As Agent Scully in The X Files, investigating paranormal activity was part of her day job. So it's ironic that Gillian Anderson looks like the walking dead in her latest role as the tormented Miss Havisham in the BBC's festive adaptation of Great Expectations. The American actress cuts a ghostly figure as the jilted bride in the Charles Dickens classic. She is sure to satisfy those hankering after a bit of Christmas costume drama. The 43-year-old is no stranger to period drama or Dickens for that matter. She won acclaim for her role as Lady Dedlock in the BBC's 2005 adaptation of Bl ... [Continua a leggere]

Ray Winstone plays the convict Magwitch and David Suchet is Jaggers the lawyer in the three-part period drama which promises to be one of the highlights of the festive schedule. The adaptation “presents the heart and grit of Charles Dickens at his very best”, according to the BBC. Anderson, the American actress who made her name in The X Files, is no stranger to Dickens dramatisations. She won acclaim for her portrayal of Lady Dedlock in the BBC’s Bleak House in 2005. Her performance is sure to be measured against that of Helena Bonham Carter, ... [Continua a leggere]

Gillian Anderson recently sat down with Gold Derby to talk about two of her latest projects, PBS' "Masterpiece" miniseries "Any Human Heart" co-starring Matthew MacFadyen and Tom Hollander, and the Encore miniseries "Moby Dick" win which she stars alongside William Hurt, Ethan Hawke and Donald Sutherland. Both programs are strong contenders for nominations at the upcoming Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. In "Moby Dick," a re-imagining of the Herman Melville classic, Gillian plays Captain Ahab's heretofore little known wife Elizabeth, who until now has been little more than a foo ... [Continua a leggere]

Gillian Anderson has battled alien invaders, faced shadowy conspiracies, and played some of the most memorable women in literature. So, what intimidates her? Watching herself onscreen. "The first time I see something I'm in, it's very hard for me," she admits. "I've got one thing on my mind and one thing only: picking apart my performance." Fortunately, she recently had a second chance to see her new comedy, "Johnny English Reborn," and was able to enjoy it much more this time around. As the single-minded agent brought in to revamp MI-7, Anderson's character brings the bumbling secret agent Jo ... [Continua a leggere]

You're starring in the slapstick comedy Johnny English Reborn, which seems an unusual choice for you. Was that part of the appeal?I generally like to make choices based on who I'd like to work with - and I liked the idea of playing the MI7 [spy agency] role with Rowan Atkinson. I think the thing that surprised me the most was how technical it was . . . I was aware of how I needed to work my technical muscle in a way that I hadn't before. Is the atmosphere on the set of a comedy film different from that on, say, a period drama?There's a heightened sense of comedy around and there ... [Continua a leggere]

Having tea with Gillian Anderson is a thoroughly pleasant business — a splash of muted glamour in a fairly drab London autumn. I thoroughly recommend it, as a more engaging companion it would be a challenge to find. We meet in the studiously bijou surroundings of the Zetter Townhouse in St John’s Square, chosen, I suspect, because no one there has the slightest clue who she is. She is wearing the no-make-up disguise, and glides serenely under London’s radar, something she clearly enjoys. She is a tad jetlagged, she says, having just arrived home from a three-week s ... [Continua a leggere]

In July 2008, 20th Century Fox released The X-Files: I Want To Believe, the second feature film adaptation of Fox’s long running science fiction television series. The film, which was received poorly in the United States, tanked at the box office; bringing in only 21 million dollars, domestically. Despite that, rumours have persisted that a third X-Files film was in development. What’s the real story, are Fox really interested in producing a third film? Is the truth out there? The X-Files First a little background. The series was created by Chris Carter and ran on the Fox ... [Continua a leggere]

