There are a few actors/actresses out there that have been involved in a project for so long, that it is hard to picture them as any other character. David Duchovny (as Special Agent Fox Mulder), for me at least, is one of those actors. Born in New York in August 9, 1960, David Duchovny led a somewhat privileged childhood, having attended New York’s Collegiate School, a prep school for boys that the likes of John F. Kennedy Jr. also attended. Later, he received a degree in English Literature from Princeton University at the age of 22. Following that, Duchovny received his masters degree from Yale, and began to study for his doctorate degree. It was at this time, though, that Duchovny first started acting, and eventually gave up on studying at Yale to appear in off-Broadway plays in New York.
After a few years of these plays, Duchovny appeared in a commercial for Lowenbrau Beer, in 1987. From there, larger opportunities opened to Duchovny, and his debut on the big screen was made in the movie Working Girl. Soon after that, Duchovny played a transvestite DEA agent in the TV series Twin Peaks. Other early notable roles included Randy from the movie The Rapture, and Jake from the Showtime TV series Red Shoe Diaries. It wasn't until 1993 that Duchovny would play as his most memorable role, in the TV series The X-Files.
The popularity and success of The X-Files vastly surpassed the expectations of many having survived for as many seasons as it did. Personally, though, I felt that the overall quality in the show dropped when Duchovny decided to leave, to be "replaced" by Robert Patrick. While he was involved with the series though, Duchovny's role wasn't restricted to that of an actor, he actually co/wrote many episodes, adding his own touch to the series. Another large change in the series came from Duchovny, as it was due to his insistence that the set of the show was moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles. As shooting The X-Files occupied Duchovnys time (somewhere around 40 weeks a year), he had little time to act in movies, well, except for The X-Files Movie, that is.
In 1998 David Duchovny married the actress Tea Leoni, star of the Naked Truth. Duchovny is currently living in California with his wife and two kids. As I said earlier though, I will personally always remember or identify David Duchovny as Fox Mulder. It was as that character that I watched him for years and years, every Sunday night.
Filmography
Recently, David Duchovny has also lent his voice to video game characters. The earliest being himself in The X-Files game (Playstation), and the latest as agent XIII, in the game XIII (Gamecube, Playstation 2, and XBOX).
While I did research for this write up, I happened upon an entirely new and different (to me) kind of David Duchovny fan site - the Estrogen Brigade site. So, if that's your kind of thing, you can enjoy David Duchovny in a wholly different way. Just thought I'd let you know.
Sources:
http://us.store-directory.org/dvd/actor/David+Duchovny.html
http://www.celebrity1000.com/celebritysites/male/davidduchovny/