Baywatch babe turned down Dana Scully role in The X Files – as Gillian Anderson reveals bosses wanted someone ‘bustier’
Scroll down for other famous actors who turned down iconic roles
THE X-FILES star Gillian Anderson has revealed that she wasn’t the first choice to play Dana Scully as show bosses originally wanted someone “bustier, taller, and leggier”.
Gillian, 56, shot to fame playing Agent Scully, on the hit supernatural drama, but this may not have been the case had a major Baywatch star turned down the role of the FBI paranormal investigator first.
The X-Files premiered in 1993 with Gillian and David Duchovny in the lead roles of special Agents Scully and Mulder. However, Mulder was almost partnered up with someone completely different as actor with model Pamela Anderson originally offered the role.
According to Gillian, Pamela, who was already a household name, turned down the role.
During an interview with , she said: “Pamela was somebody who was more familiar to them in terms of what was on TV at the time.
“They were looking for someone bustier, taller, leggier than me. They couldn’t fathom how David [Duchovny] and me could equal success.”
However, the show became a massive hit with the pair’s chemistry proving bosses wrong.
Gillian played Agent Scully for 11 series, initially from 1993 to 2002, and then again from 2016 to 2018.
She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1997 for her role.
From there, she has gone on to have a prolific career, notably playing Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, Jean Milburn in Sex Education and Emily Maitlis in Scoop in recent years.
Meanwhile, Pamela, who rose to fame as a Playboy Playmate, received international recognition for starring as C.J. Parker on Baywatch from 1992 to 1997.
She went on to star in a number of movies, including the 2017 Baywatch reboot.
More recently, she also collaborated with Netflix on Pamela: A Love Story, a documentary about her life.
Pamela is one of many famous actors who turned down iconic roles.
Acclaimed actor Brian Cox, who is best known as Logan Roy in Succession, notably rejected the part of Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones.
Rob Lowe was also offered the part of Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy, but thankfully for Patrick Dempsey fans, he decided to go in a different direction.
The X-Files' biggest moments
The original X-Files series ran from 1993 to 2002 bringing a number of memorable moments to the screen. Take a look at some of Mulder and Scully's highlights...
- The cemetery in the rain (Season 1, Episode 1) – The pilot episode was all about establishing the relationship between Mulder and Scully and no scene did this better than the moment they met up in the cemetery in the pouring rain.
- Scully saves Mulder from a parasite (Season 1, Episode 8) – When the pair are stranded in an Alaskan outpost, Scully worried that Mulder had been infected by a parasitic worm that causes violent outbursts. Before administering the antidote, she locked herself in a closet with her partner to determine whether he actually had the parasite, because she would’ve rather risked letting him hurt her than risk hurting him. This scene is a great example of the care and consideration that always goes both ways in their partnership throughout the series.
- Mulder refuses to shoot Scully (Season 3, Episode 17) – Under the influence of mind control, Mulder had no trouble aiming a gun at his own head, but he fights back when told to pull the trigger in Scully’s direction, giving her time to pull a fire alarm and snap him out of it.
- Mulder and Scully’s hospital hug (Season 4, Episode 14) – After discovering there is no cure for her cancer, Scully decides to return to work. But before she does, she shares a tender moment with Mulder in the hospital hallway where he vows to help her through it. He declares that the truth will “save both of [them],” before giving his partner a much-need hug.
- Mulder tells Scully that he loveS her (Season 6, Episode 3) – After a Wizard of Oz-esque trip to a 1939 ocean liner populated by alternate versions of familiar faces, Mulder wakes up in hospital under the influence of strong painkillers and tells Scully that he loves her. This is the only “I love you” ever exchanged between the pair and was met on Scully’s end with a sigh and an “Oh, brother” – she already knew.
All 11 series of The X-Files are available to stream on All4.