The X-Files: What Gillian Anderson Has Done Since The Original Show Ended

American actress Gillian Anderson of The X-Files fame has expanded her career since the long-running science fiction drama series went off the air in 2002, though the show did briefly return for two additional short seasons in 2016 and 2018. The X-Files centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovny, and Dana Scully, played by Anderson. The duo investigates X-Files—unsolved cases involving paranormal or supernatural elements. While Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, Scully is a skeptic and a doctor who offers rational alternatives to Mulder’s theories.

The X-Files received numerous awards during its nine-year run, reaching 62 Emmy nominations and 16 awards. The show was nominated for 12 Golden Globes and won five and was nominated for 14 SAG Awards, winning twice. Anderson herself won an Emmy in 1997 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She was also nominated for the Best Actress in a Leading Role Golden Globe in 1995, and won that award in 1996. As for the SAG Awards, Anderson won for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 and 1997.

Before The X-Files aired in 1993, Anderson had little experience in the television world, though she did play small roles in movies include 1986’s Three at Once, 1988’s A Matter of Choice, and 1992’s The Turning. Anderson also appeared in some other television shows and documentaries throughout the 1993-2002 run of The X-Files; she narrated the documentaries Why Planes Go Down and Spies Above in 1996, and narrated the 9-episode Future Fantastic that same year. She also had voice-over roles on The Simpsons, Frasier, and Harsh Realm from 1997-1999.

The X-Files: What Gillian Anderson Has Done Since The Original Show Ended

After The X-Files ended, Anderson continued to work in the television industry. She starred as Lady Dedlock in 14 episodes of Bleak House in 2005, voiced Queen Vorkana in a 2007 episode of Robbie the Reindeer, and appeared as Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in three episodes of Any Human Heart in 2010. In 2011 alone, she appeared in multiple episodes of The Crimson Petal and the White, Moby Dick, and Great Expectations.

From 2013-2016, Anderson played DSU Stella Gibson in 17 episodes of The Fall, of which she was also executive producer. She also appeared in 15 episodes of the NBC show Hannibal from 2013-2015, acting as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier—opposite Mads Mikkelsen’s Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In 2014 played Meg Fitch in ten episodes of Crisis. In addition to small voice roles here and there throughout the 2010s, Anderson appeared in four episodes of War & Peace in 2016 and narrated 26 episodes of Ronja the Robber’s Daughter in 2017. She also starred as Jean Milburn in 16 episodes of the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, which released its second season in January 2020; in 2019, Anderson was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Online Film and Television Awards. Later in 2020, Anderson is slated to portray Margaret Thatcher in season 4 of The Crown.

Movie-wise, Anderson appeared in Chicago Cab, The Mighty, Playing by Heart, and The House of Mirth while The X-Files was still in its 1993-2002 run. After that, she appeared in movies including The Mighty Celt, A Cock and Bull Story, The Last King of Scotland, Straightheads, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, Noogie Woogie, Johnny English Reborn, Sister, Shadow Dancer, Mr. Morgan’s Last Love, I’ll Follow You Down, Sold, Robot Overlords, Viceroy’s House, and Crooked House, in addition to occasional short films and documentaries. More recently, Anderson played Wendy in The Spy Who Dumped Me in 2018, and also played Professor Hendricks in UFO the same year. In 2018, she appeared in The Sunlit Night.

Of course, Anderson also appeared in The X-Files installments that came after the show’s original end in 2002. She reprised her role as Scully in the short tenth season in 2016—though she almost didn’t return—as well as the eleventh season in 2018. She also appeared in the two feature films the franchise released—the 1998 film, The X-Files, which picked up where the TV series left off,and the stand-alone film, The X-Files: I want to Believe in 2008.

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