David Duchovny (°1960) earned an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and also earned a graduate degree in English Literature at Yale University. While at Yale, he began commuting to New York to study acting and was soon appearing in off-Broadway plays. In 1987 he abandoned his doctoral studies at Yale to pursue acting full time.

Though he is best known for his role as Fox Mulder in The X Files, this wasn't the first time Duchovny appeared in a cult series: he was special agent Dennis/Denise Bryson in Twin Peaks. He also played Jake Winters, the person who reads the mails on Red Shoe Diaries. This prompted Duchovny to retaliate when Chris Carter said his series had made everyone involved famous: "Hey, I was the only one here already making a living before The X-Files." True enough, he'd already been in movies like Kalifornia and (erm) Beethoven.

Duchovny tried not to become typecasted and accepted roles in movie like B-movies like Playing God when The X-Files were on a summer break. It didn't really work, though.

In 2004 he wrote and directed his first movie, House of D.

Trivia you could live without: Duchovny has an allergic reaction to metal which prevents him from wearing his wedding ring at times.