David Duchovny Wouldn’t Audition For The X-Files If He Wasn’t On The Verge Of Eviction
Perhaps, the only good thing to happen because of landlords.
With The X-Files being so popular with so many different audiences to this day, people still wonder what the key to its success was. While part of it is definitely the sci-fi element of the show and the exploration of all things paranormal, the other part is the brilliant acting and crazy chemistry that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had.
Their duo, however, was a happy coincidence. Dana Sully, the character played by Anderson, was originally intended to look and act very differently. And as for Duchovny's Mulder... Well, he wasn't really interested in doing a TV show at the time.
Although, as The X-Files creator Chris Carter later admitted, they really wanted to cast Duchovny after his experience hosting Red Shoe Diaries on Showtime, he wouldn't have even looked at the script if it wasn't for the absolutely desperate circumstances.
The actor shared what exactly pushed him to go through with The X-Files in a joint cast and crew oral history interview for The Hollywood Reporter:
“In 1993, there was an elitist division between movie actors and TV actors. And because I was an elitist and thought myself an artist, I was going to do movies. But my manager [Melanie Greene], bless her, said she had a feeling about The X-Files — and that I needed to pay rent,” Duchovny said.
Although the division Duchovny mentioned still exists in part in the industry today, we're very happy that the actor was pushed in the direction of The X-Files. No matter how many talented actors would probably kill it, it's impossible to imagine Special Agent Fox Mulder being played by anyone else.
What's even better is that the critical acclaim and recognition that the actor probably wanted to get from possible movie roles came with the wave of The X-Files popularity in twice the amount. No one was unhappy with the result, as the franchise entered the A-list level of success.
If you want to relive some of the greatest memories associated with The X-Files series, you can re-watch your favorite episodes of the paranormal mystery on Hulu or Disney Plus.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter