David Duchovny Biography

David William Duchovny (born August 7, 1960) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for playing Fox Mulder on The X-Files and Hank Moody on Californication, both of which have earned him Golden Globe awards.

Early life

Duchovny was born in New York City, New York. He is the son of Margaret "Meg" (née Miller), a school administrator and teacher, and Amram "Ami" Ducovny (1927"2003), a writer and publicist who worked for the American Jewish Committee. His father was Jewish, from a family that immigrated from Poland and Ukraine. His mother is a Lutheran emigrant from Aberdeen, Scotland. His father dropped the h in his last name to avoid the sort of mispronunciations he encountered while serving in the Army.

Education

Duchovny attended Grace Church School and The Collegiate School For Boys; both are in Manhattan. He graduated from Princeton University in 1982 with a B.A. in English Literature. He was a member of the 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. Duchovny played a season of junior varsity basketball as a shooting guard and centerfield for the varsity baseball team.

He received a Master of Arts in English Literature from Yale University and subsequently began work on a Ph.D. that remains unfinished. The title of his uncompleted doctoral thesis was Magic and Technology in Contemporary Poetry and Prose. At Yale, he was a student of popular literary critic Harold Bloom.

Career

Duchovny appeared in an advertisement for Löwenbräu beer in 1987. He appears in two scenes in Working Girl (1988). He had a recurring role as a transvestite DEA agent on the series Twin Peaks and played the narrator/host in the long-running Showtime erotica/softcore 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 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. The show emerged as a cult hit and quickly became one of The Fox Network's first major hits. 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 motion picture that continued the X-Files storyline, titled The X-Files: Fight the Future. He remained with the series until quitting in 2001, partly because of a contract dispute that occurred after season seven finished filming. 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 Fox Mulder character in an episode of The Simpsons, titled The Springfield Files. Duchovny was nominated for four Emmy Awards.

Duchovny caused controversy when it became public that he was the primary reason for which filming of The X-Files series was moved 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; he joked, "Vancouver is a very nice place, if you like 400 inches of rainfall a day" (Duchovny's character Fox 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." During the run of The X-Files, he also made several guest appearances in the cult TV satire The Larry Sanders Show, playing himself, but adding a strong attraction 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 has guest hosted Saturday Night Live twice (May 13, 1995 and May 9, 1998). Both shows were season finales. 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 played a hand model in the Ben Stiller comedy, Zoolander. He also played the role of Ira Kane in the movie Evolution alongside Seann William Scott that same year. 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 "XIII" in the 2003 video game XIII. In 2003 Duchovny starred in the 84th 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, 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. The film starred Anton Yelchin, Robin Williams, and Duchovny's wife Téa Leoni in a coming-of-age tale. It received mostly poor reviews and little box office success. Duchovny also directed an episode of Bones (Episode 211, "Judas on a Pole") during its second season.

Duchovny currently plays Hank Moody, a troubled novelist in Showtime's series Californication. The portrayal landed him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical in 2007.

According to X-Files creator Chris Carter, Duchovny turned out to be one of the best-read people he knew. After getting the role, Duchovny thought the show wouldn't last for long or that it wouldn't make as much impact as it did. Executive producer Frank Spotnitz called portraying actor Duchovny "amazingly smart". He further stated that Duchovny was behind some of the main characteristic ideas behind Mulder.

Personal life

Duchovny married actress Téa Leoni on May 6, 1997. In April 1999, Leoni gave birth to a daughter, Madelaine West Duchovny. Their second child, a son, Kyd Miller Duchovny, was born in June 2002. Duchovny is a former vegetarian and, as of 2007, is a pescetarian.