Playing the boss of a government intelligence agency might be considered a step up for American actress Gillian Anderson. After all, she spent nine years protecting the population from supernatural terrors and exposing sinister conspiracies as FBI agent Dana Scully in cult 1990s television series The X-Files, but never got a single promotion. She never even got her own office. In her new film, Johnny English Reborn, the sequel to the 2003 spy spoof starring comedian Rowan Atkinson as the bungling titular agent, she is the head of Britain's MI7 and has a top-floor office suite. An ... [Continua a leggere]

The older you get the less memory you have. I have trouble differentiating between what are childhood memories and what I may have seen in a photograph or been told about by my mum. Do I really remember lying in a hammock on a beach in Puerto Rico when I was a year old? I feel both British and American. After spending a year in Puerto Rico, my family moved to London. I spent my formative years in the UK, only moving back to Michigan when I was 11. I was initially excited about the adventure; I hadn't taken into account just how alien American culture would be and how mu ... [Continua a leggere]

Since leaving the cult sci-fi hit almost a decade ago, the Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor has shifted effortlessly between the stage (she was nominated for an Olivier award for her West End role in Ibsen's A Doll's House), TV (nominated for a BAFTA for Lady Dedlock in Dickens's Bleak House) and film (two X-Files films, and The Last King of Scotland). The US-born, England-raised actor lives in London with her three children and partner, Mark Griffiths. She visited Australia with co-star Rowan Atkinson this week to promote their film, James Bond spoof Johnny English Reborn. Q: Wha ... [Continua a leggere]

I'm a lifelong X-Files fan. This is emotion I had to suppress, rather violently, when I was sent to interview Gillian Anderson in a private hotel room on the 24th floor of… alright, you know what? I was freaking out. When I got there I was ferried into an immaculate room, in which two easels bore enormous posters for Johnny English Reborn, the film in which Anderson plays Pegasus, a Judi Dench-type character, and English's boss. Incidentally, I have unbelievable trouble separating character from actor, and given that I get very attached to my heroes, if she'd been unpleasant, it ... [Continua a leggere]

Gillian Anderson was backstage at Wembley Stadium, waiting to address the crowd at a memorial concert for Diana, when Victoria Beckham walked past. Having noticed that Beckham's collar was up, she reached out and flattened it, thinking she was doing the fashion-conscious Posh a favour. ''And you should have seen the look she shot me,'' Anderson laughs, burying her face in her hands. ''Other than the fact I destroyed her look, I also freaked her out because I did it from behind. Now, I try not to be helpful any more, especially where fashion is concerned.'' Sitting by a top-floor w ... [Continua a leggere]

DRAMA and thrills have left Gillian Anderson with a taste for comedy. GILLIAN Anderson shot to fame as Special Agent Dana Scully over nine seasons of The X-Files. Since leaving the cult sci-fi hit nearly a decade ago, the Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor has shifted effortlessly between the stage (she was nominated for an Olivier award for her West End role in Ibsen's A Doll's House), TV (nominated for a BAFTA for Lady Dedlock in Dickens' Bleak House) and film (two X-Files films, and The Last King of Scotland). The US-born, England-raised actor lives in London with her three childre ... [Continua a leggere]

CableFAX: First of all, what drew you to this role?   Anderson: William Hurt was already attached, and they were in discussions with Ethan Hawke. That fact alone intrigued me. I think if they had not been attached, I might not have read the script. Then there was the script itself. I had not read the novel before. I couldn’t relate it to anything, so I didn’t know if it was a good adaptation of the actual novel. But I liked the script. I liked the story. I felt like I understood the character. And I thought it might be fun to perform it.   CableFAX: It’s ... [Continua a leggere]

After forging one of the great female action roles on TV as (need I say it?) Agent Dana Scully in the “The X-Files," Gillian Anderson could have become a heroine of the American multiplex.  But instead, she’s become a mainstay of high-end literary adaptations, a fixture of “Masterpiece Theater.”  This week, she pops up in a lavish two-part adaptation of Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” airing tonight and tomorrow on the premium cable network Encore. Part of a starry ensemble cast that includes Ethan Hawke as Starbuck and William Hurt as th ... [Continua a leggere]