The on-set tension between The X-Files stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson has been well documented, and was very different from the tension between their FBI agent characters in the sci-fi series. In a new episode of Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast, the actor sat down for an in-depth chat with his former co-star, and now friend, Anderson, and, of course, the subject of their relationship ups and downs was discussed.

Touching on the way their on-screen and off-screen relationships differed so incredibly, they said:

David Duchovny:
The part of this conversation that is the trickiest part for me is where I guess I would talk about like my failure of friendship or my failure of companionship or just co-starring. There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off camera. There was a lot of tension which didn’t matter, apparently for the work because we’re both f–king crazy, I guess, that we could just go out there and do what we needed to do.

Gillian Anderson:
It’s crazy that we were able to present on camera the various feelings and emotions and attraction and all that kind of stuff, but then not speak to each other for weeks at a time. [Laughs]

Duchovny explained that a big part of the problem was the huge amount of interest that was put on the show, propelling both stars into a whirlwind of press interest and celebrity status that they were ill-prepared for at the time. He went on:

“I could’ve handled myself better. And, as you know, we went through a crazing making-of process with this thing. I was pretty inexperienced, you were really inexperienced. It’s hard to imagine with the Internet now, but it was a global phenomenon before the internet, and we’re just scurrying, trying to figure out who we are, and you’re a little younger than me, too. You’re very young, at least I’m in my 30s, you’re in your 20s. Just turned your world upside down. I don’t want to speak for you, but for me, I was trying to figure out who I am in all this.
What’s my part in this? I wanted to take advantage of it, like how do I make this into my career? And I quit the show like seven years later. I never apologized to you for that. I don’t know that I even talked to you about it. Then you said you weren’t going to do the show anymore, like the last time we did it, and I know that hurt my feelings… I was like, ‘Oh she’s quitting me, she doesn’t like working with me anymore.'”

The Success of ‘The X-Files’ Relied on Both Stars

While there are several shows that have gone on without their lead actors, for a variety of reasons, The X-Files was never better than when Duchovny and Anderson were both on board. There were times when Anderson’s Dana Scully went missing in action after being “abducted,” and then Duchovny’s Fox Mulder left the show for a number of seasons. Reminiscing on the reason that things occasionally fell apart, the pair explained how one of the biggest failures they endured was to not use the shared experience they were going through to help each other through their times of doubt.

Duchovny:
This is kind of about failure. We missed a chance…because you’re the only person that knows what I was going through and I’m the only person that knows what you’re going through, and we didn’t make use of that…There are things that you do miss, if you don’t try to stand up and be vulnerable and say, “What it’s like for you?” I know that I never asked that.

Anderson:
To your point about your ending. We never talked about it. I don’t think I ever blamed you… I don’t think I was upset. I mean, for me, at that time, [I thought], can I [quit] too? I thought, well then we’re both going to because clearly I can’t go on without him, so surely I’ll be able to. Then they started talking about, “Well, if you stay on, you can actually make some good money.”

Release Date September 10, 1993 Main Genre Sci-Fi Seasons 11 Creator Chris Carter Expand