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CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS

Gillian Anderson Interview for 'X-Files'

16 Questions With: Gillian Anderson

    X-Philes, rejoice! A full decade after the first 'X-Files' movie (and 6 years after the series' end), Mulder and Scully return in 'The X-Files: I Want to Believe.' There have been big changes for both of them (we'd tell you what those are, but then we'd have to kill you) -- and big changes for star Gillian Anderson (she's one of the new hosts on Masterpiece Theater, for crying out loud!). We talked to the star, pregnant with her third child, about why the sequel took so long, why sex ruins everything and what Fox megahit she turned down. -- By Liane Bonin

    WireImage.com

    1. Why did it take so long to make the second movie?
    It certainly wasn't anybody's intention. I know there was a desire among all of us that when the series ended we would eventually come back together and do something. Chris [Carter] was interested in putting the energy into writing a script, and David [Duchovny] and I agreed it was something that we'd jump on board for were it to come to fruition. There were a couple of times over the years where it looked like we were close, then something happened with the deals. Even a few months before we started shooting, there was a slight chance it might fall apart. So the fact this movie is going to see the light of day is quite something.

    20th Century Fox

    2. It's been six years since the show went off the air, and even longer since you and David left. Do people still care?
    I hope so. Everything I've heard from fans over the years is that there's a whole new fan base out there because of DVDs. Kids these days love horror films. My 13-year-old watches stuff like 'Saw.' I don't get that at all, but there's this trend right now toward scary stuff, and certainly that's where a lot of our episodes lived. People watched our show because they were scared out of their seats. Now there are parents who watched the series on their first date night and their kids are getting into it as well.

    Fox

    3. What about kids who haven't seen the show?
    Because this is a stand-alone movie, and it's ultimately an old-fashioned thriller that doesn't have a lot to do with the mythology of the series, hopefully that will appeal to people that know nothing about it or care nothing about the series itself.

    Fox

    4. You know hardcore fans are going to miss the mythology, though.
    But the series wasn't always about mythology. It wasn't always about the Cigarette Smoking Man or about the aliens or black oil. It was also about good old science fiction and the paranormal. It was about reading minds and telekinesis and being able to move objects across the room with your mind.

    Fox

    5. That sounds like a spoiler! Is it hard to promote a film that has been kept so completely under wraps?
    I think it's probably harder for you. All I have to say is sorry, I can't talk about this. It's probably the easiest press I've ever had to do for a film.

    20th Century Fox

    6. Why skip the mythology?
    I think it was important to Chris and Frank [Spotnitz] to start quietly. There are some pretty profound and controversial ideas that are brought up in this film, and I think it was important for Chris that we start here, and open up the door to other things in the future. He felt like one of the biggest draws for the series was the relationship, anyway.

    20th Century Fox

    7. Things have changed a lot for Scully in the six years since we've seen her. How did you feel when you read the script?
    I loved that time hadn't stood still. I feel that the weight of time and what they have lived with and through is a huge element, especially at the beginning of the film. You really feel the weight of those years, and there's this heaviness. It's tangible. It was in the script and it got translated onto the screen, and I loved that you can feel where these guys have been in their individual lives and also where they are at this stage in their relationship. That's fun to work with as an actor.

    20th Century Fox

    8. But you've said it wasn't easy to get back into Scully mode.
    A lot has been written about my initial comment about that, and the truth is, the bulk of the difficulty was in the logistics of it. I'd flown in from India to London to Vancouver, and we started shooting the next day in probably one of my most difficult scenes in the film. I'm confronting Billy Connolly's character in his apartment in this two-day scene, and it came down to standing in that room on the set and being at a loss as to how to get into it between the jet lag and the intensity that the scene required and having not spent any time with the script or even any of the other characters. I couldn't think of anything else that would work further against me. I wouldn't want to replay those days again, but it was definitely a big challenge.

    20th Century Fox

    9. Considering how long it's been, did you and David do anything to reconnect?
    A lot of what we have between us has always been there. It was there from the first day we showed up on set together, it was there, strangely, even in the hallway outside the room we auditioned in. So it's really just the two of us showing up with a knowledge of what the script is calling for and pushing play.

    20th Century Fox

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