David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson He admitted there was “a lot of tension” between them on “The X-Files,” which resulted in his co-stars not speaking on camera for weeks while working on the hit show.

Anderson, 56, spoke with Duchovny, 64, on the November 12 episode of his show. “Fail Better” podcastThe duo reflected back on their time together on the popular Fox show, which aired from 1993 to 2002, and two movies were made and Revivals in 2016 and 2018. In the science fiction series about unsolved cases related to paranormal events, Duchovny played FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder and Anderson played his partner, Special Agent Dana Scully.

Anderson said he came on Duchovny’s podcast to have “a conversation we’ve never had before,” which led him to consider filming the series together at the height of its popularity in the ’90s.

“The trickiest part of this speech for me is, I think I’m going to talk about things like my friendship failure or friendship failure,” Duchovny said. he said.

“We were working on the show for a long time where we couldn’t take care of each other off camera,” he added. “And there was a lot of tension, it didn’t seem to matter business-wise, because we were both crazy, I guess, we could just go out there and do what we needed to do.”

“It’s crazy how we can present a variety of feelings, excitement, attraction and things like that on camera, but then we don’t talk to each other for weeks,” Anderson said.

“I don’t know, but I could have handled myself better,” Duchovny said.

Duchovny also explained his departure from the show in the early 2000s and his feelings afterwards. Anderson leaves “The X-Files” following its 2018 revival.

“I never apologized to you for that,” he told Anderson about his initial departure from the show. “I don’t even know if I talked to you about it and then you said you weren’t going to be on the show anymore, like the last time we did this (in 2018). And I know that hurt my feelings.”

“Oh, I didn’t know,” Anderson said.

“I get it, okay, I support whatever you want to do, but I was like, ‘Oh, he’s leaving me,’ you know?” Duchovny said. “He doesn’t like working with me anymore. It’s like the little kid inside is saying, ‘Hey!’ “Then I thought like this, but I didn’t say anything to him that day.”

Later in the conversation, Anderson returned to the moment Duchovny left in 2001.

“We never talked about it,” he said. “I don’t think I ever blamed you. … I don’t think I ever blamed you. I don’t think I was sorry.”

“Thank you very much,” Duchovny said.

After Duchovny left, Anderson considered following him to the door.

“There was one point for me at the time, which was: ‘Can I do it too?’” he said. “At first I thought, ‘Then we’ll both go because frankly I can’t go on without him, so I’ll definitely be able to make it.’ “Then they started talking, ‘If you keep at it, you can make really good money.'”

Duchovny also recalled a “dysfunctional” moment that occurred amid the duo’s fame on the show.

“It was some EmmysAnd it was the next day, I had a private plane and I was taking you around,” he said. “And you were late and I was so angry. And then we sat on this private plane, flying from Los Angeles to Vancouver, not talking at all.

“And you wrote me a letter,” he continued. “So you’re about six feet away from me, you’re writing me a letter, and it’s a beautiful letter. I don’t remember exactly, but I was grateful, and it was like, it’s everything I ever wanted.” But it’s surprising that we can’t just have this conversation. “It’s ridiculous that this is a private plane.”

“I had no memory of being on a private plane, let alone, yes, I wrote you a letter on a plane,” Anderson said. “Interesting.”

Duchovny also recalled a moment he had with “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter amid the tension of the first season.

“I think we were fighting so early in the first season that Chris asked us if we were going to go into fake couples (therapy). Like, are we going to do TV character couples therapy? I remember sitting in your office with you, and Chris said, ‘Yeah, do you guys want to go to therapy?’ And I said, ‘You mean as Mulder and Scully?’ I said, “I’m confused, I remember that.”

Another source of contention emerged in 2016. Anderson fights for pay parity with Duchovny for show’s revival. He told The Daily Beast at the time that he was offered only half Duchovny’s salary for the 2016 return and spent three years trying to achieve pay parity with his co-star during the premiere of “The X-Files.”

“This whole pay equity thing is in our past, too,” Duchovny said. “I was a part of it.

“At the time, I thought I was being selfishly attacked,” he continued. “I thought, ‘Oh, I’m being attacked because I’m being offered more money.'”

“Attacked by whom?” Anderson asked.

“Earth,” Duchovny said.

“So they blamed you somehow?” Anderson said.

“Sort of,” Duchovny said.

“Oh, I really didn’t know that,” Anderson said. “I’m sorry. It’s interesting that I didn’t pay attention to that side of things.”

“Well, I didn’t want you to pay attention to that,” Duchovny said.

During their conversation, the pair also touched on Anderson’s childhood and recent adventures, including her new book “Want,” a collection of anonymous sexual fantasies submitted by women from around the world.

This article was first published on: TODAY.com