David Duchovny on writing his debut novel, Holy Cow [TimeOut, Feb 4]
Best known for playing eccentric characters on The X-Files and Californication (which are both streaming on Netflix), it’s no surprise David Duchovny
has a quirky side. But who knew that the star actually studied English
literature and began a Ph.D. program before focusing on acting? Now he’s
returned to his literary roots by publishing his first book, Holy Cow,
a hilarious allegorical tale about a doomed American dairy cow named
Elsie who decides to move to India. As if you needed another reason to
swing by the bookstore to pick up a copy, we caught up with Duchovny to talk about his writing inspirations and adding “novelist” to his résumé.
“I would rather my child see a pig circumcised than a deer’s mom getting killed”: David Duchovny on his madcap fairy tale “Holy Cow” [Salon, Feb 10]
About Gillian Anderson:
Yeah, it’s a great show.
About The X Files:
Rumor has it that there’s some sort of “X-Files” project in the works?
True,
true. We’re trying to get it done. We’ll see… There’s three big moving
parts: me and Gillian and Chris, and we all have lives and careers and
families and we all have to find a way to get to the same city for a few
months at the same time.
Is it a movie project or a TV project?
It could be either. It’s looking like either at this point.
I
feel like there have been a lot of reboots of fan favorites lately —
“Arrested Development,” “Veronica Mars,” “Twin Peaks” — either via
crowd-funding or just sort of as a response to fan demand. Do you think
that kind of give-the-people-what-they-want attitude to programming is a
good thing?
I think what drove maybe those other shows
to come back was that they were taken off in their prime. I don’t think
anybody would say that about “The X-Files.” “The X-Files” was a huge
show of its day, as opposed to something that was removed from the
schedule in an untimely manner. Discovery is an amazing format, which is
what Chris Carter came up with when he came up with the show and really
ushered in an entire culture of science fiction that is so prevalent in
television and film today. It’s mostly science fiction. “Twilight” is
“X-Files”; all that stuff. Chris was way, way, ahead of his time, so why
not?
Do you think the show will be very different set in the present day?
We’ll
change the pictures of the president in Skinner’s office so it’s no
longer Clinton or Bush… No; I mean, people are people and the
unexplained is the unexplained. I imagine there will be a story line
that feels current, but what makes the show successful is that it deals
in universal and timeless things, I think.
About Twin Peaks:
I’ve heard you said you might be coming back to the “Twin Peaks” reboot as well.
It’s like my greatest hits album or something.
David Duchovny Makes a Moo Point With Weird New Cow Novel [The Daily Beast, Feb 12]
About The X Files and Gillian:
The big news a few weeks ago was that Twin Peaks is coming back. Do you think there will be a similar comeback for The X Files?
We’re
talking about it. Everybody’s circling, probably closer than we have in
years. Gillian Anderson, Chris Carter, and I have been talking about
trying to get it together and to Fox about when and where. It’s
difficult because there are three big moving parts, people that have
careers and lives and live in different places, and so trying to get
them all in the same place for any extended period of time is tough.
Have you and Gillian Anderson exchanged your novels?
No, I wasn’t even aware of her novel until I started doing interviews about this. If she wants me to read it I will.
'Holy Cow,' It's David Duchovny! [On Point with Tom Ashbrook - podcast show, Feb 11]
Golden Globe-winning actor David Duchovny steps off the screen to write a debut novel about a sassy cow.