Compared to The X-Files, David Duchovny was more mature when he said farewell to Californication.
If you ask any David Duchovny fan what the two biggest roles of his career are, you will likely get very similar answers from most. The actor was catapulted to top tier status in the industry thanks to his portrayal of FBI Agent Fox Mulder in Fox’s science fiction drama series The X-Files. He played the character for almost a decade between 1993 and 2002, and then returned when the show enjoyed a reboot run from 2016 to 2018.
Following that first spell on The X-Files, Duchovny landed his other most prominent role on TV; he was cast as eccentric writer Hank Moody in the Showtime comedy-drama series Californication. So synonymous did the actor become with his new character, that people even started to theorize that the show was based on his own real life.Duchovny’s spell as the star of Californication lasted seven seasons and 84 episodes over the course of a seven-year period. The series concluded its run in June 2014, having secured two Primetime Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe Award. While the audience ratings for the show were impressive overall, Duchovny himself would have wanted a different ending for the series finale.
The New York City-born star was of course referring to the plot of the show. In terms of the actual ending of Californication’s run on Showtime, Duchovny’s experience was as good as a farewell to a beloved role can be. That was not exactly the case with The X-Files.
The Californication finale saw David Duchovny’s Hank Moody finally coming to terms with his feelings for Karen Van Der Beek, his longtime love interest, played by Natascha McElhone. Throughout the show, Hank and Karen’s relationship was tumultuous, with Hank struggling to stay faithful and Karen struggling to forgive him for his mistakes.
In the final episode, though, they finally get together and appear to make the decision to move to New York and start a new life together.
This is not quite the ending that Duchovny would have chosen for his character and the show overall. In his head, the fitting end for Hank’s reckless life would have been death. Asked by Rolling Stone magazine if he was happy with how the series ended, the actor said: “I always wanted Hank to die. That would have been my way of ending it.”
0 Comments