Whoa, David Duchovny Really Wanted To Be On Full House Back In The Day

Viewers are set to watch Fox Mulder and Dana Scully expand the far-flung mythos of The X-Files for a brand new season of episodes, but David Duchovny recently offered up a "truth" that some might not have expected to be out there. In the years before The X-Files started coming together, It turns out the job-hungry Duchovny tried quite hard to get cast on one of the most celebrated sitcoms ever: Full House. Who was he trying to play? Here's what Duchovny had to say:

Yes, I was auditioning for every show that would have me. Right before [The X-Files pilot], I had great disappointment, because I had auditioned for a show called Full House a couple of years earlier. I had actually auditioned for all three parts. They could not figure out how to use me. All they could figure out was that they did not want to use me.

During his interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, David Duchovny did tell the bemused host that his urge and dedication to land the Full House role was as much about being able to afford food as anything else. But even if no one eventually had mercy on him, he almost definitely did not phone those auditions in.

It seems David Duchovny did fairly well with those auditions, too, as they didn't happen all on the same day. So apparently, his Danny Tanner performance impressed someone enough to get him back in for an Uncle Jesse tryout, which was good enough to land him a Joey Gladstone callback. (The order of those might not be correct.) But as good as his acting might have been at the time, none of it turned him into a future TGIF mainstay. In his words:

I would go home and I'd get the call. 'You're not that guy. Go in for this guy.' Click. 'Not that guy. Go in for this guy.' Click. 'Not that guy. Go home.'

Now, in the scheme of things, we are not at all upset that David Duchovny didn't spend 1987-1995 being a germophobic widower, and it's perfectly fine that we're not currently watching his sporadic appearances on Netflix's Fuller House. For one, that would have meant Bob Saget would have had to find another avenue to fame that was antithetical to his raunchy stand-up act. And two, that would obviously mean The X-Files would have had another lead actor in the role of Fox Mulder...and we're not sure we could deal with that. Oh boy, just imagine if that's where Bob Saget would have gotten his big break.

Thankfully, none of those worries are waiting just around the bend, and we'll be watching David Duchovny and his longtime co-star Gillian Anderson when The X-Files Season 11 debuts on Fox on Wednesday, January 3, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Check out all the classic episodes that fans should revisit before the new season, and then head to our midseason premiere schedule to see all the other

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.