The X-Files: Gillian Anderson Offered Half as Much Money as David Duchovny

The X-Files is back on FOX with a six-episode revival, and Gillian Anderson revealed something about her return to the series.

In a new interview shared by The Daily Beast, Anderson revealed that she was only offered half of David Duchovny’s salary for the mini-series. This was a shock to her because it was battle she had won during the series’ time on air. It took her three seasons to finally receive pay equal to Duchovny’s during the show’s initial run.

Anderson did end up receiving equal pay for the revival. Anderson said the following about the salary she was initially offered for the revival:

“Especially in this climate of women talking about the reality of [unequal pay] in this business, I think it’s important that it gets heard and voiced. It was shocking to me, given all the work that I had done in the past to get us to be paid fairly. I worked really hard toward that and finally got somewhere with it. Even in interviews in the last few years, people have said to me, ‘I can’t believe that happened, how did you feel about it, that is insane.’ And my response always was, ‘That was then, this is now.’ And then it happened again! I don’t even know what to say about it.”

The X-Files returned Sunday night with more than 13 million viewers. FOX has already said it is ready for more of the series, but scheduling may cause an issue for another season. Both Anderson and Duchovny have full plates, but Duchovny did say they would look at it after the show aired. With 13 million viewers tuning into the first episode, it is obvious the fans want more of Mulder and Scully.

Are you shocked that Anderson was initially offered less for The X-Files revival? Tell us what you think.