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Australia's TV Week
February 1998

Gillian's Gentle Side
by Jenny Cooney

As Agent Scully, Gillian Anderson is skeptical about everything in The X Files. But in real life, she is a true believer in love. "I am not skeptical about marriage, love or romance," says the 30 year old recently divorced star of the top-rating drama series, now in its 5th season.

"I have been through an interesting course over the past few years while working on this show, and I have no regrets whatsoever of anything I have done. I still love the idea of marriage and....what that committment entails."

Gillian is cautious since her split last year from Clyde Klotz, the show's former art director, and the father of her daughter, Piper, now 3. But she's been linked to a string of guest stars on the show, the most recent being Rodney Rowlands, and is anxious to set the record straight.

"Since I have been so-called single, I have been placed in relationships by the media with a lot of people that were just friendships", she says. "I couldn't care less about it, but I think the perception from the outside might be that I'm going from one person to the next, and that's not the truth. I am very careful with the people who are in my life, and I also have a 3 year old daughter, and there isn't a chance I would jeopardise her safety. If I ever do marry again, it will not be for some time," she adds. "It takes a lot out of you...when you separate."

But Gillian does confirm that she is in a romantic relationship with Rodney, who is now co-staring with James Brolin in the TV Drama series Pensacola: Wings Of Gold. "I'm on the set all the time, and that's the only place I meet people," she says, referring to their steamy scenes together in last seasons tattoo episode. "It actually started out as a friendship, and after a while it just happened to evolve into something a little more intimate. But contrary to the recent reports I am not engaged or will be engaged for a while."

Althought co-star David Duchovny has provoked anger from locals in Vancouver with his demands to move the show to L.A, Gillian admits she is also behind the request, which is expected to be granted soon. "From the beginning I backed everything David has said in terms of his desire to go to L.A, but David has just taken a more public stance with it," Gillian says.

She is hoping life in L.A. will be more anonymous. "Over summer I spent some time in Malibu with my daughter and I have never seen her so open, happy and alive. She loved being by the beach. People are used to seeing celebrities - every other school has a celebrity child. In Vancouver its a novelty."

On location, Gillian and David attract plenty of attention from streams of extras and on-lookers hoping for a handshake, photo or autograph. Creator Chris Carter has returned to direct a black-and-white episode and the trio huddle together, joking and laughing. "In this scene, we're using a peanut butter sandwich to try to lure out of the woods some kind of monster who has impregnated a couple of people shortly after singing a Cher song," Gillian says in all seriousness. Clearly its just another day at the office for her!

There is also no evidence of any conflict between the pair over Gillian's battle to increase her salary, which is less than half what David earns. "It was never an issue between David and I. David thinks I should get as much money as I can and we've never had a fight about it", Gillian says. "It was an issue between myself and Fox Productions, and was about the fairness of two people in the 5th season working the same amount on a hit series and one person earning alot more. Someone should me a story in the tabloids the other day that said I was the ice-princess on the set, and now that I'm in love I'm much nicer to David because I'm trying to kick him off the show and replace him with my boyfriend," she says laughing. "But David and I are both very jovial people and we goof around alot and have fun with the crew. I've never been referred to as an ice-princess before in my life. Most people may refer to me as a goofball, but anything you read that sticks us against each other is most likely not true. That's no t how we operate in our lives."

In the past year, Gillian has managed to squeeze in two other projects - a role in the small-budget film Chicago Cab, with John Cusack and Julianne Moore, and co-starring role in Freak The Mighty, with Sharon Stone and Gena Rowlands. But its the long awaited The X Files Movie, due for release in the U.S. this year, that has most of her fans chomping at the bit.

"I can't tell you much without giving it all away," Gillian says, with an impish grin. All I can say is that the movie is big and answers lots of things which have been raised over the last couple of seasons, and puts to rest some issues."

She doesn't seem concerned about Scully's cancer scare. "I know some people got worried that it would be the end of Scully - and it may or may not be," she teases. "But knowing this show, if they get rid of the cancer, it may come back or they don't get rid of it, she may live forever with it - you just don't know!"