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X-Files’s Gillian Anderson was reluctant to return as Scully because she feared typecasting
X-Files actress Gillian Anderson spent years trying to prove she was more than Dana Scully – then she was called to reprise the role
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Gillian Anderson has an interesting relationship with Dana Scully. The FBI agent from The X-Files is arguably her most iconic role, and it’s a character that is near and dear to her heart. However, after The X-Files ended in 2002, Anderson tried to prove that she could play other types of roles, and that’s why she was hesitant about returning to the franchise when the show was revived in 2016. Although Anderson had already reprised the role for the 2008 movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe, she wasn’t sure if returning to the role on a more full-time basis would be a mistake.
“It was hard to say yes, because I felt like I was working really hard to do things that were as different from Scully as possible, and I was worried about being pulled in for too long,” Gillian Anderson revealed during a panel at Spacecon 2026. “It was hard to say yes. But then it was even harder to actually - given how many years I played her, I actually found it really hard in the new season to find her again. I had assumed that she was second nature, I had to go digging.”
Anderson would do two seasons of the X-Files revival before the series ended. The actress may be more than Scully, but it’s always great to see her step back into the iconic role.
The X-Files is streaming on Hulu.
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About Spacecon
SPACECON is America’s newest comic con created by PMX Events. Attendees will see celebrity guests from the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy and other intergalactic movies and TV shows. Con goers will discover an immersive show experience to get up-close and personal with their favorite celebrities, voice artists, and comic artists with hundreds of exhibitors and special attractions to exhilarate any fandom.
Dates
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San Antonio, Texas
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