Why David still watches the pennies

DAVID DUCHOVNY has been described as the thinking woman’s pin-up - and it’s not hard to see why.

The X-Files star came from an academic background, achieving a degree at Princeton University and a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale.

It was only after being cast in a beer commercial that he considered taking up acting for a living.

Now a household name thanks to his role as agent Fox Mulder in The X-Files, David has recently signed a multi-million-dollar deal for an eighth series.

His latest role, in the film Return To Me, sees a softer side to his nature as he plays a widower who, by a strange twist of fate, ends up dating the woman who was saved when his wife’s heart was used in a transplant op.

David (39), who lives with actress wife Tea Leoni and his one-year-old daughter Madeleine West, recently visited Edinburgh for the UK premiere of the film.

He talked to Alison Maloney about romance, fatherhood and his Scottish background.

WHAT are your Scottish roots? My mother is Scottish, from Whitehills, north of Aberdeen. I grew up having a cup of tea every night before bed. People tell me there’s caffeine in tea, but it never stopped me sleeping. If I have a cup of coffee at that time I’m up all night.

DID you visit Scotland a lot when you were a child? We came over twice --once when I was four and once when I was 10. We crossed on a liner when I was four, though I don’t remember it. I had my 10th birthday in the Hebrides and it was beautiful. I can remember the weather changing dramatically and seeing seals. It was a beautiful island called Erraid, near Mull, owned by a man who worked with my uncle.

He also owned all the little outcroppings around the island. My brother, who was four years older, convinced me he was going to give me an island for my birthday. I was so excited because at 10 the idea of being a landowner, even if it was little more than a pebble in the Hebrides, was so exciting. Then my birthday came and we had a celebration. I was ready to receive my island --and he gave me 10 shillings!

HOW did the Scottish influence affect you? My mother was not only Scottish but she was raised straight after the Depression --she lived through World War 2 and her father had fought in World War 1. She has values born out of hard struggle. I’m sure as we speak she’s putting the soap from the hotel in her handbag! It’s funny, but I am very happy I was raised that way. She didn’t have any money growing up and there’s a certain pride in not having any money, and a distrust of people who have it.

DO you find it hard to enjoy your wealth? My mother has never got over the fear of being penniless and to a certain extent it’s been instilled in me. When I made some money, the first thing I did was put it away. You’re always saving for that rainy day.

My dad’s Jewish so I never stood a chance. My wife, on the other hand, really enjoys money. That’s just something I’m not able to do. Tea likes to play the stock market. I just worry about whether I have enough for lunch!

WHAT’S home life like? It’s nice, because being an actor you get more attention than you want. At home, I get the sort of attention that everybody should have, but it’s also good to be able to focus more of my attention on my wife and my daughter.

David with his actress wife Tea Leoni. He wants to spend less time working to be with Tea and their daughter Madeleine West.

ARE you a nappy- changing dad? I do it, but I admit I’m slow to volunteer. There’s a certain look my wife gives me which says, --I’ve done the last five--, so I end up changing one in six.

WHERE did Madeleine’s second name come from? West is a family name of my wife’s but it’s actually what we call her. I had a tattoo done on my ankle about six months ago which is a compass with West spelled out. The woman in the parlour I went to told me she doesn’t do tattoos with names of girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands or wives --only tattoos with names of parents or children, because they are constant. West is the fixed point in my life and I look forward to the day when she can read my ankle.

ARE you romantic? Yes. I pride myself on knowing the perfect gift for the person I love, really thinking hard about what to give her instead of going out and buying the most expensive thing I can find. I really enjoy that part of giving.

Tea has a great singing voice, although she doesn’t believe it. For her birthday a couple of years I rented out a recording studio and a band and I took her to the studio, pushed her in there and said, --You’re recording four songs today. --Even though she hated me at the time for putting her on the spot, it was one of the best nights of her life.

WHAT attracted you to to do Return To Me? It sounds a very showbiz story but I was sitting next to George Clooney on a flight from New York to Los Angeles and we got talking. He knows Bonnie Hunt, the film’s director, and asked if I’d read her script. I’d worked with Bonnie in Beethoven in 1991 and she even came to my wedding reception. As soon as I landed I called my manager and said, "Get me Bonnie Hunt’s script - pronto." I read it and loved it. Then I called her and said, "I want to be in your movie. Why did I have to hear about it from George Clooney?" I choose to think that Bonnie didn’t want to impose upon our friendship, just in case I wasn’t interested. Of course, maybe she just didn’t want me!

WOULD you like to move away from The X-Files? I’ve never been afraid being typecast, but the danger was that it was a 10-month-a-year job and I was never able to do anything else. The only reason I could do Return To Me was that it fell in the two-month break last year, so I worked the full 12 months and went back to doing The X-Files three days after we finished filming. In the last seven years I’ve worked non-stop and only done two films apart from The X-Files. I was able to work more free time into my contract this year. I’m not tired of the show, but I need time to spend raising my child as well as doing other things.

IS it true that you are blind in one eye? I had an eye injury at college and my vision in one eye is lessened, but not defunct. The muscle that contracts my pupil was ripped so sometimes, if I’m feeling vain and I want to make my pupils the same size, I have to use drops.