillian (co-star Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agents, Dr. Dana Scully) and I'll think she's the only one that really knows what I'm going through, and vice versa. So there's a real bond there. We're all just trying to make it the best show we can make it. If we keep that common goal in mind, we can forgive a lot."
**Note: May 1997: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson: "Best of Acquaintances" was moved into its own section, see further below.**
December-January 1997:
"I have a feeling David and I will be much closer after the series is done and we don't have to be with each other daily," Anderson observes. "We can come back together for a second feature four or so years from now. As much as I will feel a huge weight off my shoulders when the series is done, it's gonna be bittersweet. I'm sure all those wonderful moments that David and I have shared together will come to mind and I'll be reminiscing about it for years."
January 1998:
Stories about her alleged affairs with a whole string of men, including her X-Files co-star David Duchovny, break almost every week. They must have been difficult to read about, whether true or not?
"Er, I haven't actually read those stories. Are they recent?"
You never saw them?
"No, were there pictures? They were probably based on that infamous Rolling Stone cover."
Gillian appears to take the world's obsession with the two Paranormal investigators in her stride. But doesn't she ever feel stifled by ScuIIy?
"No not really, because I know what the truth is. It's the same thing with the manipulation of photos on the internet, putting my head on other people's bodies... these things only really hurt if they're true or if there's a degree of truth in them. The times when it hurts are when it gets spiteful. You know I read in a local paper recently that I had had David's wife banned from the set of the show. That's unfortunate, but I know what the truth is and they do too. But it's not nice to go around with people believing that you're capable of being mean in that way, because that's not who I am..."
But living a public life has taken its toll. With everyone suddenly interested in her, it's suddenly hard to trust people's motives. Entering into new romantic relationships is particularly hard.
"The thing is that I can't do things lightly. I can't be in public with any male person, who is a friend, without it being assumed that we are lovers. If you believed the tabloids, I'd be seeing a different guy every week!"
That isn't true?
"No! Sometimes it's funny, with a different guy being added to the list of people I'm 'seeing' every week - and after a year there are 50 people on list. I don't think I'd have time for 50 lovers in a year!"
June 14, 1998:
The relationship Anderson is most cautious in talking about is that with her X-Files co-star. "David and my relationship switches as much as Scully and Fox's does. Sometimes it's better than at other times.
"We're not close. Once in a while we find ourselves in intimate conversation, but we don't seek each other out. We don't visit each other's trailers or see each other on weekends."
September 1998:
Q: When you've read articles about the show, have you learned things about how Duchovny feels about you?
GA: I have, but I'm pretty intuitive about that stuff, anyway. I'm highly attuned to... well, to too much. Once I was surprised by something he said. He gave a description of our relationship that was particularly cold, and I was quoted in the article as saying that.
Q: If you could have more of one quality that he has in abundance, what would it be?
GA: That level of intelligence. I wish I had more facts in my head. When I was in school, I didn't really pay much attention. That's the one thing in my life I regret: daydreaming. I needed to do it; it was a survival mechanism for me. [...]
Q: Lucky me. Now in turn, what do you have in abundance that you would want to give to David?
GA: I know what the answer is, but that leads to a tricky...How to put it? Oh, f-k...Patience. That's about as good as I can do without...
Q: Without what?
GA: Making him angry. (Big laugh) Without saying something I might regret.
Q: You're cagey.
GA: F-k, yes. These interviews are tricky, you have to be really careful. I can't talk abut details of the movie; it's not appropriate for me to talk about my divorce or recent relationships; and there's not really much about my adolescence or early adulthood that I feel comfortable talking about.
Q: So, if you hurt David's feelings, then you apologise. Big deal.
GA: Yes, but if there's something that I have trouble with - about his behaviour, let's say - it's something I need to deal with between the two of us, not expressed through the press.
So you have had a chat about, let's say, your difficulty with his impatience?
March 26, 2000:
Anderson:Â Here's one for you. How do you perceive our relationship
Duchovny:Â It's like the roots of a tree. It's very twisted, but it's growing. You know the tree is alive, and it works in its own treelike way, yet you couldn't untangle it. You could, but you'd need the help of a gifted professional.
