Background:

"I get tired of people asking if I believe in what's presented on the show. They don't ask the guys on 'E.R.' if they believe in euthanasia." David Duchovny.

First appearing in the 1988 film Working Girl, David Duchovny later garnered widespread recognition for portraying the Golden Globe-winning role of Special Agent Fox William Mulder (1993-2001, 2002) on Fox’s cult supernatural series “The X-Files” (and its film version with the same title in 1998). He also had acted on motion pictures, in films like Beethoven (1992), Chaplin (1992), Kalifornia (1993), Playing God (1997), Full Frontal (2002) and Connie and Carla (2004). The actor who made his writing and directional debut with the drama film House of D (2004, he also starred) will soon be seen in the upcoming films The TV Set and The Secret.

6’ tall, brown-haired and hazel-eyed David Duchovny was chosen as one of People (USA) magazine’s “The 50 Most Beautiful People in The World” in 1996. The husband of actress Tea Leoni, Duchovny was related to several actresses, including Sheryl Lee (born on April 22, 1967), Perrey Reeves (together from 1993 to 1995), Winona Ryder (born on October 29, 1971; rumored dating in 1996) and singer Lisa Loeb (singer; born on March 11, 1968; dated in 1990).


House of D

Childhood and Family:

"I'm half Jewish, half Scottish. It's hard for me to buy anything." David Duchovny.

The son of Brooklyn-born Jewish writer Amram Duchovny (publicist for the American Jewish Committee; divorced in 1971; died on August 23, 2003 from heart disease) and Scottish-born teacher Margaret Duchovny (taught at Grace Church School in New York City), David William Duchovny was born on August 7, 1960 in New York, New York. His siblings are younger sister Laurie Duchovny, older brother Daniel Duchovny (actor) and stepbrother Jonathan Sahula.

Duchovny (means “spiritual” in Russian) attended Collegiate Prep. During this time, he worked as a delivery boy for butchery and as a lifeguard on Fire Island in the summers. He studied English Literature and earned B.A from Princeton University, New Jersey in 1982. He then took Master degree in English Literature at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut and graduated in 1987. While working on his PhD, Duchovny taught English at Yale and became involved in acting. He later dropped his doctoral studies to pursue acting full time.

On May 6, 1997, Duchovny married actress Tea Leoni (born on February 25, 1966). They have two kids: daughter Madelaine West Duchovny (born on April 24, 1999) and son Kid Duchovny (born on June 15, 2002). David Duchovny is a vegetarian who played scholarship-level basketball during some of his high school and college career. With his family, Duchovny makes home in Malibu, California. However, they reportedly will leave the idyllic area following Britney Spears’ moving into a house nearby with husband Kevin Federline, which draws paparazzi photographers.


The X-Files

Career:

"I'm frightened by the possibilities of my own lack of talent." David Duchovny.

During his study at Yale, David Duchovny began commuting to New York to study acting and was soon performing in off-Broadway productions. After abandoning his doctoral studies, Duchovny made his big screen debut appearance as Melanie Griffith's birthday party friend in Mike Nichols' romantic comedy Working Girl (1988, also starring Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver). H emade his first film with writer/director Henry Jaglom in the drama comedy New Year's Day (1989), along with Maggie Jakobson, Gwen Welles, Melanie Winter and Henry Jaglom. That same year, Duchovny decided to relocate to New York to pursue acting career more seriously.

In the Big Apple, Duchovny joined the cast of ABC's series "Twin Peaks,” playing cross-dressing DEA agent Dennis/Denise Bryson (December 1990-January 1991) and appeared in 1990 films Denial and Bad Influence. He won his first leading role opposite Daphna Kastner in Bashar Shbib's romantic comedy Julia Has Two Lovers and followed it up with a supporting role in writer-director Michael Tolkin's apocalyptic tale about the universal fear of the unknown, The Rapture (starring Mimi Rogers, both in 1991). He was cast in films like Stephen Herek's comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991, starring Christina Applegate), John Mackenzie's biopic based on Stephen Davis' play, Ruby (1992, starring Danny Aiello) and Brian Levant's family comedy Beethoven (1992, as a greedy yuppie).

