Posted in: ABC, Audio Dramas, TV | Tagged: ABC, David Duchovny, Fail Better, full house, Lemonada, The X-Files, Warner Bros

Full House: David Duchovny on Losing Out to Saget, Stamos, Coulier

David Duchovny (The X-Files) reflects on his failed Full House audition for the roles that went to Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier.

Sometimes, it takes one breakout hit to make it in Hollywood, and David Duchovny is aware of that struggle in his earlier years since his on-screen debut in the 1988 20th Century Studios film Working Girl. Before he found his signature role as Agent Fox Mulder on Fox's The X-Files in 1993, he had some early notable projects including Showtime's Twin Peaks, Warner Bros' Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), Universal's Beethoven (1992), Sony/Tri-Star's Chaplin (1992), Universal's Kalifornia (1993), and host of the anthology series Showtime's Red Shoe Diaries. One series that eluded him that, had he landed, could have cost him The X-Files was ABC's Full House. The family sitcom, which ran from 1987-1995, follows a widowed father who raises three girls and gets his brothers to assist him in San Francisco.

David Duchovny on "Not Having the Chops for Sitcoms" at Full House Audition

"I auditioned for all three parts on Full House," Duchovny reflected on his Lemonada podcast Fail Better. "At first, they had me for, I think, the dad. And then they had me for the Stamos character. And then they had me for the other guy. I was thinking, 'I've got to get one of these, and it's going to change my life.'" The three parts the actor referred to are the father, Danny Tanner, who went to the late Bob Saget; the musically talented Jesse Katsopolis, played by John Stamos; and comedian and actor Joey Gladstone, played by Dave Coulier.

Duchovny said his failure to land Full House was consistent with his early experiences. "I had plenty of those pilots that I went up for when I was first out in L.A., and I thought each one was going to be the break," he said. "I just needed to be able to pay my rent too." He recalled how out of place he was at the time. "I was really bad at that kind of stuff. I did not know how to do that sitcom stuff. I don't know what they were thinking, that they thought I was going to exist in that world. I mean, I guess I could have learned, but I wasn't ready for that kind of energetic performance that they need."

Most would dream of Duchovny's longevity with The X-Files with his run of 10 of the 11 total seasons, which include the two feature films, and two revival seasons on Fox. For anyone curious, Duchovny didn't bother with the Netflix legacy sequel spinoff Fuller House. In his post-X-Files life, he starred in the Showtime dramedy Californication and opposite Meg Ryan in her 2023 Bleecker Street romcom What Happens Later. You can check out his podcast here or listen below.

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