Anderson:Â [roaring with laughter] Like a therapist?
Duchovny:Â Yeah. I always think back to the third or fourth episode. I was sitting in the office with ["X-Files" creator] Chris Carter, and he actually wanted us to get help. He was concerned with how we were relating onscreen. He said, "You seem bored or angry with each other. Maybe you should go see somebody." I thought, "What? We'll go as the characters? 'Hi, my name is Fox Mulder. This is my partner, Scully. We're here for couples therapy.'"
Anderson:Â I have no memory of that.
Duchovny:Â You might not have been in the room. But maybe we should have therapy for long-running series actors. It'd be good for the cast of "Friends" to have group therapy. We'd have couples therapy, because we're not an ensemble. Actually, when Chris said that, I thought he was insane. But we do spend so much time together, and it's a hard relationship to navigate. As soon as I say, "No, we don't see each other after work," then it's "You hate each other." There seems to be no room in fans' minds -- as the fans are portrayed through journalists -- for a complicated relationship between us. It can't be summed up with "I love her. She's the best!" or "I can't stand her!"
REWIND: MAY 1997, BEST OF ACQUAINTANCES
May 1997:
When David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson finally sit down together for an interview, it is politely, like family members who come together a few times a year purely out of obligation but who nonetheless recognize each other's importance in their lives....
Duchovny has talked Anderson into the two-for-one interrogation, but now that the time has come, he is slightly more impatient, answering tersely and waiting for the next scene to be completed, because then he will be done for the day. "I'm sorry," he says before we start, "but the second we finish filming, I'm not staying a minute longer." For her part, Anderson seems content to speak at length, if only to ensure that the story is told correctly.
They are not similar people, Anderson and Duchovny, but they are forced together in a coupling that the public views as idyllic, and because of this there is an oddly conspiratorial feel to their interaction. "It's a difficult relationship because it's like an arranged marriage," Duchovny says. "We didn't choose to be together." When the first question is asked â "How has your personal dynamic changed over the course fo four seasons?" â they look at each other as if to make sure they're on the same page, and Duchovny begins speaking.
"It changes all the time, right?" [Anderson nods in agreement.]
Duchovny: It's not that it used to be one thing and it's another thing now. It's cyclic.
Q: Are you in an up cycle at the moment?
Anderson: Today, yes.
Duchovny: Or else we wouldn't be here.
Q: Is it really that day-to-day?
Duchovny: It's like any relationship, only intensified, because we can't take a break. I can't say, "I'm going for a walk." [Anderson laughs.]
Q: There's a feeling that fans want you to be great friends off the set.
Duchovny: Or to be fighting.
Q: What's the reality?
Duchovny: We've never socialized. Since the pilot, we've not gone out even once.
Q: Why is that?
Anderson: Soon after we started, I got married and had a baby. On top of that, after working so closely during the week, the days off are time to spend with other people. [...]
Q: Why don't each of you say what strengths the other brings to the show.
Anderson: This is like a therapy session.
Duchovny: I think there should be a therapist that works only with television ensembles. Like Dr. Katz, TV therapist, sitting down with the cast of Friends. [Anderson laughs.]
Duchovny: OK, I'll start. At this point you can't imagine anybody else playing that part. There's not just one thing she does. She's made it her own part. So, there's nobody else to do it. She brings whatever her talents as an actress are.
Q: What about David?
Anderson: One thing I don't think people realize is a lot of the humor in the character of Mulder is not only heightened by David but a lot of times he will add his own lines. A lot of Mulder's dry sense of humor comes more out of David than anything the writers can conjure up.
Duchovny: So, what we've come away with is, I'm just f -ing like my character, and Gillian is a wonderful actress.
Anderson: [Laughs] That's not what I meant.
Q: Do you turn to each other for career advice?
Anderson: There have been defining moments over the past four years where we have, not necessarily for career advice, but when we have both been there for each other for support.
Q: Examples? We love examples.
Anderson: Well, I won't give any.
Duchovny: When my goldfish died.
Anderson: But most of the time, we have our own separate support systems and deal with things in our own way.
