David Duchovny

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For the song, see David Duchovny (song).

David Duchovny
Duchovny at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
David William Ducovny

(1960-08-07) August 7, 1960 (age 64)
New York City, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Yale University (MA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • writer
  • producer
  • singer-songwriter
Years active1987–present
Known forFox Mulder in The X-Files
Hank Moody in Californication
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2014)​
Children2, including West Duchovny
FatherAmram Ducovny
RelativesDaniel Duchovny (brother)
Websitedavidduchovny.com

David William Duchovny (/dʊˈkɒvni/ duu-KOV-nee; born (1960-08-07)August 7, 1960)[1] is an American actor, director, writer, producer and musician. He portrayed FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series The X-Files (1993–2002, 2016–2018) and played the writer Hank Moody on the television series Californication (2007–2014), both of which have earned him Golden Globe awards. Duchovny appeared in both X-Files films; the 1998 science fiction-thriller of the same name and the supernatural-thriller The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008). He executive-produced and starred in the historically based cop drama Aquarius (2015–2016).

His film work includes minor roles in the coming-of-age black comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), and the family comedy Beethoven (1992). Also in 1992, he played Roland Totheroh in the biographical comedy-drama Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr. In the 2000's, he starred in Return to Me with Minnie Driver (2000), Evolution with Orlando Jones (2001), Connie and Carla with Nia Vardalos (2004), House of D with Robin Williams (2004), and The Joneses with Demi Moore (2009).

Duchovny holds a B.A. in English literature from Princeton University, and an M.A. in English literature from Yale University, and has since published five books: Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale (2015), Bucky F*cking Dent (2016), Miss Subways (2018), Truly Like Lightning (2021), and The Reservoir (2022).

Early life

Duchovny & John Kennedy Jr in 9th grade in the 1975 Collegiate yearbook

Duchovny was born in New York City in 1960.[1][2] He is the son of Amram "Ami" Ducovny (1927–2003), a writer and publicist who worked for the American Jewish Committee, and Margaret "Meg" (née Miller), a school administrator and teacher.[3][4][5] He is the middle child of three children. He has an elder brother, Daniel (b. 1956) and a younger sister, Laurie (b. 1966).[6] Duchovny's mother is a Scottish immigrant from Whitehills, Aberdeen, Scotland.[7][8] His father was Jewish, and his mother was Lutheran.[9][10][11][12] His father dropped the h in his last name to avoid the sort of mispronunciations he encountered while serving in the Army.[3][13][14] In the Polish language, duchowny means 'clergyman', and in the Ukrainian language it means 'spiritual'. Duchovny's paternal grandfather was a Jewish emigrant from Berdychiv, Ukraine, and Duchovny's paternal grandmother was a Jewish emigrant from Congress Poland (now in Poland).[15][16][17][18]

Duchovny attended The Collegiate School For Boys in Manhattan (where he was a classmate of John F. Kennedy Jr.[19]) from which he graduated as head boy[20] in 1978. He then attended Princeton University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude in 1982 with an A.B. in English literature.[21][4] He was a member of Charter Club, one of the university's eating clubs. In 1982, his poetry received an honorable mention for a college prize from the Academy of American Poets. The title of his senior thesis was The Schizophrenic Critique of Pure Reason in Beckett's Early Novels.[22] He played junior varsity basketball at Princeton.[23] He earned a Master of Arts in English Literature from Yale University and subsequently began work on a Ph.D. that remains unfinished.[4] The title of his uncompleted doctoral thesis is Magic and Technology in Contemporary Fiction and Poetry.[24]

Roots

Duchovny's great-great-grandfather and his family moved from Berdychiv, Ukraine, to Jaffa ( Israel). In December 1914 his ancestors were among 6,000 Jews who were forcibly removed from their homes by Ottoman police, violently expelled from Jaffa, and deported by ship to Egypt.[25][26]

Career

Duchovny appeared in an advertisement for Löwenbräu beer in 1987. The next year he appeared in Working Girl (1988). He had a small recurring role as Denise Bryson, a transgender DEA agent on the series Twin Peaks and played the narrator and host in the Showtime softcore erotica TV series Red Shoe Diaries. In 1992, he played the role of Rollie Totheroh in the biographic film Chaplin, directed by Richard Attenborough and based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. In 1992 he had a small role in the family film Beethoven.

