When I’m inside the character, I feel like I’m a different person, and then when you see that character on screen and I see that it’s me, I find that disappointing.
I wouldn’t say I’m normal. But I’m relatively stable. When I think of normal, I think of mediocrity, and mediocrity scares the f – out of me.
I love it when women come up to me and tell me I’m a positive influence on their lives and the lives of their young daughters. That’s a great feeling.
There’s a big part of me that would love to be a secret agent. But if I showed up to do an investigation and interrogate someone now, they wouldn’t be able to take me seriously. I’ve ruined that for myself.
People generally treat me like I’m very intelligent and really, I’m much less intelligent than she is. Scully is insanely intelligent.
Well, it seems to me that the best relationships-the ones that last-are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship.
I used to take myself very seriously, now it’s all just funny. You gotta laugh at yourself. You know, most of the time when something’s a big deal for us, it’s only become a big deal in the space between our ears.
Sometimes I struggle to watch stuff that I’ve done and sometimes I don’t, and I’m sure that my judgment is based on whether I feel like I accomplished what I set out to accomplish.
Success has nothing to do with happiness.
The first time, where Fox Mulder and Scully met, she stands up for herself. She stands right there and gives it to him and that was extremely attractive.
I will only take something or agree to do something that I feel like I understand, and inherent in understanding is empathy.
People come in and out of our lives to teach us. And we teach other people. It’s part of the process. They come in and they go out. Some stay for longer than others.
When the show’s not around any more, it’s going to be hard not to have her in my life.
When I finished the series, I wasn’t going to do television again. I never wanted to do television to begin with, and I was so exhausted by the process that I was wary of being in front of the camera again.
In my case, I was born to parents who were very young, and I don’t think they were entirely ready to have a child. My dad was going to college and working two or three jobs at the same time, and my mum was working and going to school.
Self-esteem should have nothing to do with what you look like – if you exude genuine confidence, people will be swept into it. You have to be able to hold yourself.
I became an actor because it was the only thing I could do. I didn’t have any friends, I didn’t fit in. But when I started acting everything in my life shifted and I felt happy.
I would never point a finger at anyone and say, ‘They lived their life badly.’ I take it as it comes and deal with each situation as it arrives.
Sometimes I read a script and it’s obvious from early on that it’s one where the suspension of disbelief has to develop strongly from page one. Some are more reality-based.
Only once have I taken on a role where I felt that I didn’t quite understand her, but I said yes anyway. I don’t think I’ll ever do that again.