TV Week
February 11, 1995
X-Files Leaves Gillian X-Hausted
by Darren Devlyn
THE X-FILES' Gillian Anderson, who plays skeptical FBI agent
Dana Scully, says her experiences on the show are depriving her of sleep (she is
on set up to 16 hours each day).
"As a result of being on this show, I
often get chills up my spine that I never used to get," Gillian says.
"For me, the worst thing about a show of this nature is that you take
all these awful thoughts home with you when you finish filming.
"I have
had my share of terrible nightmares since I started working on it. It gives me
the creeps to think of some of the things that have flashed through my mind in
my sleep. It's not nice.
"When you're working such long hours it's
essential that you rest and have time away from it, but by the time you've had
dinner and read your script for the next day, it's time for bed.
"On
weekends, I have a lot of catching up to do with my husband, who's a production
designer.
"Because I work in such a stressful situation, it's very easy
to lose touch with who you really are as a person. It's important to have a
normal home life. That keeps you sane."
Gillian, who has a five-year
contract on The X-Files, says the subject matter of the series has forced her to
re-evaluate her views on the supernatural.
These days she is not so
cynical when reading stories about unsolved mysteries. But she's unsure how The
X-Files is affecting the thoughts of the public.
"If this show inspires
people to question events that they wouldn't normally question, then I think
that's healthy," Gillian says.
"But I also hope that the show is not
disturbing people's sense of reality too much, or forcing them to live in some
'other' world. I can see the potential for that, too."
Transcript appears courtesy of TV Week.