David Duchovny

Interview By: Stephen Snart
StephenSnart@TheCinemaSource.com

Last seen on screen in The House of D, a labor of love project that he wrote and directed, former X-Files wisecracker David Duchovny returns to New York for his new ensemble romantic comedy, Trust the Man. Duchovny plays Tom, a stay-at-home dad whose sexual appetite isn't satisfied by his busy wife Rebecca (played by Julianne Moore). Duchovny was first attracted to the script because it was penned by good friend Bart Freundlich, who also directed the film. After reading the script, not only was he impressed by the blend of edgy humor and sentimentality, he found himself relating to Tom's position quite easily. 'As an actor you have time off so you get to be more of a Mr. Mom. It's a different kind of a rhythm for raising kids. When you're home, you're really home and when you're not home, you're really not home.'

Even though he took to the material so quickly, Duchovny harbored the occasional concern that he might not be right for the part. 'What if I screw up my friend's movie'' worried Duchovny. 'I don't want to disappoint Bart. I don't want to be the weak link' If I screw up Bart's movie it'll be even worse because he's my friend. Every time I see him there will be that sinking feeling.'

He eventually managed to qualm these fears because of the strength of the material. 'I thought that Bart had written, and would be able to direct, a real interesting hybrid of a movie that had edgier kind of humor' and an adult heart beating underneath it. I think it's really hard to do and much more unique than it appears on the surface.'

To illustrate his point, Duchovny turns to an experience he had at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. After the screening of Trust the Man, he took the stage with his co-stars to field a brief Q & A session. 'Somebody said, 'I just want to thank you for making a traditional romantic comedy.' And everybody applauded. Then the person said, 'Do you feel like this is a traditional romantic comedy'' And I said, 'If by traditional romantic comedy you mean one in which a husband wants his wife to narrate a porn tape while he masturbates in bed next to her' then yes! It is a traditional romantic comedy!'

'To me, that sums up what I would like to convey about the movie. It is a traditional romantic comedy and yet with really original and much harder edged humor.' Duchovny cites that after the enormous success of Wedding Crashers last summer, studios are looking for comedies that push the envelope and really earn their 'no children under 17 unless accompanied by an adult' branding. 'It's a hard R movie with more of a whimsical heart, which is tough.'

Duchovny believes that the key to sustaining the film's 'adult heart,' is to keep the situations as believable as possible. 'We were very intent on, even in the ridiculous scenes, playing it real.' He calls attention to a scene in which he has to perform the Heimlich maneuver on his wife when she chokes on a piece of chocolate cake. 'How do you play it real and play it for as big a laugh as you can'' he queries rhetorically. 'There are standard ways to do it as a physical comedian and then there's ways to try and feel through it real.'

He uses this scene as a spring board to recount a very humorous story about his only real life experience with the Heimlich, which occurred in Vancouver while he was working on The X-Files. 'At 11:00 at night I went outside to walk my dog. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something coming at me. [chuckles] Fast! I turned with my hands up to defend myself and it was a guy in a bathrobe. He was coming at me with his arms out and I thought he was attacking me. He gets closer and he goes' [makes breathless gasping sounds].' Duchovny admits he didn't actually know the maneuver but he assumed he could figure it out. 'So, I turn him and start' you know, try to do my best Heimlich. I do like five really hard' yanking on his diaphragm. After about five, I hear him go: [whispers]'I think I'm having a heart attack.' Fantastic, he needs air and I'm actually suffocating him right now!'

In light of the poor man's revelation, Duchovny rushed inside his house and called an ambulance. The paramedics arrived and safely retrieved the man, who turned out to be one of Duchovny's neighbors. He didn't hear anything else on the matter until a year later when he ran into the man at a restaurant and learned it was actually an anxiety attack, not a heart attack after all! 'I'm sure I didn't help him by giving him a bear hug,' laughs Duchovny.

One thing we can be sure of is that he certainly did help out his friend by giving such a winning performance in Trust the Man. He plays the straight man to co-star Billy Crudup's madcap antics and he does it with cynical subversiveness. If he wasn't so good at balancing the film's tones, both performances would have suffered. And so, Duchovny had no need to worry about being the film's weak link. Not only does he give a wryly comedic performance, he helps improve his co-star's performance. Now that's a trustworthy actor.