From 'X-Files' to comic film
'Evolution': David Duchovny's adaptable
By NANCY MILLS
Funny,
He's Not Like Mulder
Hey, David's
funny," says a surprised moviegoer after a screening of the new Ivan Reitman
comedy, "Evolution."
I am a funny guy, David Duchovny pleads.
Really. Funny.
It was alien-chasing FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder of "The X-Files" who was
the humorless stiff.
Duchovny has always been funny, he says. He just has not had much of
a chance to show it.
Now, he is finally catching his comedy break in "Evolution," which opens
Friday.
 |
| David Duchovny stars in
'Evolution.' |
Even though he played a transvestite on "Twin Peaks," flirted with Garry
Shandling on "The Larry Sanders Show" and romanced Minnie Driver in the comedy
"Return to Me," his fans have had trouble getting past the unsmiling countenance
of Agent Mulder.
Eight years is a long time to be linked with a character — he will not be
returning to the series next fall — and as Duchovny says with a sigh, "'The
X-Files' obliterated everything that came before."
And during.
The trick now is to get to "after" as quickly as possible.
Though "Evolution" features aliens, it also shows a goofy side of Duchovny
that only his wife, Tea Leoni, and their 2-year-old daughter, Madelaine,
normally get to see.
As Ira Kane, an Arizona college professor, Duchovny discovers
extraterrestrial life inside a meteor that crashes in the nearby desert. He and
fellow professor Orlando Jones try to keep the news to themselves while doing
research.
But the aliens rapidly start evolving, and the government steps in and bars
the professors from the site.
An Unexpected Laugh
"I know the government," Kane says at one point. "Don't trust them."
"That line got a huge laugh, and it wasn't supposed to," complains Duchovny.
"I don't go around thinking I am Mulder," he says. "I don't think about
Mulder at all. I wouldn't like to just get laughs because I'm referring to an
image of mine."
He says he would rather get those laughs by pulling down his pants and
mooning the government officials, as he and Jones do while being forced off the
research site.
"It seemed appropriate," Duchovny, 40, says of the ad-libbed moon shot. "If
you've seen my early work ["New Year's Day," "Julia Has Two Lovers"], you've
seen my butt plenty."
Reitman says he sought out Duchovny for the role because of his sense of
humor.
"I got to know David before he was in 'The X-Files.' through his work in
'Beethoven,' which I produced," the director says. "I thought, 'Here's a guy
who's really smart, attractive and funny.' And then he gets this job on TV where
he doesn't get to smile for eight years."
Duchovny is obviously ready to say goodbye to Mulder. But if he was not
always happy with the show — at one point suing the production company, 20th
Century Fox, over his compensation — he now talks about it fondly.
"I love Mulder, and I love playing him," Duchovny says "It's a unique show
and part of the culture. I'll always be proud of that work. Maybe I'd do a
second 'X-Files' movie. I'd have to like the script."
As for speculation that he might make guest appearances during the upcoming
season, Duchovny is adamant: "After eight years, I can't justify it
creatively."
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| The character that made
Duchovny famous made fans believe he was a humorless
stiff. |
Duchovny says though the show might have three or four more years of life to
it, he needs to get out of the "comfort zone" and take some chances.
That's the reason he admires Julianna Margulies, who turned down a $27
million deal that would have kept her on "ER."
"Obviously, she made the decision that money is secondary to her creative
life," he says. "Instead of applauding her, people say, 'You idiot!' But she's
the role model, not the guy who re-ups for a ninth year."
So Duchovny, who has completed a role in Ben Stiller's upcoming "Zoolander,"
is writing scripts and hoping to direct again.
"I loved directing more than anything," he says of the two "X-Files" episodes
he brought to the screen. "I was fully involved and terrified — all the things I
like."
Wherever he goes from here, Duchovny can thank the series for riches beyond
his imagination, and a security for which he was once desperate. "I didn't grow
up with money," says Duchovny. "I needed security. I was afraid I'd end up
destitute."
Duchovny was working on a Ph.D. in English literature at Yale when he decided
to follow his muse as an actor.
"When I started acting at 26, I was living like a high-schooler — no income,
lots of rejection," he said. "I felt like I'd made a huge mistake ... but
eventually I realized nothing is wasted."
Acting, he says, loosened him up.
"As a boy, I didn't get in trouble that much. I was sneaky. I was the guy who
elbowed the next guy and said, 'Wouldn't it be funny if you did this?' Now I'm
the guy who makes a fool of himself."
