Posted in: HISTORY, TV | Tagged: David Duchovny, The X-Files

The X-Files: Duchovny on "Secrets Declassified," Conspiracy Culture

Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny host David Duchovny (The X-Files) on his new History series, conspiracy theory culture, and more.

It seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same for David Duchovny. Most synonymous with his time as FBI Agent Fox Mulder on the Fox sci-fi series The X-Files for 11 seasons, the actor has embraced the conspiracy culture enough at least to host History Channel's Secrets Declassified, which premieres tonight. The Sympathizer star spoke to People about the series.

History: "The X-Files" Star David Duchovny Hosts "Secrets Declassified"

"I'm interested in the true, stranger-than-fiction aspect," Duchovny said. "It just seems like such an inexhaustibly interesting trove of things that the government has done or hidden. It's not a knock on the government to say that they hide things. They have to hide things from time to time, right? But what I love about these stories is, often, the intentions are really good, but the way in which they're trying to achieve their objectives, they range from horrifying to ridiculous."

As the first episode delves into the infamous Area 51, Duchovny differentiates what his beliefs are compared to what Mulder or the greater conspiracy community, "We're living in a time when people are trying to figure out conspiracies," he said. "I know that I'm kind of part of that history because of 'The X-Files,' but it's not actually one of my beliefs. I usually believe that there aren't grand conspiracies. There are bad actors and there are bad plans, but a conspiracy to hide the existence of extraterrestrials and stuff like that? I find it very hard for two people to keep a secret, let alone millions of people keeping a secret worth thousands. It's a simplification of the world to believe in conspiracies"

When X-Files fans try to bring something to Duchovny's attention, "If somebody starts to invest a yarn in me like that, I can tell, so I'll get myself out of the situation," Duchovny says. "But I do remember, probably about 10 years ago, I think we were doing some convention for the reboot or something. We were down in San Diego, and a lot of people were asking me what I thought of lizards, and I was like, 'Lizards? I'm fine with lizards.' But I didn't know there was this whole conspiracy about the lizard people. I didn't know that's what we were talking about."

Following the Chris Carter series, Duchovny remained active, starring in shows like Showtime's Californication and NBC's Aquarius. He even returned to his two biggest early signature roles with Mulder in the two-season revival of The X-Files in 2015 and 2018 opposite Gillian Anderson, reprising her role as FBI Agent Dana Scully, and reprised his role as Denise Bryson in the David Lynch 2017 revival of Twin Peaks on Showtime. He's also been active as a podcaster, musician, and author, conceding one conspiracy. "I don't know how to do downtime," he said. "What is downtime? That's a conspiracy to me. It doesn't really exist." With probably a nudge and a wink, neither Duchovny nor Anderson completely shut the door to a franchise return with a Ryan Coogler reboot in the works (with Carter's blessing), which likely will focus on new agents.

"I've always been drawn to explorations of the more complicated aspects of our lives, leaning into conversations that dig below the surface and unlock a more interesting story," Duchovny said in a statement. "I'm thrilled to be executive producing and hosting a new History Channel series that's not afraid to go there. We're telling the incredible stories of government secrets that have only recently come to light. This series proves that secrets can be uncovered, and mysteries can still be unraveled."

Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny airs on Fridays on the History Channel.

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