From InsideDenver.com, July 27, 1999

Truth still out there on Duchovny's future
by Dusty Saunders

HOLLYWOOD -- During its six-season run, The X-Files has been subjected to many comparisons.

But toothpaste?

Listen to David Duchovny

''The X-Files is a TV show. It's a great show. It's serialized. People love it. They understand it.

"It's a brand name. Like Crest."

Duchovny's analogy came after he was asked by critics if the series, entering its seventh season in the fall, could go on without him.

"I'm no longer indispensable. Perhaps I was at one point. Not now.

"But I'd be an idiot to sit here and say, 'Oh my God, it's not going to go on without me.' Of course it would, if the stories were good. If the writers were good. If the directors were good. I'm sure they'd hire a good actor."

The future of The X-Files is as murky as an occasional series script that just doesn't quite work.

Co-star Gillian Anderson is under contract for the next two seasons. Creator Chris Carter has indicated the upcoming TV season will be the last, with the characters moving on to feature films.

"I wouldn't say never about anything," Duchovny says. "But as of right now, my contract is up at the end of the coming season. So I'm living my life as if this will be the last year.

"Still, I don't have a game plan, which may be a mistake. I want to do things that interest me. I'll be looking to write more and direct (He'll be doing both during the coming season of The X-Files).

"I'd love to cut a single, but you know I can't sing. So maybe that's not a good idea. But I want to do a lot of different things."

Fans of The X-Files are well aware that Fox Mulder's sardonic humor shines through even under the most trying circumstances. Such humor surfaces regularly when Duchovny banters with critics.

When a critic asked if he believes in the supernatural, Duchovny replied:

"You've been asleep for five years. Security, get that woman. Do I believe in the supernatural. Yes. ... No!"

Before The X-Files made Duchovny a household TV name, he was the star of The Red Shoe Diaries, Showtime's adult late-night series.

Who are scarier -- fans of The X-Files or The Red Shoe Diaries?

"I love Red Shoe Diaries fans. I love that they have the nerve to actually come up to me and say they are fans of The Red Shoe Diaries."

Duchovny and The X-Files were ignored in last week's Emmy nominations, although Anderson again was honored in the lead actress category.

"Well, I'm really angry," Duchovny said while laughing.

"I don't live and die with the Emmys. I don't see how you can. I vote for them so I know how the voting's done. (A bewildered shake of the head). It's an imperfect thing. It has been great to have been nominated in the past. But they're really not that important."

When told Chris Carter said the recently concluded season was one of the series' strongest, Duchovny deadpanned and said, "What did you expect him to say?"

"Seriously, I thought there were some great shows. And we had some clunkers. We always do.

"We have the kind of show that reaches further, in terms of story and execution, than any other show on television. So when we succeed we're better than any show on television. And when we fail, we can be worse than a lot of pretty bad shows."

Then the inevitable "relationship question:" romance between Scully and Mulder.

"A certain percentage of our fan base is obsessed with our relationship or lack thereof.

"Sometimes there's a romantic hint in the script. Other times there isn't. That happens over a six-year period when you're writing about two characters who work so closely.

"But you know, I couldn't tell you how uninterested I am in all that. I don't mean to be rude when I say that. It's just not interesting to me in any way, shape or form."

In real life, Duchovny has a serious relationship -- wife Téa Leoni.

Asked if the two would ever work on a joint project, Duchovny responded: "We just completed one on April 24. (Leoni gave birth to their first child.)

"We talk about working together. Maybe some day we will. Not now. If I were looking at her objectively as an actress, I would like to work with her before anyone else out there. But when you're married, you have to be extremely careful if you are going to work together.

"Again, it's like an eighth year of The X-Files. I would never say never. Life has a way of offering up things that you never expected -- just like a script from The X-Files."

Dusty Saunders co-hosts the KHOW Radio Media Show, 10 a.m.-noon, Sundays

Saunders, Dusty. July 27, 1999. "Truth still out there on Duchovny's future." InsideDenver.com.