David Duchovny Quotes

Women’s fashion is a subtle form of bondage. It’s men’s way of binding them. We put them in these tight, high-heeled shoes, we make them wear these tight clothes and we say they look sexy. But they’re actually tied up.

I really enjoy taking an outdoor shower.

People think celebrities don’t have to worry about human things like sickness and death and rent. It’s like you’ve traveled to this Land of Celebrity, this other country.

I think of myself as more of a comic person. I don’t know about a comic actor.

Willie Mays was the best ever. When I was in college I once made a catch like the one Mays made over his head. Sometimes when I’m lying in bed at night I think about it. It still makes me warm.

I understand the self-loathing and the resentment, and the discipline that it takes to sit down in front of a typewriter or computer every single day, whether it’s going well or not going well.

I don’t like the idea of being eaten by a shark. I like to swim in the ocean, and I think much more about sharks than anyone should. I really resent the fact that my oceangoing experiences are ruined by ‘Jaws.’

I really enjoy taking an outdoor shower.

At one time there were voiceover artists, now there are celebrity voiceover artists. It’s unfortunate because these people need the money less than the voiceover artist.

I’m kind of stupid when it comes to gadgets.

There are certain things I learned when I first started learning about acting, to try and place the character physically and emotionally. And the way you place them emotionally is often with humor.

I don’t like watching people work if they’re making art.

I lost my virginity when I was 14. And I haven’t been able to find it.

One of the scary things is that, when you’re a kid, you look at your dad as the man who has no fear. When you’re an adult, you realize your father had fear, and that you have it, too.

I understand the self-loathing and the resentment, and the discipline that it takes to sit down in front of a typewriter or computer every single day, whether it’s going well or not going well.

It’s always a mystery when you’re going into a role – ‘Here’s your wife of 40 years and… action!’ How do you create ease or chemistry or whatever is supposed to exist?

Humility is considered an un-masculine quality.

At one time there were voiceover artists, now there are celebrity voiceover artists. It’s unfortunate because these people need the money less than the voiceover artist.

I feel like I came to acting late in a way. I was about 26 or 27, and it was imperative that I make a living right away, and it’s hard to make a living on stage, so I started in television and film.

Without whining and without making myself a tragic figure, there is no replacement for the loss of your privacy. It’s a huge sacrifice.

I don’t know how anybody gets better at anything aside from doing it.

I love dogs. They live in the moment and don’t care about anything except affection and food. They’re loyal and happy. Humans are just too damn complicated.

I mean, there’s chemistry in life and there’s acting chemistry. I’m not saying they’re the same thing, but they’re as mysterious.

The happiest moment of my life was probably when my daughter was born.

It’s hard to find scripts that know what they are from page one to page 115.

I’m kind of stupid when it comes to gadgets.

‘Alien’ is a great movie. So is ‘Close Encounters.’ But I’m not the guy who goes out to the science-fiction festival. ‘2001’s good.

I’ve made so many mistakes. But it is my feeling that you learn from failures, so I welcome them as often as I can.

On the one hand, people think they own kids; they feel that they have the right to tell the kids what to do. On the other hand, people envy kids. We’d like to be kids our whole lives. Kids get to do what they do. They live on their instincts.

I love animals and I love working with them because they don’t lie.

One of the scary things is that, when you’re a kid, you look at your dad as the man who has no fear. When you’re an adult, you realize your father had fear, and that you have it, too.

I love the ocean, wide-open space and trees, but I’m not a gardener or anything like that. I think I may be, eventually. I was raised in the city, so I don’t have that skill set, but my heart is more with the dirt than the concrete. It’s an unrequited love with nature – a one-way love affair.

I mean, you always want everybody to pat you on the back and tell you you’re wonderful every time you do something; I think that’s human nature.

I don’t mind close-ups, I like them, but they’re kind of forceful – you see a lot, you get a lot of information in a close-up. There’s less mystery.

I’ve turned down jobs because I’ve said, ‘Honestly, I can’t find my way in. I can’t do it. I love you, as a director. I think the script is good. You deserve better than I think I can do.’

You become tyrannized by this notion that women must not only be treated equally, but they must never fail.

What strikes me is that ‘XIII’ looks like a movie. The shot making is movie-like, which is kind of fun – the kind of playful action movie shot making is pretty, is pretty good. What’s also great about this game is its style and interesting story-line.

In terms of likeability, that’s something that I don’t think about as an actor when I approach a role.

