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Orlando Sentinel Agent of change PASADENA, Calif. -- In her first television role since The X-Files, Gillian Anderson plays a Victorian lady struggling to conceal her past. Anderson, however, speaks bluntly about the big secret behind the PBS promotion of Bleak House, which starts Sunday. Masterpiece Theatre bills her as the star of this Charles Dickens epic, but that tactic is misleading. "It's definitely, definitely not my show and my story," Anderson says. "I know it was such an ensemble. And also Dickens did not write Lady Dedlock as the central character." Even so, Anderson, who calls the attention flattering, has joined the sales pitch by traveling from her home in London to talk to television critics on their midseason tour. "I understand the strategy, and hopefully it will do its intentional job and bring people in," she says. "And after they've started to watch it, they'll get hooked." They were hooked in England, where the eight-hour miniseries became a sensation. PBS begins the U.S. run at 9 p.m. Sunday on WMFE-Channel 24. Screenwriter Andrew Davies helps the promotional push by saying that, of all his adaptations, he's proudest of Bleak House and Pride and Prejudice. The latter, a beloved miniseries of Jane Austen's novel, starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Rave reviews for Anderson, from critics and colleagues, should lure viewers as well. In Bleak House, which was published in the 1850s, she's far removed from the extraterrestrial and supernatural phenomena of The X-Files. 'Extraordinary beauty' Davies says Anderson brought "extraordinary beauty" to Lady Dedlock. "She never seemed so beautiful in The X-Files," Davies says. "She's got an extraordinary stillness. Without appearing to do anything very much, she just moves you. And I don't know how she does it. It's some kind of quality of intensity that she's got." Anderson seems to move the critics with her frank observations and her off-screen look. She is blond, unlike red-haired Dana Scully of The X-Files or dark-haired Lady Dedlock. Such is her devotion to Bleak House that Anderson carries on despite a sore back from her travels. She also good-naturedly entertains frequent questions about The X-Files. The actress says she has resisted many television offers since that Fox thriller ended its nine-year run in 2002. "I try, in my life, to follow my heart," she says. "I know what it feels like to do things that are soul-decaying. A large aspect of life in Hollywood, in a stereotypic way, I find unbelievably soul-decaying. And I choose, albeit frustratingly to other people in my life, not to expose myself too much to too much of that." Instead, she chooses to live in England ("a country that I absolutely love"), visit Africa frequently, do charity work and perform in the theater. "I'm in a luxurious position that I did a series for nine years," Anderson says. "I don't have to worry about a roof over my head, and I can make these kinds of choices." She agreed to act in Bleak House because it felt like a film. "I realized how good it was going to be when I first walked on the set," she says. "What was fantastic about it was being accepted in a royal community of unbelievable talent and historically rich and fantastic actors. One, to be allowed in. Two, to be accepted in things I do there. Three, to be verbally appreciated for something that normally would be played by Kristin Scott Thomas. That means a lot to me." One of those appreciative actors is Charles Dance, who bedevils Lady Dedlock as Tulkinghorn, a villainous lawyer. "She's a sublime actress and takes the work really, really seriously," Dance says. "It was a terrific experience working with her, and I hope I can do it again." In Great Britain, film directors also prize Anderson. British filmmakers "see me as an actor and not as a television celebrity," she says. "And God bless them because that's where I've been getting my work." After taking several years off, she made four films in the last year and a half. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, a wacky take on Laurence Sterne's 18th-century novel, opens this month and features Anderson playing herself. The Last King of Scotland, about the relationship between Ugandan leader Idi Amin and a young Scottish doctor, will open in the spring or summer. Other recent films are Straightheads and The Mighty Celt. Another 'X-Files' film? There's the possibility of another X-Files movie that would re-team her with co-star David Duchovny and series creator Chris Carter. "David and I certainly want to do it," Anderson says. "Chris really wants to do it. There's just something that seems to be holding it up. I'm not 100 percent privy to what that is." The Hollywood Reporter, a trade paper, reported Tuesday that Carter has sued 20th Century Fox Television, saying the studio was in breach of contract because it refused to pay him guaranteed profits. Anderson says she had no idea what she was getting into in doing the television series. She says The X-Files should have stopped after seven years. "But, in retrospect, I'm really glad that I did it," she adds. Of course, playing Scully can set up misleading expectations for Anderson off screen. "I was a bit scared of meeting her," screenwriter Davies says. "I thought, 'She's going to be intense in real life.' But she turns out to be quite fun and great to have a party with." Anderson sees connections between Scully and Lady Dedlock. "There were aspects of Scully that were very still," Anderson says. "Sometimes I almost feel like I'm schizophrenic. I have two completely different personalities. In my life, I can be very, very still. But I can also be incredibly goofy and crazy. I guess that stillness is probably because it's such an aspect of me. It probably comes into every character I play." Editor's note: Sentinel television critic Hal Boedeker reports from the Television Critics Association winter tour, where networks preview their midseason offerings. Anderson says she had no idea what she was getting into in doing the television series. She says The X-Files should have stopped after seven years. "But, in retrospect, I'm really glad that I did it," she adds. Of course, playing Scully can set up misleading expectations for Anderson off screen. "I was a bit scared of meeting her," screenwriter Davies says. "I thought, 'She's going to be intense in real life.' But she turns out to be quite fun and great to have a party with." Anderson sees connections between Scully and Lady Dedlock. "There were aspects of Scully that were very still," Anderson says. "Sometimes I almost feel like I'm schizophrenic. I have two completely different personalities. In my life, I can be very, very still. But I can also be incredibly goofy and crazy. I guess that stillness is probably because it's such an aspect of me. It probably comes into every character I play."      |