The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder
May 1995 (abridged transcript)
Tom Snyder: DD stars in one of the most
talked about t.v. programs, the X-files, Friday night on Fox. It was called
a cult hit, but when it won a Golden Globe award for best drama, the cult
favorite became a main stream hit. Before you [referring to DD] came on here,
we got 9 pages from people who follow the X-Files on the internet. We have
the DDEB, reports on DD's pets, restaurant habits, personal life, clothes,
everything. Do you follow what goes on on the internet?
David Duchovny: I'm the main supplier
of information for those people, obviously. I follow some of it. They send
me flowers, if they know where I am going, and things like that. I'm just
flattered by the whole thing. I don't know the intricacies of the information
and things like that.
TS: But have you gone on-line with these
people?
DD: I did it once, very quickly, but
it was kind of like going into a room and everyone saying hello at once and
that was the depth of the conversation. It was just "Hi David, Hi David,
Hi David," and then I had to go and it was, "Bye David, Bye David, Bye David."
So that it ended up in the fact [FAQ?] sheet, of course, that David liked
to say "Hi and Bye."
TS: But there were no in-depth questions
about how you crafted the character of Mulder or how the show came to be?
DD: No, thank goodness because there
was not much crafting done.
TS: I have not seen you on too many
interviews like this. Do you avoid it as a matter of course or it is just
that it has not come up?
DD: No, I have done a few talk shows,
but no shows where I could sit and have a conversation. There is part of
me that would avoid it because you know there is something scary about revealing
too much about yourself in a situation like this.
TS: How so?
DD: I think on a talk show you are
entertainment, meant to be a funny person. They expect that, that is the
entertainment. You don't actually have to give of yourself. You don't have
to give and take in a conversation with another human being. It is a more
frightening proposition [to do this].
TS: Let me ask you about what the X-files
will do to the rest of TV. How many shows of the 1995-96 season will try
to emulate what you did because of the show's great word of mouth and success?
DD: Right, right. I think that some people's
jobs are to follow trends and try to capitalize on them. However, I do not
think there is a science fiction trend or anything like that. I think the
X-Files is a good show and you have to make a good show to duplicate it.
Just by making a show science fiction is not going to duplicate it.
TS: No. But if they try to replicate
it and don't do it as well, does it lessen the quality of what you have done?
DD: No. It's like, "Is 'The Rutles' less
than the Beatles?", not that we're the Beatles, but it's flattering. Hopefully,
it will make us seem that much better. Maybe they'll say that such shows
are faux X-Files or whatever.
TS: I know you pursued your education
with diligence, majoring in English and working toward getting a PhD. I have
wondered with actors who pursued education with diligence, how much of it
do you have to set aside to be an actor? Acting is really feeling not thinking,
isn't it?
DD: Right. It's more instinctual. In
fact, it was odd when I first tried to become an actor. I was almost at a
disadvantage because of the many layers of analytical or critical thinking
that I had to throw away. All these muscles that I developed were devalued
and made me a more boring actor more than anything else. The most boring
acting is intellectual, you know? The most exciting acting is instinctual.
In terms of breaking down scripts and story arcs and things like that, however,
my education helped, but not in terms of the heart.
TS:But before you stumbled into acting,
if that is what you did, what were you pursuing in English? What was your
goal?
DD:I wanted to write. I was getting a
PhD because I guess I did not have the guts to do it on my own . I was going
to be in an academic environment, read the best books, write about them,
and maybe on my spare time do some of my own writing. So that was the plan.
Stay in academia and eventually start to write.
TS: What happened?
DD: I don't know. Well, I was at Yale
and so I saw all those acting students all the time and they seemed to be
having a great time. I wanted to write for stage or screen and I thought
I should find out what kind of dialogue fits, so I started taking acting.
My heart was not involved in what I was doing. The further along that you
get, if your heart is not involved, the harder it is to stay. If you have
the fortune to get out, you should, and I did.
TS: With the series in Canada and your
rigorous schedule 14 hrs day, was it a surprise to you? People not in film
think you have it made. They think that you say a few lines and then go home.
DD: It was very surprising to me. The
problem is that no one wants to hear you complain if you are on a TV show.
I can sit here and say it's hard.
TS: What is the hardest part?
DD: The hardest part is combining the
workman, punching in for 14 hours a day part with the creative, artistic
side. No one says to a painter, "You have to paint 14 hours a day, 10 months
of the year" because a painter would be scribbling stick figures. The problem
for me is to not doing the acting equivalent of stick figures. It's hard
because you get empty. You are there everyday and don't get a chance to
rejuvenate. There are days when I go home and know I didn't do well, but
I have to forgive myself because I know I am human.
TS: We are going to the phones now.
TS: Hello.
Caller Theresa from New Haven, MI: I
was wondering if you have any movies coming up or if you plan on doing any?
DD: I would love to, but the hiatus was
only 7-8 weeks, so it was not possible to do a movie. Next year I hope to
do one. Nothing for me except the X-Files for the next little while.
