David Duchovny facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Duchovny
Duchovny at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	David William Ducovny (1960-08-07) August 7, 1960 (age 64) New York City, U.S.
Education	Princeton University (BA) Yale University (MA)
Occupation	Actor director writer producer singer-songwriter
Years active	1987–present
Known for	Fox Mulder in The X-Files Hank Moody in Californication
Spouse(s)	Téa Leoni ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2014)​
Children	2, including West Duchovny
Parent(s)	Amram Ducovny (father)
Relatives	Daniel Duchovny (brother)

David William Duchovny (born August 7, 1960) is an American actor, director, writer, producer, and musician. He is famous for playing FBI agent Fox Mulder in the TV show The X-Files. This popular science fiction series ran from 1993 to 2002, and again from 2016 to 2018. He also starred as the writer Hank Moody in the TV series Californication from 2007 to 2014. Both roles earned him Golden Globe awards.

Duchovny also appeared in two X-Files movies: The X-Files (1998) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008). He also produced and starred in the crime drama Aquarius (2015–2016). His film roles include Beethoven (1992) and Evolution (2001). Beyond acting, David Duchovny has written five books and released three music albums.

Early Life and Education

Duchovny and John Kennedy Jr. in 9th grade in the 1975 Collegiate yearbook

David Duchovny was born in New York City in 1960. His father, Amram "Ami" Ducovny, was a writer. His mother, Margaret "Meg" Miller, was a school teacher. David is the middle child of three. He has an older brother, Daniel, and a younger sister, Laurie. His mother came from Scotland, and his father was Jewish. His father changed the spelling of their last name to make it easier to say.

David went to The Collegiate School For Boys in Manhattan. He graduated in 1978. Then, he went to Princeton University and earned a degree in English literature in 1982. He also played junior varsity basketball there. Later, he earned a master's degree in English Literature from Yale University. He even started working on a Ph.D., but he didn't finish it.

Family History

David Duchovny's family has a rich history. His great-great-grandparents moved from Berdychiv, Ukraine, to Jaffa (which is now in Israel). In 1914, his ancestors were among many Jewish people who were forced to leave their homes in Jaffa. They were sent by ship to Egypt.

Acting Career

David Duchovny started his acting career in the late 1980s. He appeared in a beer commercial in 1987. The next year, he had a small role in the movie Working Girl (1988). In 1992, he played Rollie Totheroh in the movie Chaplin, which was about the life of Charlie Chaplin. He also had a small part in the family movie Beethoven that same year.

Duchovny at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2011

The X-Files and Beyond

In 1993, Duchovny became very famous for his role as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in the science fiction series The X-Files. Mulder was a conspiracy theorist who believed his sister was taken by aliens. The show became a huge hit and was very important for the Fox Network. The show's creator, Chris Carter, said Duchovny was very smart and helped shape Mulder's character.

During his time on The X-Files, Duchovny also starred in the 1998 movie The X-Files with Gillian Anderson, who played his partner, Dana Scully. He left the show in 2001 after seven seasons but returned for some episodes in season eight and the series finale in 2002. He even voiced a funny version of his Mulder character in an episode of The Simpsons called "The Springfield Files".

Duchovny also hosted Saturday Night Live twice, in 1995 and 1998. In 2001, he starred in the sci-fi comedy film Evolution. He also had a small role in the comedy movie Zoolander. He appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2000 and Celebrity Jeopardy! in 1995 and 2010.

Duchovny with Gillian Anderson at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con for The X-Files 20th Anniversary panel

In 2005, Duchovny directed and starred in the movie House of D. This film was a coming-of-age story and also featured Robin Williams and Duchovny's then-wife, Téa Leoni. He also directed an episode of the TV show Bones.

From 2007 to 2014, Duchovny played Hank Moody in the TV series Californication. This role earned him another Golden Globe Award. In 2015, he returned to play Fox Mulder in a new six-episode continuation of The X-Files, which started in 2016.

Other Work

Besides acting, David Duchovny is also a talented writer and musician. In 2015, he released his first music album, Hell or Highwater. He has since released two more albums: Every Third Thought and Gestureland.

He has also written several books. His first novel, Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale, was published in 2015. He has written four more novels since then, including Bucky F*cking Dent (2016) and The Reservoir (2022). In 2022, he also wrote, directed, and acted in the film Reverse the Curse.

Personal Life

David Duchovny was married to actress Téa Leoni from 1997 to 2014. They have two children: a daughter named West Duchovny, born in 1999, and a son named Kyd, born in 2002.

Duchovny is a pescetarian, meaning he eats fish but not other meat. He cares about the environment and supports electric vehicle technology. He even appeared at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival to support a film about electric cars.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Audiobooks

• 2015: Audiobook To Legend He Goes: A Tale from The Legend of Drizzt
• 2017: Audiobook X-Files - cold cases - an Audible original
• 2017: Audiobook X files - stolen lives - an Audible original

Discography and Tours

Studio albums

See also

In Spanish: David Duchovny para niños