Gillian Anderson Clears Up That Iconic Kiss with David Duchovny At The 1997 Emmys
Gillian Anderson, 55, has finally addressed the moment that left many fans curious: her kiss with David Duchovny at the 1997 Emmys. The X-Files star, who won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, first turned to her co-star for a smooch before kissing her then-boyfriend, Rodney Rowland.
In a candid Instagram video, Gillian shared, “OK, so I’ve been told that you guys want some information about when I won the [Emmy] back about a century ago and I kissed David first and why did I not kiss my boyfriend Rodney?”
She added with a playful tone, “The fact is that David and I were actually living together and Rodney was my beard.”
She then chipped in, “I’m joking, that’s just a joke. Is that really mean?”
Gillian and David, who starred together on The X-Files from 1993 to 2002, shared a unique bond. The series returned for additional seasons in 2016 and 2018. Reflecting on the kiss, she said, “I don’t know why I kissed him first. I guess because he was on the show with me and we were practically married because we spent more time with each other than we did with our loved ones. We were there to celebrate the series and so yeah. Maybe? Maybe that’s what it was?”
Despite the on-screen chemistry, the pair were never romantically involved off-screen. However, David recalled their instant connection during auditions for The X-Files, telling PEOPLE in June, “I think immediately, when we were reading together on the stairs to go in to audition, we knew that we could work together. There was an immediate connection through the work that we could do, and that lasted for a long, long time.”
Rodney, described by Gillian as “a great guy,” wasn’t bothered by the kiss. “[I] don’t think it bothered him. He understood. It was complex,” she shared.
The bond between Gillian and David has endured over the years, delighting fans. In 2021, the two caught up over lunch and shared a selfie on Instagram that went viral.
David reflected on their enduring friendship, saying, “When you share a seminal kind of experience in your life — this huge success with the show that we had — only we know what it’s like to be in the center of that. It’s almost like being in the same family. We know what it was like to be raised in that time. There’s a certain kind of shared experience, knowledge, and past that never goes away.”