Duchovny at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2011

In 1993, Duchovny began starring in the science fiction series The X-Files, as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, a conspiracy theorist who believed his sister had been abducted by aliens.[4] The show evolved into a cult hit and became one of The Fox Network's first major television hits. According to The X-Files creator Chris Carter, Duchovny turned out to be one of the best-read people he knew.[27] After getting the role, Duchovny thought the show would not last for long or make as much impact as it did. Executive producer Frank Spotnitz called Duchovny "amazingly smart". Spotnitz further stated that Duchovny was behind some of the main characteristic ideas behind Mulder.[28] Also in 1993, Duchovny was cast alongside Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis, in the Dominic Sena-directed thriller Kalifornia.

During The X-Files run, in between the fifth and sixth seasons, Duchovny co-starred alongside Gillian Anderson in a 1998 film also titled The X-Files that continued the storyline.[4] He remained with the series until leaving the show in 2001, partly because of a contract dispute that occurred after season seven finished filming.[29] Duchovny appeared in half of the season eight episodes, but did not appear in season nine until the series finale in 2002. He also provided the voice for a parody of his Mulder character in the episode "The Springfield Files" of the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Duchovny has been nominated for four Emmy Awards.[30]

Duchovny caused controversy when it became public that he was the primary reason for The X-Files moving filming locations from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Los Angeles in 1998. Many residents of Vancouver were upset with Duchovny over scripted jokes on Late Night with Conan O'Brien about the city's heavy rainfall, including one where he joked, "Vancouver is a very nice place if you like 400 inches of rainfall a day." (Duchovny's character Mulder would later reference this joke in the Season 5 episode "Schizogeny.") He also stated, "Of course, I'm tired of the rain. But if I wasn't married to a woman that lives in L.A., I'd stay in Vancouver. It's a lovely city."[31] During the run of The X-Files, he also made several guest appearances in the cult TV satire The Larry Sanders Show, playing a fictionalized version of himself who is very attracted to Sanders. In the final episode of the series, he performed a parody of Sharon Stone's 'flashing' scene from Basic Instinct and a parody of Dr. Hannibal Lecter being introduced to Agent Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.

Duchovny with Gillian Anderson at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con for The X-Files 20th Anniversary panel

Duchovny has guest-hosted Saturday Night Live twice (May 13, 1995, and May 9, 1998). Both shows were season finales. In 1997 he played lead role as a disgraced doctor with a drug problem who after losing his medical license, takes a job with the mob in the film Playing God. In 2000 he starred in the feature film Return to Me, a romantic comedy-drama directed by Bonnie Hunt and co-starring Minnie Driver and Carroll O'Connor. In 2001, Duchovny starred as Ira Kane in the sci-fi comedy film Evolution, alongside Seann William Scott, and had a cameo as hand model J.P. Prewitt in the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander. He appeared in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in May 2000. He got to the $250,000 question but answered his $500,000 question incorrectly and lost $218,000, leaving him with $32,000. He appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy! in 1995 and 2010.

Duchovny provided the voice of Ethan Cole in the 2005 video game Area 51, as well as that of the title character in the 2003 video game XIII. In 2003 Duchovny starred in the 84th[32] episode of the HBO show Sex and the City. He played the role of Jeremy, Carrie Bradshaw's high-school ex-boyfriend, who has committed himself to a Connecticut mental health facility. In 2005, Duchovny provided the voice-over for a PSA radio campaign for Act Against Violence.[33] In 2005, Duchovny, who had already made his directorial debut with an episode of The X-Files, wrote, directed, and appeared in the feature film House of D.[4] The film starred Anton Yelchin, Robin Williams, and Duchovny's then-wife Téa Leoni in a coming-of-age tale.[4] It received mostly poor reviews[34] and little box office success.[35] Duchovny also directed "Judas on a Pole," an episode of Bones, during the show's second season.

From 2007 to 2014, Duchovny played the troubled, womanizing novelist, Hank Moody, in the Showtime series, Californication. The portrayal landed him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical in 2007.[36] In March 2014, NBC announced that a new TV series, entitled Aquarius, would be produced starring Duchovny. Duchovny portrayed a 1960s police sergeant investigating small-time criminal and budding cult leader Charles Manson.[37] In March 2015, Duchovny was announced as returning in a six-episode continuation of The X-Files.[38][39] It premiered on January 24, 2016, on Fox.

