Gillain Anderson Tells David Duchovny Why She Left ‘The X-Files’

Gillian Anderson was an integral part of The X-Files’ success, and she has now opened up about why she finally had to say “no more” after Season 11. Alongside David Duchovny’s Fox Mulder, Anderson faced the unexplainable as Dana Scully in the hit sci-fi series, but in 2018, just ahead of the Season 11 premiere, the actress announced that she was not going play the role again. In a new interview on Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast, the pair reminisced about the moment she decided that she had had enough of chasing aliens…or more precisely, being a mother on the show.

“It felt like Scully’s trajectory was no longer one of strength and agency. It felt like it was beholden to an old idea of what a woman is… Literally all she could talk about was William and finding William. That’s literally a one-track song.”

Of course, Season 11 ended with the bombshell that her character was pregnant, and it seems the idea of returning to act out this unnecessarily domesticated version of the character she used to be was too much for Anderson to take. She added:

“I wasn’t really enjoying the direction that it was heading, and I didn’t have a voice in it. And so I felt like I needed to move on to something where I might have more of a voice.”

Anderson was not the only one to say they had had enough of the show, as Duchovny also left for several years during its original 9 season run. However, these things have a way of working out just as they should. It seems that both stars have perhaps now come to the end of the road with The X-Files, but with a new iteration reportedly still moving forward, we can only wait and see how that pans out and whether there could be a small cameo role for one or both the previously keepers of the flame.

Gillian Anderson Found Success After The X-Files

Being an incredibly versatile actress, Anderson did not need to worry about not finding work after leaving The X-Files. Among the many roles she has played since, she has given stand-out performances as Margaret Thatcher in Netflix series The Crown, and became known to millions as sex therapist Jean Milburn, whose traits rub off onto her son, Otis, as he eases the intimate woes of his classmates in Sex Education.

In addition to this, Anderson also appeared in the Prime Video series American Gods, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, starred as Eleanor Roosevelt in the Showtime drama series The First Lady, and played real-life reporter Emily Maitlis in the drama based on a scandal involving the British Royal family, Scoop. As if that wasn’t enough, she has also written a series of best-selling novels, The EarthEnd Saga, which involves the kind of supernatural lilt that became the staple of The X-Files. Next up for Anderson is the Disney sequel Tron: Ares, and the TV drama series The Abandons.