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London TV Times
November 1998

Why I Still Believe in Love
By Gill Pringle

Freshly coiffed, Gillian Anderson sits in a Beverly Hills hotel sipping carrot juice which is almost the same colour as her golden-red hair.

At only 5ft 2in, her luminous pale face and round blue-green eyes seem to eclipse her surroundings.

There is no doubt about it, Gillian has star quality.

While her X Files co-star David Duchovny, 38, was left licking his wounds after last year's over-hyped, big budget flop Playing God, Gillian, 30, has been quietly earning a formidable reputation as a bankable, Hollywood, box office star.

'I don't see my career in competition with David's. We just make different choices,' she says stiffly, refusing to admit even a moments triumph at beating David at the top of the Hollywood tree.

But after wowing critics with her role in Sharon Stone's acclaimed new film The Mighty, and earning plaudits fpr her performance opposite John Cusack in Chicago Cab, Gillian's movie career continues to go from strength to strength.

American critics have been unanimous ion their praise for Gillian's performance in The Mighty. Singling her out, People Magazine raved: 'Gillian Anderson, playing a boozy floozy, shows more pizazz in her few scenes here than she did in the entire X-Files movie.'

Encouraged by Gillian's reviews for The Mighty, Miramax is now rush releasing her next project, Dancing About Architecture, which also stars Sean Connery and ER's Anthony Edwards.

'I wanted to do something different- something I really cared about and respected,' says Gillian. 'Out of all the films that I was thinking about, this one kind of fitted all those criteria.

I'm a woman in her 30s who's been hurt a few times in relationships and is having difficulty allowing a possible attraction to develop. I totally related to my character because I've had some experiences where trust has been broken and the boundaries blurred, which makes me very cautious.'

Currently single, she admits it's taken her two years to get back on amicable terms with ex-husband Clyde Klotz, a one time X-Files art director and father of her four-year old daughter, Piper.

'She was my main priority throughout all of this, and she weathered the storm magnificently. She's a healthy, loving, stable, focused little girl.

My divorce has not left me bitter or skeptical- about marriage, love or romance. I've been through an interesting course over the past few years and I've no regrets about anything I've done. I still love the idea of marriage and what that commitment entails.

There were times when I thought my heart was going to stop and I'd keel over. The marriage, pregnancy, divorce, the series..I didn't think I could stand any more stress and live, or be sane.

But I've survived, and eventually I would like to be in a relationship again. For a long time I've always believed that people are in each other's lives for a reason, and we learn from them and then we learn from someone else.

I'm starting to have a bit of a desire for longevity in a relationship and to experience that. Apart from my family, my daughter is the longest relationship I've had in my life.'

Her most enduring romance only lasted three years. 'Piper has been begging me for a baby brother or sister, and I just hope I'll be able to provide one before she goes into that stage where she doesn't want one. But I don't want a baby in the next three years.

I'm very careful with the people who are in my life, and since I have a young daughter, there just isn't a chance I would jeopardise her safety, If I ever do marry again, it won't be for some time. It takes a lot out of you when you separate.'

And her relationship with Rodney Rowlands fizzled out after a year. 'I'm in cautious mode right now,' Gillian adds. 'I'm currently single and enjoying that aspect, but very careful about my relations with the opposite sex.

A lot of men I've experienced are threatened by a woman making more money over the long haul. I think ultimately it's very difficult for me to be coupled with someone and make more than then them. There's a power and relinquishment of power that a man takes up when he's with someone who's highly successful, and that castrates them in some way. That has to be discussed and considered.

But the whole thing take up too much energy- and I don't have that right now,' Gillian adds. 'So I prefer to concentrate on my daughter and my career for the time being.'

Her future projects include movie projects like House of Mirth, a low budget but highly prestigious drama. And early next year, Emmy award winning Gillian who earns $3million for each one of the X-Files series, will be traveling to Glasgow for her $400 a day role in the film, which is partly financed by channel 4.

Based on Edith Wharton's turn of the century novel, Gillian plays Lily Bart, a beautiful but naive 29 year old torn between marrying for status and security and marrying a struggling solicitor for love.

Gillian was reportedly so determined to win the role that she told her agents to send an extensive portfolio of photographs to the producers of the film.

House of Mirth producer Olivia Stewart reveals: 'Neither the director now I had ever seen The X-Files, but obviously we were flattered that Gillian was interested and her commitment to the project is clear.

Adds FourFilm chief executive producer Paul Webster: 'Gillian's always on the lookout for something challenging to take her out of the Scully role. She's using House of Mirth to show her breadth of acting skills.'

His opinion is echoed by Peter Chelsom, director of The Mighty. 'I realized that Gillian has that Meryl Streep thing of transforming herself -which is a remarkable talent.'

But Gillian insists: 'Being a star of a film is not a priority, and it's not interesting to me. If it happens, that's really great. Otherwise I'd be happy to do a secondary part.