On August 28, 2008, Duchovny announced that he had checked himself into a rehabilitation facility for treating sex addiction. On October 15, 2008, Duchovny's and Leoni's representatives issued a statement revealing they had separated several months earlier. A week later, Duchovny's lawyer said that he plans to sue the Daily Mail over an article it ran that claimed he had an affair with Hungarian tennis instructor Edit Pakay while still married to Leoni, a claim that Duchovny has denied. On November 15, 2008, the Daily Mail retracted their claims. After getting back together, Duchovny and Leoni once again split on June 29, 2011.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Working Girl	Tess's friend
1989	New Year's Day	Billy
1990	Denial	John
1990	Bad Influence	Club goer
1991	Julia Has Two Lovers	Daniel
1991	Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead	Bruce
1991	The Rapture	Randy
1992	Ruby	Officer Tippit
1992	Beethoven	Brad
1992	Venice/Venice	Dylan
1992	Chaplin	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
2001	Zoolander	JP Prewitt
2002	Full Frontal	Bill / Gus
2004	Connie and Carla	Jeff
2004	House of D	Tom Warshaw	Writer, director
2005	Trust the Man	Tom
2006	Queer Duck: the Movie	Tiny Jesus
2006	The TV Set	Mike Klein
2007	Things We Lost in the Fire	Brian Burke
2007	The Secret	Dr. Benjamin Marris
2007	Quantum Hoops	Narrator
2008	The X-Files: I Want to Believe	FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder
2009	The Joneses	Steve Jones
2012	Goats	The Goat Man
2013	Phantom	Bruni	completed
2013	Louder Than Words	John Fareri	post-production
2013	Relative Insanity	Trent	pre-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990"1991	Twin Peaks	DEA Agent Denise/Dennis Bryson	3 episodes
1992	Baby Snatcher	David Anderson	Television movie
1992"1997	Red Shoe Diaries	Jake Winters	10 episodes
1993"2002	The X-Files	FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder	176 episodes
1995"1998	Saturday Night Live	Himself	2 episodes
1996	Space: Above and Beyond	Handsome Alvin	Episode: "R&R"
1995"1996	The Larry Sanders Show	Himself	2 episodes
1997	The Simpsons	FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder	Episode: "The Springfield Files"
1997	Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man	Richard	Episode: "The Girls of Route Canal"
2002	Life with Bonnie	Johnny Volcano	2 episodes
2003	Sex and the City	Jeremy	Episode: "Boy, Interrupted"
2007"present	Californication	Hank Moody	72 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1995	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Television Performer	The X-Files
1995	Sci-Fi Universe	Best Actor in a TV Series	The X-Files
1995	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series	The X-Files
1996	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Drama	The X-Files
1996	National TV Awards	Most Popular Actor	The X-Files
1996	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Television Performer	The X-Files
1996	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1997	Aftonbladet TV Prize	Best Foreign TV Personality	The X-Files
1997	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Drama	The X-Files
1997	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Television Performer	The X-Files
1997	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	The Larry Sanders Show
1997	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1997	Satellite Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Drama	The X-Files
1997	Saturn Awards	Best Actor on Television	The X-Files
1997	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1997	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1997	Television Critic Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama	The X-Files
1998	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Drama	The X-Files
1998	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Television Performer	The X-Files
1998	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1998	Satellite Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Drama	The X-Files
1998	Saturn Awards	Best Actor on Television	The X-Files
1998	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1998	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1999	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a Television Series	The Larry Sanders Show
1999	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Drama	The X-Files
1999	Saturn Awards	Best Actor on Television	The X-Files
1999	Saturn Awards	Best Actor (film)	The X-Files
1999	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1999	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The X-Files
1999	TV Guide Award	Best Actor	The X-Files
2000	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Television Friends (with Gillian Anderson)	The X-Files
2000	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	The X-Files
2000	TV Guide Award	Best Actor	The X-Files
2003	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Life with Bonnie
2008	BAFTA Awards	Best International	Californication
2008	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Californication
2008	Satellite Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Californication
2009	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Californication
2009	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Californication
2010	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Californication
2010	PGA Awards	Outstanding Producer	Californication
2012	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor " Television Series Musical or Comedy	Californication