In 2015, Duchovny released his debut album, Hell or Highwater, and has released two more albums since then; Every Third Thought and Gestureland. He has also released four novels: Holy Cow (2015), Bucky F*cking Dent (2016), Miss Subways (2018), Truly Like Lightning (2021), and a novella, The Reservoir (2021). In 2022, Duchovny released the film Reverse the Curse (based on his novel Bucky F*cking Dent), which he wrote, directed, and acted in.

Personal life

Duchovny and actress Téa Leoni married on May 13, 1997.[40] They have two children, daughter West Duchovny, born in April 1999[41][42] and a son, Kyd Duchovny, born in June 2002.[43][44]

In 2008, the couple separated;[45] Duchovny received treatment for sex addiction from August to October.[46][47][48] Claims by the Daily Mail that he had an affair with Hungarian tennis instructor Edit Pakay led to legal threats[49] and a retraction by the paper on November 15.[50] In 2009, Duchovny and Leoni reunited but separated again on June 29, 2011.[46] Duchovny filed for divorce in June 2014, and the couple had agreed to settlement terms by that August.[51]

Duchovny is a pescetarian[52] and is supportive of environmentalism, and an enthusiast of electric vehicle technology. He made an appearance at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival in support of the film Revenge of the Electric Car.[53][54]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Working Girl Tess's Friend Non-speaking
1989 New Year's Day Billy
1990 Denial John
Bad Influence Club Goer
Julia Has Two Lovers Daniel
1991 Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead Bruce
The Rapture Randy
1992 Ruby Officer Tippit
Beethoven Brad Wilson
Red Shoe Diaries Jake Winters
Venice/Venice Dylan
Chaplin Roland "Rollie" Totheroh
1993 Kalifornia Brian Kessler
1997 Playing God Dr. Eugene Sands
1998 The X-Files: Fight the Future FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder
2000 Return to Me Bob Rueland
2001 Evolution Dr. Ira Kane
Zoolander JP Prewitt
2002 Full Frontal Bill / Gus
2004 Connie and Carla Jeff
House of D Tom Warshaw Also writer and director
2005 Trust the Man Tom
2006 Queer Duck: the Movie Tiny Jesus (voice)
The TV Set Mike Klein
2007 Things We Lost in the Fire Brian Burke
The Secret Dr. Benjamin Marris
Quantum Hoops Narrator
2008 The X-Files: I Want to Believe Fox Mulder
2009 The Joneses Steve Jones
2012 Goats Goat Man
2013 Phantom Bruni
Louder Than Words John Fareri
2020 The Craft: Legacy Adam Harrison
2022 The Bubble Sean Knox
The Estate Richard
2023 You People Arnold
Reverse the Curse Marty Also writer and director
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Bill Baterman
What Happens Later William “Bill” Davis
2024 Adam the First James
Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World Narrator
TBC Feel TBC Post production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990–1991 Twin Peaks DEA Agent Denise Bryson 3 episodes
1992 Baby Snatcher David Anderson Television film
1992–1997 Red Shoe Diaries Jake Winters 10 episodes
1993–2002;
2016–2018		 The X-Files FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder 191 episodes
1995–1998 The Larry Sanders Show Himself 3 episodes
Saturday Night Live Host / himself 2 episodes
1995 Eek! The Cat Fox Mulder (voice) Episode: "Eek Space 9"
1996 Frasier Tom (voice) Episode: "Frasier Loves Roz"
Space: Above and Beyond Handsome Alvin Episode: "R&R"
1997 The Simpsons FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder (voice) Episode: "The Springfield Files"
Duckman Richard (voice) Episode: "The Girls of Route Canal"
1998 Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Himself Episode: "Metaphors"
2001 The Lone Gunmen Fox Mulder Episode: #12 All About Yves
2002 Primetime Glick Himself 2 episodes
Life with Bonnie Johnny Volcano 2 episodes
2003 Sex and the City Jeremy Episode: "Boy, Interrupted"
2007–2014 Californication Hank Moody 84 episodes
2015–2016 Aquarius Sam Hodiak 26 episodes
2016 Better Things Himself Episode: "Brown"
2017 Twin Peaks Denise Bryson Episode: "Part 4"
2021 The Chair Himself Episode: "The Last Bus in Town"
Ten Year Old Tom Ice Cream Man (voice) 2 episodes
2023 History of the World, Part II Howard Cosell impersonator Episode: "VIII"
2024 The Sympathizer Ryan Glenn/Thespian 3 episodes
2025 Malice Jamie Tanner Post production

