Looking back at his career, it is obvious, David Duchovny has done a lot more than just The X-Files. In fact, the actor made some bold career choices, which included turning down Star Wars. In addition, entering the world comedy was also discourages given David’s history on The X-Files.
In the following, we’re going to take a closer look at what prompted David’s decision to switch gears and take on an entirely different genre with Californication. Duchovny proved to be correct, and nowadays, he’s still pushing for more, looking to change things up once again. Let’s take a closer look.
David Duchovny Was Ready To Move On From The X-Files At The Time
David Duchovny is the first one to admit, his career completely changed because of The X-Files. The show proved to be a major hit and as the actor detailed with Time, he hadn’t experienced anything like that.
“With The X-Files, it was the first time that anything like that had happened to me. It was a phenomenon. It was life-changing. Life-transforming. I went from being somebody who nobody knew to somebody known worldwide. There were all these things that had happened because of the show.”
However, by the time The X-Files were wrapping up, Duchovny knew it was the perfect moment to move on. Looking back, Duchovny regrets not showing enough gratitude for the role, due to his eagerness to move on with the next project.
“By the time we were finishing, I was really ready and eager to move and show that I could do other things, that I wasn’t just going to do this thing. So there wasn’t as much gratitude as I might have had, and looking back I wish I’d had that. I wanted to get out of there. I think we all did. And now, being older, I just try to appreciate things in the moment and be grateful in the moment. I think I was more present for the ending of this one.”
Duchovny moved on with a completely different role as Hank Moody and in truth, he was discouraged to make an attempt at the comedy genre.
David Duchovny Was Discouraged By Hollywood To Take The Comedy Route After The X-Files
Moving into the world of comedy was a major risk for David Duchovny, who was viewed as a dark actor given his role on The X-Files. He was encouraged to stick with his genre, however, Duchovny was looking elsewhere. The actor had a strong vision, and was thinking about a different comedy genre.
He tells Rolling Stone at the end of Californication, “After The X-Files, I wanted to do a comedy. But people weren’t looking at me that way because that show was perceived as dark and kind of brutal, even though it always had funny moments. At the time that I wanted to do a comedy, it seemed like most were underdog comedies, like ones with Ben Stiller, Steve Carell and Will Ferrell. I wouldn’t find myself believable in a world that Ben might do or Carell might do.”
Duchovny continues, “What attracted me to Californication was its hyper-articulate sense of verbal humor and adult situations. And when I say “adult situations,” I don’t mean sex; I just mean adults trying to solve their problems rather than childish men trying to work through their problems [laughs]. Hank is not the 40-year-old virgin.”
Duchovny’s decision proved to be correct as the Showtime series enjoyed major success.
David Duchovny Is Open To Work Behind The Camera, And Won’t Turn Down The Possibility Of An X-Files Reboot
In terms of his future work, David Duchovny revealed with The Guardian that he is still open to taking other risks, which includes work behind the camera. Duchovny revealed that the process of working behind the scenes is very different to an actor’s job.
“I always wanted to do more,” he says.
“I love directing: I did several episodes of The X-Files and Californication, and it was great. But I’m a little spoiled as an actor. You get to do your stuff and go home, and the longest you have to spend on a movie is three months. When you’re writing a movie, however, that’s going to be your job for a year and a half, at least. You have to love this thing so much that you’re going to do it for a year and a half, talk about nothing but, and then a year and a half after it comes out, you’re going to talk about it some more.”
As for The X-Files, David refused to shut down the possibility of a reboot, despite his co-star Gillian Anderson saying otherwise. David revealed that he just won’t say no to anything, and that includes the possible reboot.
It is said that Ryan Coolger is developing an X-Files reboot, and it remains to be seen what comes of it.
Source: NewsFinale