Duchovny: I guess the only thing we'd talk about now is when we want to do the X-Files movie. I think we both want to do it as soon as possible so we can get it over with. [Anderson looks genuinely startled.]
Duchovny: Oh. [Pause] I don't know if you do.
Anderson: Have we talked about it?
Duchovny: We did a little bit early in the year. [...]
Duchovny stands. There has been a call from the director, and the two stars glance at each other as if they are pleased to have survived something together They walk out, one after the other; and a few minutes later, as the scene starts and the camera rolls, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny immediately morph into Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, the partners considered to be one of television's most romantic duos. It is a feat of incredible closeness, considering the two characters have never even kissed and, stranger still, considering how naturally it happens once the camera rolls.
As Kim Manners explains it: "They're totally different human beings, but they can just look at each other and know exactly where they're going in a scene." He stops for a moment before continuing: "It's weird. David and Gillian are best of acquaintances; Scully and Mulder are best friends."
AFTERSHOCKS
March 20, 2003:
[David Duchovny] says, "It is not like we do not get on. We are somehow joined, at some significant level, for ever, for as long as we are alive, not just in the public's mind but our own. To have worked so long together at that intensity, to have gone through so many huge changes in our personal, professional and public lives, means that we have a very deep bond. We have never had a friendship of like minds, but we are soulmates in some senses. I love her and I think she loves me, but we do not have a huge interest in each other as people outside of this work connection."
May 7, 2006:
'You know, early twenties, all the emotions, and I had a baby, and then a divorce, and I was on a brand-new series that was doing well, and all the publicity surrounding that, all the nonsense about David and I, and there were times when it was unbearable.' Hastily, humbly, [Anderson] adds, 'And yet, I was so fortunate to be a part of something that was so exceptional. We did have fun.'
2007 TO PRESENT: A MATURE FRIENDSHIP
April 16, 2008:
Shock: Whatâs that like with David now that youâre not with each other 16 hours a day on a series?
Anderson:Â Itâs great, but it was great then, too. This is like a sibling relationship and I never had siblings. I had brothers and sisters that started when I was 13, so I was out of the house and didnât have that experience. There was always this love/hate â hate is too big of a word â but there was always something. It was a natural relationship over a period of time. Now weâve grown up and weâre older, weâre more appreciative of the relationship period and the unique experience we had together and have an opportunity to continue that and foster it. Weâve always loved each other and weâre always going to be a battle sometimes.
July 22, 2008:
Duchovny: I wouldnât characterize me as the one who really wanted to get it going, but Iâm certainly someone who would always say yes whenever Chris and I would talk about it. The love/hate has nothing to do with the actual content, the actual people, the actual anything. The love/hate had to do with me wanting to get on with the rest of my life, the rest of my career and when you think about it, that I did eight years and Gillian did nine, thatâs a lifetime. There are no other dramas that keep the same characters that run that long. If you look at âLaw & Orderâ or âERâ, theyâre twenty years old or whatever they are, but theyâre completely recast. So itâs just not something you see. You donât see actors not get fatigued and not get frustrated in a drama where weâre working, cell phones or not, everyday for many, many hours playing the same characters. So itâs just natural to burnout. There was always love for the show and love for the character. There was never any hate for that.
Anderson: But itâs interesting that itâs always something for the press to latch onto. Itâs always a surprise, in some way or itâs a good headline, that someone wants to leave. It creates good drama and so it always becomes this thing, where actually itâs just a natural thing.
Duchovny: Right, like youâre ungrateful in some way. Yes, I love âThe X-Filesâ and I love Vancouver. Those things are true.
July (29?) 2008:
DD: No, uh, there was something, you know, even that kind of brought us together. And then when we were doing the show, it just, you know, no matter what kind of troubles we had as people off the show, or with one another off the show, it, it just never affected that [chemistry.] So, time doesn't affect it, either. It's like nothing affects it. It's weird.
Q: And Gillian, you feel the same way, or...?
GA: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there, there have been times, you know, when we were in the, in the, in the midst of shooting the series where we were exhausted and fed up with ourselves, with each other--
DD: We didn't talk to one another.
