Gillian Anderson on The X-Files, War and Peace and Charities
By Walter Scott
Parade Magazine: January 22, 2016
After a 14-year hiatus, 'The X-Files' is back on TV! Gillian Anderson, 47, reunites with David Duchovny in her Emmy-winning role as Dana Scully when the new series premieres on Fox. In the meantime, she's kept her investigative chops sharp as Stella Gibson on the BBC Two TV series 'The Fall', and kept her hand in the paranormal as an author.
How has Scully changed since she's been away from 'The X-Files'?
Time has passed. She and Mulder [Duchovny] are not together and she's not an FBI agent. She is working as an assistant surgeon in a hospital and she's living alone.
How does Scully let Mulder seduce her back into The X-Files?
She doesn't want to be dragged back in until she becomes personally involved, until she sees that she-and potentially their child-has been affected by the events that Mulder has brought under her nose again.
You are also starring in A+E Networks' War and Peace, airing Monday nights, in which you play Anna. What interested you?
The thought that somebody would have the gumption to actually attempt War and Peace again! But I've worked with Andrew Davies before, who did the adaptation, and entirely trust his ability. And Anna's a very beguiling, influential character in the story.
Your second paranormal novel, A Dream of Ice, was just released. What do you get from writing that acting doesn't provide?
I feel like it uses a completely different part of my brain. So much of what an actor does is interpret something that preexists. Writing is much more expansive.
You recently did a PETA PSA and you've done something for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Is animal activism your charity of choice?
I do a lot of activism/charity work. There are a lot of issues that I feel strongly about and speak out about, like sex trafficking. I started a charity in South Africa that provides mentors for youth. There's a disease called neurofibromatosis that I've been attached to as a patron for a long time, and I work for Survival International, so it's a wide range of human and animal issues. I probably tend to more human rights.
Is this new 'X-Files' one continuous story, or are they one-off episodes?
It's a mixture of mythology and monster of the week. Except for two, all are separate, completely different. There are some continuous through lines or subject matter, but they're all standalones, pretty much.
Do you think that these episodes are going to wrap up 'The X-Files' or could there be another season?
We've done six and the sixth episode is open-ended, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. David and I have signed on for this season only. The possibility of the next one hasn't been addressed.
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