People think celebrities don’t have to worry about human things like sickness and death and rent. It’s like you’ve traveled to this Land of Celebrity, this other country.

Chemistry is really about two people who like to act together, I think. It’s like tennis in the most cliched way. It’s like if you hit the ball, they hit the ball back, and they don’t hit it into the stands, and they don’t put the ball in their pocket and walk off – and they don’t argue with the umpire, you know?

I always dreamt of being a basketball player. A dream that only I believed in.

Every day I try to do breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga. These things sound awfully cliche, but they help me slow down and try to point to a truth.

People always love and respect characters who speak the truth, even if the truth hurts.

My whole life, I’ve wanted things before I was ready. I was always pushing for the next job, the next success. I was so focused on achieving and the path that I was missing some great point about life.

Whenever somebody says they need an angle for their story I always fear that they’ve got an idea and they want me to fit into it or they want me to come up with an idea myself or I’m supposed to be more revealing than I’ve been, and to me it just sounds like something I don’t want to do.

I think people are always trying to demystify whatever acting is, so they want to know what your method is.

Sex is great until you die, but it’s never as great as it was when you were a kid, when it was a mystery.

I’m turning into a stricter dad.

I enjoy comedy and I hope that people enjoy watching me do it.

I had to work in one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the world for almost three weeks. Pity me.

For hundreds of years, that was the major form of entertainment: The grown-ups sat around and watched the kids play. Now they sit around and watch the television. The actors are the kids.

Approaching a part or thinking about taking a part, I never think, ‘Is that person like me?’

It’s not someone else’s responsibility to honor my marriage. It’s my responsibility.

Just like every show has a tone, every show has different people on it playing different games. I don’t say ‘game’ in a pejorative sense, I just mean, these are different stories that we tell ourselves when we go to work.

I’m not really a gamer.

It’s always like you write a poem when you can’t really say what you’re trying to say.

I had a fear that I’d be typecast, but I don’t really have that fear anymore.

A lot of times passion projects or films are difficult to make because they don’t have proven directors attached to them.

I think we all choose our style from the ether and whatever is out there.

Most journalists expect me to answer all their questions about aliens and spaceships.

When I grew up, I was in Manhattan the whole time. But my kids have been all over the world.

In this age of media and Internet access, we are much more talkative than ever before.

I think Polanski’s an amazing director.

I don’t want to know what happens in any movie that I go to see.

Sometimes the better the writing, the harder it is to play because you really want to service it. It’s hard to be that quick and articulate in life. You’ve got to try to make it seem discovered, you know, not rehearsed.

Sometimes the better the writing, the harder it is to play because you really want to service it.

There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the panoply of life’s rich experience.

I feel I have to work hard to nurture whatever talent I have as an actor. I feel like it’s not natural to me. So I don’t take it for granted… What I think is my natural ability – which is writing – I think I totally take that for granted.

Well, I still write poetry, but I wouldn’t call myself a poet.

If you have Darwin, Christ and Nietzsche, they’re all going to talk at once. You need somebody who listens.

If you’re smart, you’ll always be humble. You can learn all you want, but there’ll always be somebody who’s never read a book who’ll know twice what you know.

If my work was good enough, I would never have to do publicity.

Just like every show has a tone, every show has different people on it playing different games. I don’t say ‘game’ in a pejorative sense, I just mean, these are different stories that we tell ourselves when we go to work.

I’m always trying to perfect the romantic comedy, though.

For hundreds of years, that was the major form of entertainment: The grown-ups sat around and watched the kids play. Now they sit around and watch the television. The actors are the kids.

I lost my virginity when I was 14. And I haven’t been able to find it.

Every day I try to do breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga. These things sound awfully cliche, but they help me slow down and try to point to a truth.

I like my computer. But I don’t know how to use it as well as the 10-year-old daughter.

I was about 26 or 27 and it was imperative that I make a living right away and it’s hard to make a living on stage, so I started in television and film.

I think people are always trying to demystify whatever acting is, so they want to know what your method is.

I love dogs. They live in the moment and don’t care about anything except affection and food. They’re loyal and happy. Humans are just too damn complicated.

You can go through life and actually speak your mind and do it in an articulate fashion and with a really intelligent point of view.

I just spend my money on the essentials. Just basically food and shelter.

If my work was good enough, I would never have to do publicity.

One of the nice things about acting is that it allows you to open up to the other people within you.

