The X-Files Australian Conne-X-ion
David Duchovny in Australia:
Herald-Sun

Last month we asked readers to find questions for former X-Files and current Evolution star David Duchovny. Here's how he answered the best of them.

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Q.1 : Are actors overpaid? One hears of astronomical amounts being paid to actors that can probably pay off the debts of Third World countries.
George Tsingos, Port Melbourne

D.D : Well, yeah. Of course. What are the most important jobs in the world? The service industry, teaching, government where your're leading. Those should be the highest-paid jobs, but they're not. Acting is not a difficult job. It's not manual labour and yet it does have a lot of entertainment value obviously, so they get paid a lot and that's the way it is. But if it was a perfect world teachers would get paid what actors get paid. I think some actors are more overpaid than others.

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Q2 : It has been widely reported over the years that you dislike being typecast as Fox Mulder. If you had your time again, would you still have auditioned for the role?
Kristy Bozic

D.D : Sure. It's not that I dislike being typecast as Mulder, it;s just that really, aside from Return to Me and Playing God, that's all I've done for the past eight years. But the greatest thing about having been on The X-Files is that, when I first started, I'd done maybe 10 or 11 movies, but I was still pretty green. I was just finding my way, my own particular style as an actor, whatever it is I'm capable of. So having to work eight years, 14 or 15 hours acting every day, was my school. It was where I taught myself how I'm going to be an actor. So aside from any personal or finacial gain, it was really an artistic gain for me, more than anything else.

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Q3 : Do you have any special requests on set?
Harold Potter

D.D : Usually a good vegetarian dish. And comfortable shoes.

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Q4 : What is one of the most embarrassing or foolish things you've done in your career?
Michelle Rose Gatt, St Albans

D.D : You know, the thing about acting that's great is that you don't have to be embarrassed because you're playing a character and that's one of the most attractive things to me about it. For instance, in this movie I pull my pants down and moon somebody. In my life, if I was caught doing that I'd be embarrassed. It's kind of silly, infantile behaviour, but I'm not embarrassed by it in the movie. There have been levels to my happiness at how successful I've been at the part I've tried to play and maybe I've been embarrassed that I wasn't better, but there's never been embarrassment at what I've actually done.

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Q5 : What's the strangest thing you can do with your body?
Katrina Morll, Warrandyte

D.D : I can make my pupils dilate. I can make them bigger and smaller.

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Q6 : What's your greatest fear? Mine's decapitation.
Bronwyn Batten, Warnambool.

D.D : (Laughs) I'm pretty afraid of decapitation myself. I don't know many people who'd say, "That wouldn't be so bad". Well, when I'm doing as much travelling as I'm doing, I don't like flying so much. I get scared up there sometimes. I get scared of being decapitated on an aeroplane. "Are you going to check your head, sir, or will you be carrying it on?"

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Q7 : What was your least favourite episode of The X-Files?
Suzanne Turgeon

D.D : Oh, gosh, it's so mean to bring it up because we worked so hard to make them all good, but the classic one we all made fun of was one called Teso dos Bichos, which was about killer cats. It was just a rotten show. But you know, somebody had to write it and the guy who wrote it still writes for the show. He'll read this and go, "I know, you all hate that one".

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Q8 : If you were selected for a celebrity version of Survivor, which other celebrities would you want involved and do you think you could win?
Donna, Sydney

D.D : I got asked this question yesterday. Twice in Australia now. I'll give you my same answer. I'd want (New Orleans chef) Emeril Lagasse because he could make some good food for us, and Martha Stewart. I'd want people who could make a good home out there. I've thought about whether I could win, but I don't know because I'm not a real good survivalist. I wouldn't be the guy who was indispensable, because he could make fire and drink rain water out of his shoe, who would lead the others to freedom. I feel like psychologically I might do just fine, but I don't have the survival skills. My wife (actor Tea Leoni) would be excellent. She's really good at camping, I'm a city boy. If you had Survivor in the city, like if you popped eight people down in Manhattan, I think I'd better at that game.

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Q9 : Did you feel any animosity from the cast or crew of The X-Files towards you for leaving the show and have the fans respected your decision leave?
Carolyn Dolan, Lota

D.D : I don't seek out what the fans think. It's my impression the fans understand that eight years is a long time and they're appreciative of the show and my contribution to it. The crew totally understands what I'm up to and who I am. It was just sad to have to leave them all. I think that it's fortunate in terms of that the show is going to continue another year. Not that the crew wouldn't find other work on other shows, but at least I wasn't responsible for their unemployment.

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Q10 : You have appeared in some very revealing scenes in your early movies and also in a photo shoot wearing nothing but a teacup...

D.D : (Interrupts) I like to call it a mug.

...When your daughter gets old enough to see them and asks, "Daddy, why?", what will be your reply?
Dianne Hemley, Carnegie

D.D : I'll say that teacup bought you that nice bicycle. I'd say that's your dad's job, to expose himself in all ways. That's what an actor does. It's exposure on all levels, but the funny thing to me is the kind of questions you get. People don't say, "What's it like to play a murderer, what's it like to play a rapist?" They say, "How could you be naked?"To me nudity is not the most awful thing in the world. My daughter seeing me play Jack the Ripper, that would be hard for her to see. Or seeing me kiss another woman. I think that would be difficult for a kid. But maybe we'll show her the mooning scene because she knows that butts are funny.

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Evolution opens July 12.