David Duchovny was on Fresh Air with Dave Davies on NPR yesterday promoting his new somewhat baseball-themed novel, Bucky F*cking Dent. I knew Duchovny was an author and that he’s published another book, but I didn’t realize that he actually graduated from Princeton and has a masters in English literature from Yale. Judging from the excerpts they read on NPR, it shows. Duchovny explained on NPR that his mom, a Scottish immigrant, instilled in him a love of books and education. Plus his parents came from a poor background and education was seen as insulation against poverty in a way.
Although Duchovny’s book isn’t autobiographical he said that he included some parallels to his life. The character Ted has a college relationship which ends in a kind of shocking way. The breakup scene was “similar to something that happened to me,” and is “maybe the closest thing” in the book to his own life, Duchovny explained.
It’s almost exactly the same as in the book… We had dated during college and we had drifted apart and I had decided that enough was enough and I was going to marry her and we were going to stop drifting apart. We made a date to meet for dinner in New York. I was at Yale graduate school at the time… and I came down and we did that thing as it is in the novel.
‘I got news for you.’
‘No, I got news for you.’
‘You go first, what’s your news?’
My news was going to be ‘Will you marry me?’ and hers was ‘I’m pregnant and I’m getting married.’
She went first, luckily for me.
Duchovny said he didn’t know if he ever told the woman that he was going to ask her to marry him, that he doesn’t know how to get in touch with her now, but that he does “Hope she gets the book.” That’s crazy. I guess Duchovny’s former girlfriend is going to figure it out now.
There’s so much more in Duchovny’s NPR interview. He said that he had no acting training when he landed the role of Fox Mulder on X-Files and that he learned on the job. He also told a touching story about how his daughter was sick as an infant and how he had trouble bonding with her afterwards because he had been so scared of losing her.
The issue of infidelity came up, as it related to the characters in the book. Davies asked Duchovny if that was “Based on anything you saw in your own family in your own life” and he answered in general terms and turned it around into an issue of being present for your loved ones.
I think we all have experience in our families of these kinds of things for sure. They’re part of the human condition. I think what I’m addressing in the book it’s not really about that issue so much of the issue of being present and being inside the life that you are living with those that are living with you and around you. I think that’s the story that I’m telling… of a guy who wasn’t there in some profound way. He wasn’t present… children feel that, loved ones feel that.
That was deep. We know that Duchovny has had issues with fidelity, he went to rehab for sex addiction back in 2008, but it sounds like he has a different perspective on what that meant to the people around him. I really enjoyed that interview. I could listen to him speak for hours.
She dodged a bullet. He Is an unapologetic cheater.
There’s a part of me that wish he had went first.
I always tell the person you go first.
Seriously.
Addictions: all about not being present
Yep- that is the point of them, eh?
so true. it’s an escape valve from our current reality. sort of why i hang out on celebitchy…
So, the book isn’t about how Bucky F***ing Dent dashed my mother’s dreams and threw Red Sox Nation back into the depths of despair?
And Denis Leary does the best pronunciation of Bucky F***ing Dent
Denis Leary ROCKS!
Best Game Ever!
It’s not like The X Files was David’s first job.
And that’s not “drifting apart”, you guys broke up.
It’s not just me! I definitely get the impression they broke up and he decided to get her back with a proposal…and may have known she was seeing someone else. A shame, and telling, he doesn’t seem to have framed it as an embarrassing story on his part and instead is trying to give the impression she was cheating.
I know, right? People who expect others sit around waiting for them to $hit or get off the pot are treating people they’re supposed to love/respect like toilets.🙄
I’ve always liked David and love how he and Tea formed a strong friendship down the road after the marriage ended. But I’m glad she found romance with Tim Daly.
forgot that he was with Tea Leoni and had no idea she is now with Tim Daly (not that it is world news!). That is an interesting couple (remember the show Wings fondly).
Also, I would have no more sensation in my hand if I had given all the deserved smacks to guys who drifted around like drunk apathetic butterflies and then were surprised to find I had moved on without them.
An ex boyfriend did something similarly shady to me in college. He joined the military and went off to boot camp, promising me marriage when he got back. I was blindsided when he calls me a month into training, that’s he’s in love and he’s sorry he wants to break up. After crying and cussing, I felt I dodged a douche bullet. So when he called me a year later, sobbing she cheated on him and he wanted me back, I laughed and hung up my phone. Everything happens for a reason. 😑
So he basically is hank moody in real life? These life experiences (sex addiction, being writer who has trouble actually writing, wanting a woman who had already moved on, not being there for his kid) are really, really similar to what happened with him on Californication.
I think he was actually on the path for a PhD and just didn’t finish it. Educated guy, that’s for sure, but definitely seems to have relationship issues. I’m looking forward to the interview though, I listen to Fresh Air as a podcast.
HOT. I find him incredibly attractive.
I think he was a few months away from finishing his PhD. I think he’s articulate as a person but I always get an ultra sleaze feel from him.
Speaking from experience here: No one who is a few months away from finishing a PhD walks away. I chuckle every time someone is described as ‘almost’ having a PhD – if they didn’t finish, they weren’t even remotely close.
Love him!!!
Can’t stand him.
I am simply amused by the fact that both he and Gillian Anderson are published authors. I believe her first book was published last year.
I heard that he & Tea were unofficially back together & she wanted a job after having not worked for a while due to her known mental/emotional health issues. David knew about & got her into Madame Secretary, then she dumped him & jumped off on Daly.
To David’s credit, I’ve never heard him speak ill of her or even refute her allegations right before she went to some clinic to get her meds fixed & get sane again.
Hi Taxi,
Just saw your comment about Téa Leoni and became curious. It’s not the first time that I read about her having emotional or even mental health issues (though I can’t remember when and where I heard that).
Do you know more and can you elaborate?
If true, respect to both of them (and their circle of friends) for managing to keep it out of the limelight…