Few actors can say they’ve spent decades chasing aliens, brooding through Californian existential crises and now going head-to-head with Jack Whitehall in a psychological thriller, but David Duchovny is not most actors.
The 63-year-old American, forever synonymous with The X-Files’ Fox Mulder, returns this month with Malice, a stylish new Prime Video series that whisks him from London to Greece in a tale of privilege, paranoia and manipulation.
“I’d be lying if I said coming to Greece wasn’t part of the reason I said yes,” he says, laughing. “I’d never been, and I’ve loved Greek mythology since I was a kid — it’s the whole basis of Western civilisation. Now I finally get to work here… in Crocs.”
The six-part show, streaming from November 14, centres on Adam (played by Whitehall), a charismatic tutor who charms his way into the lives of the wealthy Tanner family while they holiday in Greece. When the family’s nanny suddenly falls ill, he manoeuvres his way into their London home — and into their lives — with devastating consequences. Duchovny plays patriarch Jamie Tanner, a smooth-edged businessman who gradually realises the man he’s welcomed into his household may be the one tearing it apart.
“It’s kind of a reverse Ripley,” Duchovny says. “You know who the bad guy is all along, but the thrill is watching him get away with it — or wondering when he’ll get caught. My only worry was that the family might come across as dumb for not seeing it sooner, but the writing’s smarter than that. Jamie’s not blameless; he’s created the opening that Adam walks through.”
As Jamie, Duchovny wanted to avoid playing another one-note mogul. “He’s not just this guy handing out capitalist wisdom. He loves his wife and kids, but he’s also the kind of man who constantly reminds everyone that he pays for everything. He’s successful, a bit boorish, but not an idiot. There’s affection there — he’s just emotionally tone-deaf.”
He was also keen to make sure the Tanner family’s life wasn’t already falling apart before the “manny” arrived. “I didn’t want it to feel like his life was hell from the start,” he says. “Things are working okay — his marriage, his relationship with his kids — but he’s distracted, neglecting them. That’s what the manny preys on.”
He laughs when the term “manny” comes up. “We actually had one years ago. He was super macho — like having a competitor in the house. That dynamic’s definitely in Malice. There’s this unspoken tension when another man steps into your family space.”
Filming took Duchovny from the sun-soaked Greek islands to the leafy streets of London — a city he quickly fell for. “London’s great,” he says. “I’m from New York, so I’m comfortable in a big city. We weren’t working crazy hours, which was nice. I’d get home around five or six and put on Catchphrase. The host cracks me up — absolute genius.”
It was during those quiet evenings that he discovered just how gloriously odd British TV can be. “One night, I turned on Naked Attraction and my jaw dropped,” he recalls, still sounding astonished. “It’s so British. It’s wild — kids could be watching! It’s on free TV! My mouth just hung open. I thought, this is awesome.” He chuckles. “And I love that at any time of day you can turn on the TV and there’s a World War II documentary or a James Bond movie. It’s comforting.”
Duchovny’s trademark dry humour, he admits, took his British co-stars by surprise. “They don’t expect me to be as sarcastic as I am,” he says. “I’m more deadpan than the English. Jack Whitehall couldn’t believe it.”
Before filming began, Duchovny hadn’t been especially familiar with Whitehall’s work. “I watched some of his stuff before I came out and thought he was super funny,” he says. “Then I met him and realised he’s intensely focused — he takes this really seriously. He’s generous, smart, just a lovely guy. I’ve really enjoyed working with him.”
His fondness for Whitehall even extends to daytime quiz shows. “There was this one episode of Catchphrase where the answer was literally ‘Jack Whitehall’. Mr Chips had a little Jack face. I didn’t have my phone on me so I couldn’t film it, but I texted him saying, ‘You’ve made it — you’re on Catchphrase.’”
While Malice is a taut psychological thriller, Duchovny couldn’t resist finding moments of dark humour within it. “I wouldn’t call it a comedy, but I’ve tried to smuggle some humour in,” he says. “Plot-heavy dialogue can sound mechanical unless you make it feel lived-in. Jamie’s bluntness helps. He’s boorish with his kids, his wife — sometimes that’s funny because he doesn’t realise how rough he’s being. It’s darkly comic without trying to be.”
When he’s not filming, Duchovny divides his time between archaeological excursions with his son and recording episodes of Fail Better, his new podcast exploring the concept of failure. “It started during the strike when I had no work,” he says. “Now it’s eating my weekends. I didn’t realise how much research it would take, but I love the conversations — actors, doctors, whoever — talking about how they deal with failure.”
Between Malice, his music career and the podcast, Duchovny’s creative output shows no sign of slowing down. Yet for all the cities he’s worked in — from LA and New York to Greek islands — it’s London that seems to have left its mark.
“People think Americans are louder or more obvious, but I think I fit in here,” he says with a smirk. “Maybe it’s because I’m actually more deadpan than the Brits.”
Malice premieres November 14 on Prime Video.