Video games

Year Title Voice role
1998 The X-Files Game Fox Mulder
2003 XIII Jason Fly
2004 The X-Files: Resist or Serve Fox Mulder
2005 Area 51 Ethan Cole

Audiobooks

  • 2015: Audiobook To Legend He Goes: A Tale from The Legend of Drizzt[55]
  • 2017: Audiobook X-Files - cold cases - an Audible original
  • 2017: Audiobook X files - stolen lives - an Audible original

Discography and tours

Studio albums

Studio albums
Year Title Refs.
2015 Hell or Highwater
[56][57]
2018 Every Third Thought
[58]
2021 Gestureland
[59]

Works

  • 2011: Introduction to: Coach: 25 Writers Reflect on People Who Made a Difference ISBN 978-1-4384-3734-7.
  • 2015: Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale, Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 978-0-374-17207-7.
  • 2016: Bucky F*cking Dent, Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 978-0-374-11042-0.
  • 2018: Miss Subways: A Novel, Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 978-0-374-21040-3.
  • 2021: Truly Like Lightning: A Novel, Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 978-0-374-27774-1.
  • 2022: The Reservoir: A Novella, Akashic Books ISBN 978-1-636-14044-5.

References

  1. ^ a b Brady, James (August 6, 2006). "In Step with David Duchovny". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. Parade 26. Born Aug. 7, 1960, in New York City.
  2. ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1271. August 9, 2013. p. 22.
  3. ^ a b Hecker, Don R. (September 2, 2003). "Amram Ducovny, 75, Late-Blossoming Novelist". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
  5. ^ "David Duchovny Biography (1960-)". Film Reference. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  6. ^ "Happy Birthday Meg Miller Duchovny! The double snowman—88! We love you! Danny David and Laurie". instagram.com.
  7. ^ "Craig Ferguson 8/10/10C Late Late Show David Duchovny". YouTube. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2011.

    ... my father being a Russian Jew ....
  8. ^ "My Kind of Day - David Duchovny". Radio Times. December 1995. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.

    My relatives are Scottish, so I think my Scottish audience is important. Some are in Glasgow, but my mum's from Aberdeen. I hear it's grey there—like my mum. The name's Russian, but New York is my home. That's where I'm from.
  9. ^ "David Duchovny DuchovnyNet - Article: A Man and His 'X'". Duchovny.net. October 26, 1997. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2011.

