The X-Files: Gillian Anderson Reflects on Returning to Dana Scully Out of Gratitude

Gillian Anderson’s breakout role came in The X-Files as Dana Scully, but after playing the character for nearly a decade, she grew some resentment for the figure and wanted to distance herself from the project. Once she got some distance from the role, she and costar David Duchovny would return to the series for a six-episode revival in 2016, with the actor recently expressing that she did so not only out of a newfound appreciation for the character but also borne from the nostalgia she felt of embodying the character, if only for a handful of episodes.

“There was a definite period of time where I couldn’t even really hear about it. I’d had my fill,” Anderson shared with Total Film, per /Film. “And then — I don’t know how long it was, whether it was a decade or less than a decade — I was suddenly realizing how unbelievably fortunate I had been, not just with its success, but to get to play a character like Scully, and for such a long time. And not just a true, iconic character, but also the impact that she particularly had on young women — women of all ages in so many different ways.”

She added, “[I was] really coming to terms with not taking it for granted, and how lucky and how rare that is. That all started to hit me at a certain point. And I think for David, too. And certainly at the point that we started to think about, ‘Go on, should we just do a couple more seasons just for the fun of it?’ — in celebrating that further, or having the opportunity to celebrate it and the characters further, it was great. You can’t ask for more than what those characters gave to us.”

Audiences last saw Anderson as Scully in Season 11, which aired in 2018, and brought with it some shocking reveals about the character and her son with Mulder. In the years since those episodes aired, the actor has made it clear how disappointed she was with those reveals and how those details made her uninterested in reprising the role.

Without Anderson, it sounds as though Duchovny also wouldn’t have an interest in a return.

When asked by ComicBook.com if he would take part in a version of The X-Files that didn’t feature Scully, Duchovny confirmed, “I don’t know. I’ve never really considered that. For me, it was always there’s no show unless it’s Chris and Gillian, so I don’t know. Again, I don’t want to have to think about that, because it’s not something that I necessarily need in my life, to go do that. I think at this point, I mean, there might be another iteration of the actual show without either of us. I’m not sure. Or there could be a cartoon. There are many ways to go about it. But personally, for me, the X-Files that I’m involved in consists of Chris Carter, myself, and Gillian, so I haven’t spent time trying to think about a different version of that, and I don’t know that I will.”

Stay tuned for details on the future of The X-Files.  

What do you think of the actor’s remarks? Let us know in the comments!