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Dreamwatch
Issue #95, August 2002
Free Agent

For nine years Dana Scully has been the thinking man’s crumpet - a beautiful government agent with brains as well as brawn! With THE X-FILES now the ex-Files, GILLIAN ANDERSON looks back on the show that made her name...

What’s it like coming to the end of the show?
Don’t get me started! I don’t know why, [but] I woke up feeling so emotional today so if I cry ignore me - but yeah, it’s good, I guess.

This is so surreal. I swear to God, it’s only started to hit me over the past couple of days. It just feels like nine years was so short... I mean, while we were in the middle of it I felt that it would never end and now all of a sudden it just feels so unfathomable. I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. But now it’s here, I am fully aware of the importance that [The X-Files] had in my life. I am grateful for every aspect of it.

So, in a way, you don’t want it to end?
I think it’s good [that it’s finishing]. I think it’s good for everybody. Everybody has put in such a huge effort over the years in really trying to keep the quality of the show up and to continue with its integrity as much as it can. There’s a time for everything to end: I think this is the right time. Everybody in their own way is excited about moving on to other things, but that doesn’t mean both things can’t co-exist. One can be sad and in the process of mourning and at the same time be excited and hopeful for the future.

What will you miss the most?
The whole thing: the whole living, breathing being that it is, I think. There’s certainly trees within that forest that I can individualise, like missing [co-executive producer/director] Kim Manners and Chris [Carter, series creator] and David [Duchovny, Mulder] and the crew, and I’ll miss just being on the set.

Will you miss the craziness of the fans?
I haven’t been feeling the craziness of it lately. I think we’re pretty well protected from the craziness. It all just feels like there’s another entity out there that’s kind of breathing with the same heartbeat as us... They support us. I don’t experience a lot of craziness. We don’t get a lot of visitors to the set - well, once in a while we do and people burst into tears and stuff - but the crazy period of time was earlier on. I didn’t even realise that it was crazy until it stopped being crazy, then I thought: "Oh God, that was crazy!" [Laughs]

You must have people approaching you wherever you go?
Yeah, but it’s not on the same level as other people. I’m not like Gwyneth Paltrow, where you can’t sit in a restaurant without the entire restaurant stopping and trying to listen to your conversation! I’m blessed in that way. I don’t have that pressure in my life. I live a very quiet, private life and every once in a while it feels abruptly jarred in some way by somebody who’s extra enthusiastic, but not too often.

When was the last time that happened?
I just had a crazy experience in San Francisco last year, where a woman in the middle of the street asked if she could have my autograph. She was really loud and excited and I said, "OK" and she said, "Do you have a pen?" I said, "No, I don’t have a pen, you’re supposed to bring the pen... "She said, "Well you don’t have to be rude about it," and called me a bitch and walked away. That was one of those things where I went, "What?"

How do you feel about the evolution of the show and how Scully’s story has become such a focus since Mulder departed?
It happened by necessity because of the fact that David was going to be leaving. I think that for the first year he was gone the writers did a very good job of keeping him in the public consciousness, even though he wasn’t around. It’s remarkable how if somebody is talked about it feels as if they’re present, even though they’re not. The show didn’t start out as Mulder’s quest, but was primarily about his character and his genius and his revelation. Scully’s job was to kind of help solidify that in the questions that she would answer. They created a whole but it was 70/30 then 60/40 and finally 50/50. Unfortunately I’m not talking financially! [Laughs]

Is it interesting to watch Scully change as parenthood becomes a priority in her life?
I don’t know about this whole baby thing. It certainly adds a level of complication to the filming and I think it’s added an interesting storyline... It’s also been complicated in how do you involve Scully in the cases that they’re investigating without the audience also thinking, "Well, where’s the baby and why isn’t she home with the baby?" If she is with the baby, the fans are going, "Well, we want her out in the field, we don’t want her home with the baby." It’s a very fine balance that the writers have to play.

How important was the chemistry between Mulder and Scully to the success of the show?
I’m only just realising how essential that was now - now that there is something to miss. It’s particular to David and I, and I do miss it. I’m glad that he’s back so that we can play around with it for a little while longer before the show ends, but it was central and I don’t think I ever realised how central it was until the other half of it wasn’t there anymore.

How did you feel about Mulder coming back for the final episodes? Was it always essential for you to tie up the history of those characters together?
I don’t think I would have known that until the very end when I would have thought, "Well wait a minute, this isn’t right." I’m also very glad that the show is completely ending now instead of me leaving because my contract was up. I have a feeling that even though I would have mourned to a certain degree in saying goodbye, there would have been something left undone because the crew would have been continuing. Even though I was saying goodbye, it wouldn’t have been as clean. I feel like we have an opportunity now to really tie it up in a whole and constructive, finished and complete way.

Do you have a favourite episode that stands out in your mind or a series of episodes that you really felt connected to?
I felt akin to All Things, which I wrote and directed. I mean it wasn’t one of my favourite episodes but the process of it was exhilarating and rewarding. I used to love an episode called Bad Blood, which was a great deal of fun to shoot. I felt it was very smart and funny in the end. I liked the more comedic episodes and then the bigger historical episodes that have more weight and more history to them.

You’ve really grown up on the show in many ways. How different is life now, almost a decade later?
The fact of the matter is I grew up during the course of this show. I started when I was 24 and ended at almost 34. That’s almost a third of my life. When the show started I was young and naïve and impressionable, and I didn’t have a clue about the business or anything at the time, but then to grow up and to make mistakes along the way and to experience my life while trying to be somebody other than myself 18 hours a day that’s an interesting task. Doing that very publicly has been surreal.

Why do you think the show didn’t go so well this year in the ratings?
I haven’t really paid much attention to be honest. I’ve never paid attention to ratings or anything like that. I haven’t really talked to many people who haven’t liked it, so I haven’t had that experience. I just kind of show up and do my work and then go [home] and be with my daughter. That’s really about it.

How do you feel about the direction your character has taken?
From the very beginning I’ve just kind of gone along with whatever they’ve put in front of me. I’ve focused my energy in other ways in my life and not really got involved in that process. Chris [Carter] has been pretty good from the beginning in trying to figure out exactly what it is that the audience needs, what it is that needs to be told in terms of all the characters. I’ve just kind of trusted that. First of all you can’t fight Chris, and second of all, it just is what it is. It’s been a challenge to work with babies. It’s been an interesting sideline to have to be constantly with a child or putting a child into the crib scene after scene. Then there’s been some great stuff that I’ve gotten to do that I wouldn’t have done if I were more mobile. It’s been great for the other characters too, to have me out of the way and be able to just kind of do their thing.

How was it to be directed by David again?
David’s directed a couple of episodes before and it’s good to have him back. He’s very relaxed as a director and he knows what he wants and he creates a good atmosphere on set. It’s nice to have him back in that capacity before we get back into doing scenes together. I think it’s a nice transition for him, so it’s been fun.

X-tra! X-tra! Read all about it!

Gillian Anderson reveals her future career plans...
"I’m signed on to do a new Michael Weller play in the West End of London called What the Night is For. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in London actually, so I’ve kind of made it another home and it feels wonderful. I’ve also optioned a book I’m hoping to write [as a screenplay] and direct called Speed of Light by Elizabeth Rossner. It’s a beautiful little book, but I’m not sure when I’m going to be able to get to that. I’m looking for different film projects for the summer. I’m doing the play in October and then maybe the second X-Files feature will be done after that."