TS: Well, remember that you do something
for cable called the Red Shoe Diaries ("RSD"). He has a full plate now.
DD: Yes. There is an extensive video
collection of my work, but you'd have to find a really good video store to
find the kind of low budget things that I've done.
Caller: I have some. "Baby snatcher."
DD: Hold on. That's enough. You don't
want to get into it.
TS: "Baby snatcher"?
DD: It was just a side deal.
TS: What was the title?
Caller: "Baby snatcher."
DD: Don't make her say it 4 times.
TS: If she does, she wins the car. [pause].
The thrill of hosting Saturday Night Live. Wow.
DD: Yeah. There was nothing like it.
The whole week before I basically didn't eat. Because I thought it would
not come together. You don't think it will come together. There's nothing
there until 9:30 when you are putting together the final show. You think
you will be nervous, but you realize that your entire human energy is focused
on the show.
TS: What about when they announce your
name?
DD: You are back there behind the door
and you are testing the knobs to make sure that they will open. It's just
pure. You just get filled up. It's an amazing feeling.
TS: Do they want you to be funny?
DD: Yeah, they kind of write for you
or to you. It helps if you are funny. That is kind of what the show is about.
It's kind of like being with your relatives, "Do you do any imitations, Dave?
Do you do anything funny? Do you do animals? Celebrity impersonations? Do
you dance? You can't? We'll write something for you. We'll make it work.
Can you stand there and look mildly funny?"
TS: Were you pleased?
DD: Yes, I was very pleased. I thought
the show was pretty good and I was really proud of it. I had a great time.
TS: After they had the party?
DD: Yeah.
TS: With the drinks and stuff?
DD: Yeah. It was the last party of the
year.
Caller Jason from Milwaukee, WI: Do you
have the same beliefs as Mulder?
DD: Not necessarily. Certainly not as
passionately. I am more of a "show me" person. I'd believe in UFO's or aliens
if they landed on my head, but that is about as far as it would go.
Caller: Does GA believe what Mulder believes
in real life so that it is kind of vice versa of your characters?
DD: I think she is more open to it. Actually,
we are identical to our characters and for people to believe we were good
actors, we created this hoax that we are the opposite of our characters.
TS: We have a clip of the show.
[Short clip of FM and DS in the forest with umbrellas. Frogs appear to fall
out of the sky onto them. I think it's the episode where the school teacher
is the devil. ]
TS: The RSD appear on cable. You are
on it?
DD: Yeah, right.
TS: It's a character who is bewildered
about what makes women the way they are?
DD: Yes.
TS: It's been described as soft core
romance? Soft core p...p...p...or... [trying not to say the word]
DD: Yes. Soft core pornography.
TS: What happens in RSD?
DD: In the pilot, my fiancee kills herself
and I find her diary. In it she chronicles an affair she had and I am baffled.
In the end, I take out an ad. I ask people with secrets they can't tell to
anyone, to tell them to me, the lonely guy with the dog.
TS: [laughing] Heather in Fort Nelson,
BC: Hello..
DD: Oh, that's where we shoot.
TS: Hello?.
DD: Hi?
TS: Heather in BC, hello?
Caller: Hello?
TS: Hello
Caller: Hello
TS: Yes, hello is good. Can we move on?
Caller: Hello
TS: Yes, you got it, hello
Caller: [giggle]
TS: [laughing]
DD: [laughing]
Caller: OK. I'm here.
TS: OK.
Caller: Hi David. Hello.
DD: Hello.
TS: It's like the computer again, isn't
it?
DD: Yes, deja vu.
TS: Heather, it's time for goodbye.
Caller: No, please I have a question.
[long pause. Laughter in background]
DD: [camera on DD, with look on face
like, "OK, we're waiting."]
TS: Heather, your question, please?
Caller: >Um, I would like to know
if the X Files shows are based on real FBI cases?
DD: I don't think so. That's all I can
say. It's based on stories the writers make up. I'm sure they go off stories
in the paper that they then fictionalize, but they are not based on real
cases, as far as I know. It would be a hell of a lot easier to write, if
they were.
TS: Sure would. There would be a lot
more of them. Bye Heather.
DD: Bye.
TS: We put Heather out of her misery.
[laugh]. On Twin Peaks, you had the transvestite part. Did you enjoy that
role?
DD: Yes. It was a lot of fun. It's not
often that you get to wear a bra, panties, and a dress and get paid for it.
TS: I know. [Laugh]
TS: Did you have to be shaved?
DD: [Laughs.] Yes, I shaved from my mid-thigh
down. It was funny because at the time I swam to stay in shape. I would go
to the gym and shower. I'm sure the guys thought, "Who's the guy in the fur
shorts?"
TS: [laughing] I guess it's been a while
since the beer commercial.
DD: Yep. Yep. I can't say anything more.
TS: You don't need to. I have enjoyed
this more than I can tell you. Thank you for your time. I especially thank
you for your good sense of humor.
DD: You're welcome. My pleasure.
