The X-Files’ David Duchovny Emotionally Reflects On His Original Exit & Off-Screen Tension With Gillian Anderson: “It’s Really Hard To Be Vulnerable”

The X-Files’ David Duchovny Emotionally Reflects On His Original Exit & Off-Screen Tension With Gillian Anderson: “It’s Really Hard To Be Vulnerable”


The X-Files star David Duchovny ruminates on his on-set tensions with co-star Gillian Anderson. The pair rose to global fame playing FBI agents Mulder and Scully in Chris Carter’s cult science-fiction series. The duo both won Golden Globes for their performances on the show, which has been widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential TV series of all-time. The show ended its initial run with season 9 in 2002, before both stars returned for The X-Files seasons 10 and 11 in 2016 and 2018, respectively.




In an interview with Anderson on his podcast Fail Better with David Duchovny, the actor opens up about the tension the two stars experienced on-set. With Duchovny taking a reduced role in seasons 8 and 9 of the show, his absence from the core story led to conflict between the two, which spilled over into the revival seasons. Duchovny admits to his shortcomings as a friend and co-star, while Anderson reveals that she doesn’t blame him for how things went down. Check out the pair’s comments below:

David Duchovny:
The part of this conversation that is the trickiest part for me is where I guess I would talk about like my failure of friendship or my failure of companionship or just co-starring. There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off camera. There was a lot of tension which didn’t matter, apparently for the work because we’re both f–king crazy, I guess, that we could just go out there and do what we needed to do.

Gillian Anderson:
It’s crazy that we were able to present on camera the various feelings and emotions and attraction and all that kind of stuff, but then not speak to each other for weeks at a time. [Laughs]

Duchovny:
I could’ve handled myself better. And, as you know, we went through a crazing making-of process with this thing. I was pretty inexperienced, you were really inexperienced. It’s hard to imagine with the Internet now, but it was a global phenomenon before the internet, and we’re just scurrying, trying to figure out who we are, and you’re a little younger than me, too. You’re very young, at least I’m in my 30s, you’re in your 20s. Just turned your world upside down.I don’t want to speak for you, but for me, I was trying to figure out who I am in all this.

What’s my part in this? I wanted to take advantage of it, like how do I make this into my career? And I quit the show like seven years later. I never apologized to you for that. I don’t know that I even talked to you about it. Then you said you weren’t going to do the show anymore, like the last time we did it, and I know that hurt my feelings… I was like, “Oh she’s quitting me, she doesn’t like working with me anymore.”

Anderson:
I mean, communication is everything. And yet it’s really hard to be vulnerable. I know that any time that I tried to express myself, standing up for myself almost felt worse than keeping it inside…I can do that now, but back then, I think as a 20-whatever-year-old, I couldn’t.

Duchovny:
This is kind of about failure. We missed a chance…because you’re the only person that knows what I was going through and I’m the only person that knows what you’re going through, and we didn’t make use of that…There are things that you do miss, if you don’t try to stand up and be vulnerable and say, “What it’s like for you?” I know that I never asked that.

Anderson:
To your point about your ending. We never talked about it. I don’t think I ever blamed you… I don’t think I was upset. I mean, for me, at that time, [I thought], can I [quit] too? I thought, well then we’re both going to because clearly I can’t go on without him, so surely I’ll be able to. Then they started talking about, “Well, if you stay on, you can actually make some good money.”



The Show’s Ending Was Unsatisfactory To Many

It is interesting to hear the former co-stars talk about their past working relationship, and how things became strained between them. It doesn’t seem like it was anybody’s fault in particular, and as though the two stars got caught up in a franchise that was bigger than them. This impacted them in ways they hadn’t expected. Duchovny’s comments suggest that he has thought about the way things ended much more in his later years, and has come to understand his role in the controversy.

There is no question that in later years The X-Files changed as a show, and abandoned its traditional format for a far more confused narrative.


For her part, Anderson seems to have maintained her relationship with Duchovny, and though things may have soured between them once, it feels like the former colleagues have patched up their differences. For many, both season 9 and the revival seasons of the show felt unsatisfying, and it could be that Duchovny felt the show had stagnated, which led to Mulder having a more reduced role. There is no question that in later years The X-Files changed as a show, and abandoned its traditional format for a far more confused narrative.

Our Take On The X-Files’ Future

A Return Doesn’t Feel Likely Any Time Soon


Carter has spoken about his desire to bring back The X-Files in the future, though it’s unclear if Duchovny or Anderson would be involved. Anderson didn’t hide her disdain for how Scully’s X-Files storyline concluded in the season 11 finale, and reportedly claimed she wouldn’t return to the franchise. However, she has softened her stance in recent years. Duchovny himself has enjoyed success with other shows, such as Californication, and seems to have little interest in returning, so the most likely option would be Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files reboot that is currently in development.

Source: Fail Better With David Duchovny

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