Deal with Netflix? Return to X-Files? Gillian Anderson explains her choice

He caused a sensation on the pink carpet of the Palais des Festivals and, like the new generation, met even the most nostalgic. Gillian Anderson, the unforgettable Scald Mulder in The X-Files, went to the CANNESERIES festival, where she received the Variety Icon Award, which honors the career of a major television figure.

After completing a fantastic detective series, the American actor settled in the United Kingdom and starred in lesser-known but critically acclaimed works on British television. Gillian Anderson returned to the avant-garde of popular TV series in the early 2010s and played several important roles: Bedelia du Maurier in Hannibal, Stella Gibson in the Fall, Media (and David Bowie’s version) in American Gods, Jean Milburn in Sex. Education and Margaret Thatcher at The Crown.

And the actor says that it’s all the merit of his characters who made him such a cult man: “I had the opportunity to play very cult characters. This is what gives the meaning of the word icon. Without these characters, I probably would not have had this label.”

When Gillian Anderson is announced in the cast of the series, we know the role will be delicious and the performance incredible. He received Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of The Iron Lady in The Crown and for his horrific role as Joanna de Holstein-Gottorpe. The actress will prove it once again in the next TV series “First Lady”, in which she will acquire her qualities Eleanor Roosevelt.

Despite all these milestones, Gillian Anderson remains, for many, Mulder’s partner in the X-Files. This role, which was attached to the skin and became a role model for women, was a burden for her, who was very young at the time:

“With Skull, there really were moments in the ’90s when I felt like I had a responsibility as an inspirational role model for women, and it was almost a burden because I didn’t think I would measure it. Look at me, I became paranoid because of being caught in moments of weakness by the paparazzi.

I feel much better now that I am taking on this responsibility. I think I was probably very young. And while it’s very flattering and awesome that women in particular were fascinated by so many aspects of the school and that it positively impacted their life choices and what followed, I think I was too young to do so at the time.

And once he went to see if it was true elsewhere, with the series returning for two more seasons in 2016 and 2018, which failed to convince him, the actor is moving forward and has no plans to sink into the X-Files any time soon. If the reset is. And that, even hiring new screenwriters, is a condition he still hinted at in a recent interview. variety. His answer at the CANNESERIES festival today is clear:

“I’ll never play X-Files again. This is a question that comes up all the time. But I do not know why they ask me this because I feel like I’m in the same situation as bands that have been playing for 30 years. “When they want us to like their new compositions, I repeat, it will not happen.”

Gillian Anderson has other specific projects in mind for the future since she signed a Deal at first glance With Netflix, that means the American giant will have the right to take a first look at all the projects the actor is developing as already announced. variety. He explains this choice:

“I seem to have done enough projects with them to know what to expect and to have confidence. And in fact, they started collaborating with The Fall as they participated in financing the series from the second episode. Then there was The Crown., Sex education and that little animation The movie Ruby fell out of the nest.

I feel I know them well from both the United States and the United Kingdom, thanks to my partner, Peter Morgan. I had such a sense of family belonging. So it was very nice when they came to me and asked me if I was interested in this deal. ”

The actor already has ideas for projects in both the US and the UK that focus on social and political issues that are important to him and that can impact the community, and some of which he will present to Netflix:

“Currently I’m only focused on the plays I can play in. I think in the end I might oversee more than I play, but I will have an executive position.

But for now, I think to myself and I have young children, so I want to stay home as much as possible and work with companies that have a human touch unlike some of the big studios. And there are a few companies like Netflix that have such a mentality, even though it is now a huge company. That’s why I said yes and why I liked working with them. “

Comments were collected in Cannes on April 2, 2022, during a roundtable discussion with other journalists.