GILLIAN Anderson found fame as a sceptical alien hunter on the X-Files but her discovery of period drama, and small indie film roles have brought her real contentment. When Gillian Anderson arrives for our interview she has to take a moment before we begin. She’s moving house tomorrow and looks distinctly discombobulated. “I just need to put my mind in the zone,” she says with a polite smile. “Too many things going on.” She rests her face in her hands for a few seconds while she composes herself, takes a breath and switches on. Moving house is a stressful busines ... [Continua a leggere]

In your new film, Sister, you're known as "the English Lady". How English do you feel? I feel very English until I'm in America, and then I feel very American. I was always teased at primary school – I was "the yank", even though I had British accent. I would have thought I would feel more like an imposter now, but I don't. I have been in the UK for the past 10 years, but Britain has been such a through-line throughout my life because my parents still had a flat in Haringey, north London, and we used to come back in the summer. During hiatuses from the X-Files I would come back and rent ... [Continua a leggere]

“Sister” tells the story of 12-year-old Simon who lives with his sister in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The two struggle to make ends meet, and Simon takes to stealing ski equipment from wealthy tourists and re-selling it to teens in the valley to make a meager living. The drama was recently honored at the Berlin Film Festival with a special runner-up Silver Bear award. Meier’s first feature film, “Home”, won the Swiss Film Prize for best film in 2009 and a French César nomination for best first film. “Home” was also entere ... [Continua a leggere]

No one, as far as I know, has come to the Berlinale in search of Gillian Anderson, the strawberry-blonde vixen who set millions of hearts aflutter -- and not just male ones -- with her role in the supernaturally beloved ’90s show The X-Files. But Anderson has surprised those of us who love her by showing up -- in small roles, but still -- in two films here, James Marsh’s Shadow Dancer and Ursula Meier’s Sister. In Shadow Dancer, a thriller set in early-‘90s Belfast, she’s a British secret-service officer who squares off against a colleague (played by Clive ... [Continua a leggere]