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Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny
Photo via David Duchovny/Instagram

‘There was a lot of tension’: David Duchovny reflects on ‘failure of friendship’ with ‘X-Files’ co-star Gillian Anderson

What went on between them when the cameras weren't rolling?

We all have different experiences when it comes to relationships with co-workers. Some walk away from a workplace knowing they’ve made lifelong friends, while others leave with nothing more than professional connections.

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For longtime The X-Files co-stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, it took a while to get to the comfortable friendship they have today. The latter was a recent guest on the podcast Fail Better with David Duchovny, and they reflected on how their friendship evolved throughout the years.

Duchovny and Anderson worked together in the sci-fi drama series The X-Files where they portrayed the roles of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The original run aired for nine seasons from 1993 to 2002, and there were also two X-Files movies in between — released in 1998 and 2008. The series returned for seasons 10 and 11 in 2016 and 2018, much to the delight of fans.

Throughout the years, there have been rumors circulating about their relationship offscreen. It is believed that the two didn’t get along, and they’ve addressed it in a few interviews. In 2016, Duchovny and Anderson were guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live where the host said he was surprised they were friendly as he was “under the impression that you didn’t like each other.”

Both stars agreed they hit a rough patch and when pressed as to why, Anderson said one of the reasons was she took too long to get ready between takes because of what the humidity did to her hair, which kept her co-star waiting. “And I got pissed about it?” Duchovny asked. Anderson said it added to the tension between them. “It kinda makes me sound like an a**hole,” Duchovny declared.

The two have forged a good friendship

In the podcast, Duchovny told Anderson, “We know each other very deeply and yet we don’t know each other either in some weird way.” The two immediately connected as early as the auditions for X-Files, but at some point during the original run of the series, they drifted apart in what Duchovny described as his “failure of friendship.”

“There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off-camera. And there was a lot of tension. Which didn’t matter, apparently, for the work cause we’re both f**king crazy, I guess. We could just go out there and do what we needed to do.”

Anderson agreed that it was unbelievable how they were able to project good chemistry on the series and not speak to each other at all when the cameras weren’t rolling. The tension was so obvious that Duchovny recalled The X-Files creator Chris Carter suggested that the two partake in a fake couples therapy.

Another memory that came to mind was when Duchovny offered a ride to Anderson via a private jet, despite not speaking to each other in what he described as their “most dysfunctional” time together. Duchovny was angry that Anderson was late, and the latter wrote him a note that touched him. “It’s a beautiful letter. I don’t remember it exactly, but it was appreciative, and it was all the things that I wanted to hear,” he shared.

It isn’t clear when Duchovny and Anderson resolved their issues, but the two are now good friends and support each other’s endeavors. They occasionally appear in each other’s Instagram posts, a reassuring reminder that their relationship has withstood the test of time. Will they stay close? Let’s just say “I want to believe”.


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Author
Image of Jean Mendoza
Jean Mendoza
Jean has been a freelance writer since 2007 and has contributed to outlets such as Lomography, Inquisitr, and Grunge. Her expertise include true crime, history, and weird and interesting facts. Her spare time is spent listening to podcasts, reading books, and gaming.