I’ve made so many mistakes. But it is my feeling that you learn from failures, so I welcome them as often as I can.

My entire life has been an attempt to get back to the kind of feelings you have on a field. The sense of brotherhood, the esprit de corps, the focus – there being no past or future, just the ball. As trite as it sounds, I was happiest playing ball.

You can’t control your mind. Why would you want to?

I do not think that Mulder trusts any one other than Scully. He s very solitary. She is the only one who takes him seriously. I don t know if they re in love. In a way, their relationship is deeper than that, because they cannot live without each other.

Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out, the need to be rid of something or to get in touch with something within.

Privacy is something I have come to respect. I think when I was younger I wanted to tell everybody everything, because I thought I was so damn interesting. Then I heard the snoring.

I think of myself as more of a comic person. I don’t know about a comic actor.

Women’s fashion is a subtle form of bondage. It’s men’s way of binding them. We put them in these tight, high-heeled shoes, we make them wear these tight clothes and we say they look sexy. But they’re actually tied up.

You can’t control your mind. Why would you want to?

One of the great things about doing series television is the guest actors that you can have come on and play around with.

People always love and respect characters who speak the truth, even if the truth hurts.

I think the real heroic teachers are the ones who work with kids, like my mom and my sister do.

Games, by nature, have more plot options and non-linear qualities than TV and film.

I don’t believe in a conspiracy to hide the existence of extraterrestrial life.

I don’t make decisions based on money.

I’m half Jewish, half Scottish. It’s hard for me to buy anything.

I’m not really a gamer.

I just spend my money on the essentials. Just basically food and shelter.

There are certain things I learned when I first started learning about acting, to try and place the character physically and emotionally. And the way you place them emotionally is often with humor.

I’d love to direct more.

I mean, you always want everybody to pat you on the back and tell you you’re wonderful every time you do something; I think that’s human nature.

I enjoy trying to figure out the best way to compliment the picture and not overpower it.

I’ll instinctively know that I identify with a character.

I don’t think I’d ever be cruel to an animal.

‘The X-Files,’ as I recall, we didn’t know really what we were until the middle of the first year. You know, so if we’d been cancelled, you get cancelled before you mature into what it is you can actually be, which is too bad.

I feel I have to work hard to nurture whatever talent I have as an actor. I feel like it’s not natural to me. So I don’t take it for granted… What I think is my natural ability – which is writing – I think I totally take that for granted.

One of the great things about doing series television is the guest actors that you can have come on and play around with.

Generally, I don’t like to walk out of a movie. It’s like a relationship – you want to see it to the end; otherwise, you won’t know if you left early or not.

You’re raising a kid and you give it food and shelter and, most importantly, you give it the feeling that it’s special. I think people react to celebrities like that – I mean, they treat celebrities like children.

I think patience is a skill and I wish I had it.

What makes me mad is arrogance, pretension, putting on airs.

Fame does lead to money, which I don’t have a close relationship with. I’m the kind of guy who never sees the money – it all goes somewhere else. I don’t understand it, I don’t like to deal with it. I have a fear of not having it, because I grew up without it.

Fame does lead to money, which I don’t have a close relationship with. I’m the kind of guy who never sees the money – it all goes somewhere else. I don’t understand it, I don’t like to deal with it. I have a fear of not having it, because I grew up without it.

My favorite parts of work as an actor and a director are those unplanned mistakes that do happen, because it’s like catching lightning in a bottle. It’s the best part of what we do.

Actually, I have an interest in finishing my Ph.D., but I just know I never will.

Maybe the best things about celebrity are the things like being able to get that seat on the plane that you wouldn’t normally get, but that’s kind of like cheating.

I think there are ways in which shows can pop their heads up a little bit in the morass of everything you can watch.

In the U.S., oddly, we have images of men as arrogant and aggressive.

Willie Mays was the best ever. When I was in college I once made a catch like the one Mays made over his head. Sometimes when I’m lying in bed at night I think about it. It still makes me warm.

I think we all choose our style from the ether and whatever is out there.

I drive an electric car.

What makes me mad is arrogance, pretension, putting on airs.

I don’t think of myself as a TV actor. I think of myself as a film, television and Off-Off-Off-Off Broadway actor.

If you have Darwin, Christ and Nietzsche, they’re all going to talk at once. You need somebody who listens.

Sex is great until you die, but it’s never as great as it was when you were a kid, when it was a mystery.

In high school and college, I was an athlete.