Gillian Anderson Almost Quit Acting After “Horrendous” Review

 

If there's one role we remember Gillian Anderson for, it's her role as Dana Scully in 'The X-Files'. However, her career has been much more illustrious having starred in several films over the years. Unfortunately, not all of his roles were positively fruitful for his career, and one in particular almost caused him to quit acting after a scathing review.

The X-Files was his biggest role

In the early years of his career, Anderson starred in a few short films, voiced some characters in animated television series, and even provided voices for video games. However, none of this left her indifferent to what became her most recognizable role and the one that brought her fame: playing Agent Dana Scully in 'The X-Files'.

This television series aired for nine seasons during its original broadcast run from 1993 to 2002. The show focuses on FBI agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny) who are investigating unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena, known as the "X-Files". The show was a huge success, with both the show and its cast winning numerous awards for their efforts. In fact, it was so successful that even after the show went off air, it was rebooted for a 10th season 14 years later in 2016. The reboot was so well received that the show returned for an 11th season in 2018.

Acting in The House of Mirth

During her time as Dana Scully, Anderson also played several other roles, one of which included playing "brilliant socialite" Lily Bart in the 2000 film adaptation of the 1905 novel of the same name, The House of Mirth . Starring Dan Aykroyd and Eric Stoltz, the film focuses on Bart and his slow decline from a life of privilege in the late 19th century to being forced to the margins of society.

According to the film's synopsis, “She is looking for a rich husband and, in trying to conform to societal expectations, she misses the chance for real love with Lawrence Selden. Her search for a husband comes to an inglorious end when she is falsely accused of having an affair with a married man and is rejected by society and her friends.'' Unfortunately, at the time of release the film Did not get good response.

Anderson received "terrible" reviews.

While the film was nominated for several awards, it only grossed $48,770 in its opening weekend in the US. The film's disorganized reception made Anderson realize that the industry was actually "insolent".

“I thought about it recently when going to the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. All these artists who have put everything they have into the work: blood, sweat, tears, money. Put their families second in this singular approach and then... it doesn't get nominated. I wish there was a reward for the effort. Even, in fact, the thing is being made at all!” He said.

Anderson herself was the victim of a very scathing review, and although it is unclear which review she was referring to, she described how it almost forced her to quit acting altogether. “One particularly terrible review about my performance almost made me quit acting. The combination of that and the lackluster reception was a real eye-opener for me, a rude awakening to the fickleness of the industry,” she explained.

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Ultimately, Anderson continued to act, which we're grateful for, and it seems like the film has gotten better with time, as it now holds a positive 82 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.