From 1992 to 1999, Duchovny narrated and directed several episodes the Showtime series "The Red Shoe Diaries," a romantic drama show about a man who wants to understand the secret life of his late fiancée by entering other women's diaries. During that time, he played roles in actor-writer-director Henry Jaglom's drama Venice/Venice (1992), Sir Richard Attenborough's biographical drama adopted from David Robinson and Charles Chaplin's book, Chaplin (1992, starring Robert Downey Jr., Duchovny played cameraman Rollie Totheroh) and portrayed Michelle Forbes' boyfriend, a journalist researching serial killers, in Dominic Sena's crime thriller Kalifornia (1993, alongside Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis).

Duchovny began climbing to prominence in 1993 when he snagged the role of the believer FBI special agent Fox William Mulder (1993-2001, 2002), who investigates the strange and unexplained cases alongside Gillian Anderson, who played the skeptic agent Dana Scully, on Fox's paranormal series "The X-Files." The role won Duchovny a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Leading Role--Drama Series or Television Movie. Duchovny also reprised his role in its film version with the same title in 1998, helmed by Rob Bowman. Being asked about the role that helped catapult his name toward spotlight, Duchovny described, "It's pretty workaday, people don't seem to realize: You get up, you take a shower, you read the paper, you play Mulder."

While working on the long-running series, Duchovny hosted the NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" in May of 1995 and returned to the big screen with a starring role as famed Los Angeles surgeon Dr Eugene Sands in Andy Wilson's crime thriller Playing God (1997, costarring with Timothy Hutton). On the small screen, Duchovny voiced Mulder for an episode of Fox's animated "The Simpsons" (aired on January 12, 1997) and spoofed his image and Sharon Stone's famous scene in the film Basic Instinct in the final episode of HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show" in 1998, which earned Duchovny an American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series. He also hosted the "Saturday Night Live" show for the second time, in May of 1998.

Entering the new century, Duchovny reunited with Minnie Driver, playing recently widowed architectural engineer Bob Rueland, in Bonnie Hunt's romantic comedy Return to Me (2000) and teamed with Julianne Moore and Orlando Jones in Ivan Reitman's sci-fi comedy Evolution (2001), playing community college science professor Dr. Ira Krane. He joined the cast member of actor-director Ben Stiller’s comedy Zoolander (2001), starred as the big time film producer Bill/Gus in writer-director Steven Soderbergh's low-budget ensemble romantic comedy Full Frontal (2002, with Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood, Brad Pitt, David Hyde Pierce, Catherine Keener and Terence Stamp). TV viewers watched Duchovny guest starred as Johnny Volcano on two episodes of the series "Life with Bonnie," which gave him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series. Back on the silver screen, Duchovny played a nice guy who falls for Nia Vardalos' Connie in Michael Lembeck's Connie and Carla (2004, also starring Toni Collette).

Duchovny made his writing and directional debut in 2004, with the drama film House of D, in which he also starred as Tom Warshaw, an American artist living a bohemian existence in Paris who returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends. The film, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, also costarring real-wife Tea Leoni, Erykah Badu and Robin Williams. The following year, Duchovny costarred as Julianne Moore's husband, in writer-director Bart Freundlich's romantic comedy Trust the Man (also with Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal). He is currently on set and will soon complete his upcoming films, writer-director Jake Kasdan's comedy The TV Set (alongside Sigourney Weaver) and Vincent Perez' adaptation of Keigo Higashino's novel, the supernatural drama The Secret (with Olivia Thirlby and Lili Taylor).

"I've always been overly concerned about what people think which has resulted in a lot of inner turmoil. I try not to give a damn but inside I'm a huge ball of worry." David Duchovny.


Awards:

• American Comedy: Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series, The Larry Sanders Show, 1999
• TV Guide: Actor in a Drama Series, The X-Files, 1999
• Aftonbladet TV Prize (Sweden): Best Foreign TV Personality - Male (1997)
• Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Leading Role--Drama Series or Television Movie, The X-Files, 1997
• Golden Satellite: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama, The X-Files, 1997
• National Television: Most Popular Actor for The X-Files, 1996
• Universe Reader's Choice: Best Actor in a Genre TV Series, The X-Files, 1995