GA: We didn't talk to-- and yet, we could do these scenes where--
DD: The only time we talked to one another was as Mulder and
Scully-- [GA: Yeah.] --for, you know, weeks at a time.
GA: And yet the chemistry was there; and we were, you know.... There was one time actually when somebody called me and said, and said, "You guys are really angry." [Both laugh.]
DD: But the weird thing is, like, even the anger, uh, reads as-- [GA: Yeah.] --kind of, you know, interest.
Q: Well, it played the scenes well-- [DD: Yeah.] --where there was tension or whatever. It played well. [GA: Yeah.]
DD: Anger looks like love on film, actually. [GA: Smiles, amused.]
Q: Absolutely.
GA: And in real life sometimes.
DD: Yeah. [Makes a face of exaggerated anger.]
August 1, 2008:
Q: After working so closely together for eight years you must have been sick of the sight of each other.
DD: Absolutely. Familiarity breeds contempt. Itâs nothing to do with the other person. All that fades away and youâre just left with the appreciation and love for the people youâve worked with for so long. We used to argue about nothing. We couldnât stand the sight of each other.
August 2, 2009:
The actor - who reprises his role as Fox Mulder alongside Gillian's Dana Scully in new movie 'The X-Files: I Want To Believe' - admits he'd "had enough" of Gillian by the time the original 'X-Files' TV show finished in 2002, but was thrilled to return to the character after a six-year break.
He said: "Gillian and I are not as close as Mulder and Scully but who could be? Nobody is as close as Mulder and Scully. But we worked together for so long that by the time the series ended we had enough of each other.
"But six years having passed, it's like, I don't make jam, but I'm assuming you pour away the boiling liquid so after six years the liquid is all boiled off and all that remains is the jam of appreciation."
October 16, 2013:
"I think we've become more friendly as time has gone by," Ms. Anderson said. "We went through something quite profound together and there's only one other personâ"
"Traumatizing," Mr. Duchovny interjected. "We were traumatized."
"Traumatized. OK, that's the wordâtraumatized," she said. "And there's only one other person who has had that experience, which is me, and I don't think we've ever really fully had that conversation yet."
"You want to have it right now?" Mr. Duchovny asked.
Despite a reporter's encouragement, they politely declined.
(Bonus: DD and GA Talk About Their X-Files Trauma)
October 20, 2014 (source: HappySadConfused):
Q: Was there a sense of almost a bunker mentality where you were at least going through this process with David? You mentioned he had more experience, he had done some bigger films but still the phenomenon that emerged within the first couple years was pretty remarkable. Did it help to have him there too and kind of like âAre you getting this too? Are you going through this too? Is this weird?âÂ
GA: No. No, not really. We talk about the fact that itâs crazy that we didnât. And that we didnât take advantage of the fact that we had each other but it was complicated. These were long hours that we were working. We spent more time in each otherâs presence than we did with our, you know, spouses and children, etc.
But also, you know, I think we p-ssed each other off, quite frankly. And I have no doubt that after theyâre waiting â weâre gonna roll and somebody has to come in and redo my lips and the difference between the maintenance for guys and gals and weâre shooting in all weather â you know, we never shut down except for one day for weather in the entire show. We were shooting up in Vancouver through rain, sleet, everything. And my hair would frizz up to here in between takes and theyâd have to get the blow dryer out under the tent and weâd be waiting for Gillianâs hair to do another take. You know, that p-sses you right off. It adds up. So I, you know, Iâm sure there were plenty of things he did that p-ssed me off too. It just wasnât, you know, but on the other hand.. NOW, we get to talk about that and weâre probably closer than weâve ever been.
December 28, 2015:
âWeâre probably closer today than weâve ever been,â Anderson told me. Whatever happens with the new series, The X-Files is a fixture in the pop-culture firmament, and she and Duchovny now understand that, in her words, âitâs just the two of us that have had this particular unique experience.â In the past, she reflected, âI donât think that was necessarily important enough an element to draw us together.â But they both have children, and their friendship has grown. âI think weâre old enough to realize,â she said, maybe a little coyly, âthat thereâs value in our staying onside and supporting each other.â
January 22, 2015:
âI donât knoooow if I handled it gracefully,â she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). âI just remember yelling at people a few times, which I donât normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasnât popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.â
January 14, 2016:
Mulder and Scully, Duchovny and Anderson, were and still are in many minds one of the most compelling on-screen partnerships. Rumors of rifts and romances abounded about their off-screen relationship, too, with little foundation. But Anderson isnât concerned about a repeat of such gossip, despite acknowledging the chemistry between them. âPeople know we are good friends now and that weâve found our way into an adult friendship."
