Do X-Files fans still want to believe? The paranormal US drama series, which partnered Gillian Anderson’s sceptic Scully with David Duchovny’s more open-minded Mulder, was an intrinsic part of nineties pop culture. In its heyday, it could be terrifying, warmly funny – with that famous Anderson-Duchovny chemistry at its heart – and brilliantly bizarre, often all at once. It came to a temporary end in 2002 after nine seasons, spawned a rather disappointing 2008 film, and then dramatically returned in 2016, along with its leads, for a six-part mini-series. The revival hit ... [Continua a leggere]

I’m 20 minutes early for my interview with Gillian Anderson, which is not as good an idea as it seems. She arrives in the bar of the North London hotel just minutes after I do and raises a perfect eyebrow to find me clutching a heap of scribbled notes that say things like Money! and Killers? and Duchovny. But then Anderson’s presence, I suspect, could make almost anyone feel untidy.  Blonde, compact and minimally dressed in black and cream, she has all the cool self-possession and gravitas of Stella Gibson, the police inspector she plays in The Fall – who, as it turns o ... [Continua a leggere]

But talking about her own private live, twice married Gillian Anderson has revealed her regret at putting love first. In an interview with next week’s Stella magazine, Anderson, 44, who has three children, said she would tell her eldest Piper, 18, to “make the most of your life before you start” - and to not to spend time following men. The actress was first cast as Scully, alongside David Duchovny as agent Fox Mulder, when she was 24. Before that, when she was 21, she followed a boyfriend to Los Angeles from New York. “I went to visit him and ende ... [Continua a leggere]

Gillian Anderson is to play a witch as she leads the cast in a BBC adaptation of hit children's book Room On The Broom to be screened at Christmas. The actress - who won acclaim for her portrayal of creepy Miss Havisham in a TV version of Great Expectations - will be among the star voices in the animated version of Julia Donaldson's book. Also in the cast are Rob Brydon playing a cat, while David Walliams is to appear as a frog in the half-hour film, to be screened on BBC1. It is being made by the team behind The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, also written by Children's Laureate Donalds ... [Continua a leggere]

The Prince of Wales has been giving speeches for 40 years, but he is not too proud to ask for assistance in improving his technique. Prince Charles met Gillian Anderson, the star of The X-Files, at a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’s birth. “His Royal Highness was saying how he was actually interested in reading and practising reading himself – reading out loud from Dickens and other literature that is,” says the actress. “So he was thinking about working with somebody to improve and ... [Continua a leggere]

Gillian Anderson has a tattoo on her right wrist that is in Sanskrit, and when I ask her what it means she tells me, laughing, that its rough translation is “none of your business”. Anderson is a curious mix of cautious and carefree, clamming up about some skin ink yet talking openly about her brother, Aaron, who died three months ago of a brain tumour. He was just 30. I remark, rather obviously, that it must have been a tough year. “Well, there’s certainly been a lot happening this year. But I feel like I’ve learnt. I feel like I’ve c ... [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]

The first surprise is Gillian Anderson’s accent. I have heard about how she can slip from English to American as effortlessly as silk runs through fingers. Indeed, by way of research, I have watched her being interviewed by Jay Leno (for whom she adopted an American accent) and Michael Parkinson (an English one). I even know how and why she does this – she lived here until she was 11, moved there until she was 35, then, five years ago, came back to live here. Still, nothing quite prepares you for sitting opposite FBI Special Agent Scully and hearing the head gi ... [Continua a leggere]