    I like that I look like my father and mother put together—that's a Russian Jew and a Scottish Lutheran, and I like that it all looks mixed up. ... I'm sure my nose wasn't an asset until I was David Duchovny. Before that, it was, like, "Yeah, that kind of Jewish-looking guy with the kind of big nose."
  10. ^ "David Duchovny: 'My fantasy was to be Nietzsche'". The Independent. June 10, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  11. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (July 29, 2014). "David Duchovny's Russian Beer Commercial Goes Viral (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Wild, David (May 16, 1996). "X-Files Undercover". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "David Duchovny DuchovnyNet - Article: Cult Times 1997". Duchovny.net. Archived from the original on January 24, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  14. ^ Peter Canavese. "Groucho Reviews: Interview: David Duchovny—House of D, Twin Peaks—03/30/05". GrouchoReviews.
  15. ^ "Was David Duchovny's Family From Ukraine or Russia?". The Huffington Post. July 30, 2014.
  16. ^ "David Duchovny Interview for "Phantom"". facebook.com.
  17. ^ "Five Minutes With David Duchovny". Gothamist. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013.
  18. ^ "A Literary Classic of Coney Island Comes to Digital Life". thebrooklynink.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ The Dutchman (the Collegiate School yearbook), 1975 edition, p. 43 (9th grade photos)
  20. ^ Head Boy Plaque (wall at the Collegiate School)
  21. ^ "PBK Famous Members".
  22. ^ Duchovny, David William. The Schizophrenic Critique of Pure Reason in Beckett's Early Novels. Archived May 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine 1982.
  23. ^ Greenfield, Jimmy; Malcolm, Chris (February 25, 2004). "Athletes in Action". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  24. ^ Motzkin, Lauren (March 2, 2009). "Duchovny delights". Yale Daily News. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  25. ^ Zaltzman, Lior (February 13, 2023). "David Duchovny Learns His Family's Tragic Jewish History on 'Finding Your Roots'". Kveller. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  26. ^ Finding Your Roots | Chosen | Season 9 | Episode 7 | PBS, retrieved February 16, 2023
  27. ^ Carter, Chris. "Casting Mulder". BBC News. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  28. ^ Spotnitz, Frank. "Amazingly Smart". BBC News. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  29. ^ "Duchovny quits X-Files". BBC News. May 18, 2001. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  30. ^ David Duchovny at Emmys.com
  31. ^ "Mike Roberts, Vancouver Province". Mjq.net. October 16, 1997. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  32. ^ "Boy, Interrupted". Hbo.com. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  33. ^ David Duchovny (voice-over) (January 14, 2005). Act Against Violence (CD (for radio station use)). United States: chemistri (ad agency on behalf of The Ad Council) in conjunction with Gold Sound.
  34. ^ "House of D". Rotten Tomatoes. April 15, 2005. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  35. ^ "House of D". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  36. ^ "Hollywood Foreign Press Association 2008 Golden Globe Awards For The Year Ended December 31, 2007". HFPA. 2007. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
  37. ^ Bibel, Sara (March 31, 2014). "NBC Greenlights 13 Episodes of 'Aquarius', Starring David Duchovny as a Cop Tracking Charles Manson (Updated)". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  38. ^ "David Duchovny Calls Mulder "the Worst F.B.I. Agent of All Time"". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  39. ^ "Fox Confirms 'X-Files' Reboot Talks, David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson To Return: Update". Deadline. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  40. ^ Gliatto, Tom (May 19, 1997). "Altared State: David Duchovny and Téa Leoni Tie the Knot". People. Vol. 47, no. 19. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  41. ^ David Duchovny [@davidduchovny] (April 24, 2018). "April 24, 1999. This happened. West happened. And I'll never be the same. Happy birthday, my daughter. Love, Dad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  42. ^ Tucker, Ken (September 19, 2014). "Téa Leoni on Her New Role as Madam Secretary and Co-Parenting With Her Ex David Duchovny". Parade. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  43. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (June 18, 2002). "Leoni, Duchovny: And Baby Makes Four". People. ISSN 0093-7673. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.], according to a statement issued to Reuters on Monday by the actors' publicist, Annett Wolf. No other details, including the newborn's name, were released.
  44. ^ "Téa Leoni and Kyd Miller spend a fun day in Malibu". People. February 15, 2008. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  45. ^ Fleeman, Mike (October 15, 2008). "David Duchovny & Téa Leoni Separated 'For Several Months'". People. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  46. ^ a b "Scoop – Vol. 76 No. 2". People. July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  47. ^ "David Duchovny's Sex Rehab Not Because Of Affair: Report". Huffington Post. February 10, 2008.
  48. ^ "Duchovny enters rehab for sex addiction". MSNBC. August 28, 2008.
  49. ^ "The Ex Files: David Duchovny Sues Paper over Affair Story". TV Guide. October 21, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  50. ^ Schilling, Dave (February 5, 2016). "David Duchovny: 'I can't play Mulder the way I did. That would be obscene'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  51. ^ Leon, Anya (August 9, 2014). "David Duchovny and Téa Leoni Are Divorcing". People. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  52. ^ "Men's Health - Celebrity Fitness - Success Secrets: David Duchovny". June 5, 2010. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  53. ^ Pearce, Garth. "Me and my Motor: David Duchovny".
  54. ^ "David Duchovny Carlos Ghosen Photostream".
  55. ^ To Legend He Goes: A Tale from The Legend of Drizzt: R. A. Salvatore, David Duchovny: 9781501257933: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 1501257935.
  56. ^ Dawn, Randee (May 12, 2015). "David Duchovny excited for 'X-Files' return, 'heavily medicated' for music performance". Today.com. NBC News. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  57. ^ Lynch, Joe (May 6, 2015). "David Duchovny Premieres Self-Penned 'Let It Rain (Acoustic)': Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  58. ^ Legaspi, Althea (January 4, 2018). "David Duchovny Details New Album 'Every Third Thought'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  59. ^ David Duchovny finds footing with third album 'Gestureland': 'I'm not terrified and ashamed'
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