January 19, 2016:
Duchovny and Anderson werenât always so easygoing on set, and they presented about as far from a united front as two co-leads could. âThe crucible of doing that show made monsters out of both of us,â Duchovny admits, but says that reuniting on âI Want to Believeâ changed things for the better. âOnce we got to step back, it was like, âOh, wow, we really like each other. I didnât know that was going to happen.â
âThe way we work together has changed,â he adds. âWhatever rapport we have as actors, we earned. Itâs nice to be able to play that without ever even feeling like youâre playing it.â
Anderson agrees. âOur relationship has definitely become a proper friendship over the last few years. I think weâre more on each otherâs side. Weâre more aware of the otherâs needs, wants, concerns, and mindful to take those into considerationâ and just sharing more about our experiences in the moment, under the sudden realization that weâre both in this together, and wouldnât it be nice if it were a collaboration?â
February 13, 2016:
There's no doubt, however that the pair's closeness brought with it a degree of friction. [GA:] "I think the grind of working every single f--- day, 17 hours a day, with each other, in those circumstances, just took its toll. I think when we did the last film, we got closer, as time had passed and we'd, I don't know, matured, grown up, gotten a different perspective on life and work."
June 17, 2016:
Anderson: David and I have solidified and intensified our friendship and our working relationship since the series ended, so it really is just going back and choosing to work with somebody, and feeling like we are doing something that only the two of us have the experience of. Weâre there for each other, and enjoy that in and of itself. It was something I looked forward to with this series, and something I would potentially look forward to doing again. Itâs a nice thing to have in oneâs life.
Duchovny: I agree with that, and itâs going to sound really pedestrian, and not at all lofty, but when I think back to the beginnings of the show, and what I thought acting wasâwhat I thought I could do as an actorâthe gift this show gave me was having to go to work. Having to work as hard as we did, every day, for 14 hours a day, over 10 months, for five years in a row. That was a gift in that I took myself to school, and taught myself how to be an actor. For both Gillian and me, it was really sink or swim at that point, and to be able to do that with great material, and talented people helping us along⌠it could have gone in another direction, so Iâm thankful, I think, just for the hard work that it was in the beginning, and the appreciation it gave me for what I do. It didnât kill us, anyway.
June 8, 2025:
The original runs of the show â from 1993-2002, 2016 and 2018 â were beset with what Duchovny and Anderson spent years euphemÂisÂtiÂcÂally referring to as mutual Ââtensionâ. For long periods, the two were not âeven dealing with one another off-cameraâ, as Duchovny revealed last year during a heartfelt Âconversation with Anderson on his Fail Better podcast, in which he admitted to a âfailure of friendshipâ with his co-star. Was there something specifically combustible about their two personalities in combination?
âMy memory would be faulty, you know? Itâs like Rashomon,â says Duchovny, vaguely, alluding to Akira Kurosawaâs 1950 classic in which every eyewitness to a murder tells a contradictory version of events. âJust, I donât recall.â
CONCLUSION
1997 David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson: "Best of Acquaintances"
The Vancouver Move: Gillian Anderson Welcomed the Change and
The Vancouver Move: David Duchovny, FOX Studios, and the Rain
90s DD and GAâs Relationship: Othersâ Thoughts
2000-2024: DD Reminding GA about CCâs âCoupleâs Therapyâ Suggestion
David Duchovny: IWTB Was Personally âRedemptiveâ
David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and the Paparazzi: Correcting the Record
DD and GA: on Assault from the Paparazzi
2008: DD and GA on Burnout and Opportunistic Headlines
2013 DD: "We Don't Live Together," the Explanation
