Is it true that you were completely broke and willing to give up acting when the offer for The X-Files turned up? feirefitz
No. I was pretty broke all along. I wasn’t raised with money. I was doing odd jobs, catering, bartending. I did a few commercials. I had acted in four or five movies and also Twin Peaks. I wasn’t rolling in dough, but I wasn’t broke.

What was it like working with the St Bernard in Beethoven? MrNiceGuy
I don’t really remember the actual dog because I worked with a puppet. This was 1992 so there wasn’t much CGI going on. Most of the effects in movies were practical. The Beethoven dog who moved his eyebrows and does all the things dogs can’t do was animatronic.

When you played Denise Bryson in Twin Peaks, did you have any idea that the show would become a cult classic? dafunk2
It’s extraordinary that David Lynch had a show like that on network television. The first year it was on the cover of Time and Newsweek. It was a huge cultural thing. My storyline didn’t exist until the second year, which was seen as a big disappointment by pretty much everybody. So the question should be: did I think I would be able to ruin Twin Peaks?

Are there any aspects of your real-life personality that approach the indomitable coolness of Californication’s Hank Moody? Bicuser
I’m cooler than Hank.

Do you still have Gillian Anderson’s phone number? jonnygreenwood
I suppose I do. We live in separate parts of the world, so if we can connect, it’s mostly through email.

Have you heard Mulder and Scully by Catatonia? TurangaLeela2
I’ve heard of it.

Would you ever play a cover of it? VerulamiumParkRanger
I didn’t say I’ve heard it. I said I’ve heard of it.

Will you be looking out for crop circles when you play Latitude? Pawscrosssed53
I’ve just been in the UK shooting an Amazon show called Malice with Jack Whitehall. One of the producers really sold me on Latitude. He said it’s a great festival and that I should do it. I think they paint cows pink or something.

I love the concept of your podcast Fail Better. If you could go back in time and erase or fix one of your failures, what would you choose? lmsmith099
Well, that’s not an option, unless that reader knows time travel. The essence of the podcast is that you never want to go back and change things, because of the cliche of lessons learned. Your aptitude for resilience grows through failure. You don’t get that with success.

Have you thought about going back to finish your PhD? DignifiedCrumpet
That is a question my mother must have asked from beyond the grave. Where are you getting your questions from? A Ouija board? It’s not like you can just go blindly off and write a PhD dissertation. It would take two or three years of intense focus. The many things I’m doing, I’m trying to do well. If I added that into the mix, I’d probably screw everything up.

You rock a kilt. Can we count on more kilts in the future? BSeldt and MCJSM22
Yes. My mother was Scottish. I’ve worn a tartan that I’m supposedly allowed to wear through her background. I’m not just throwing on a kilt willy-nilly. I’m respecting the tradition. I do enjoy wearing them. They’re a comfortable article of clothing. No underpants? When that tradition was founded, there was no internet. I prefer to wear underwear and not have a stupid viral moment.

What kinds of things spark your curiosity? alanaincanada
Not food. I’m just not that guy. Animals always spark my curiosity. I have one dog right now. The water, the ocean, humanity, what we’re doing on the planet, these kinds of things. Big questions and small.

Do you believe? TurangaLeela2
The proposition that Earth is the only planet in the universe that has managed to sustain intelligent life seems an impossibility. On the other hand, do I believe we’ve been contacted or are in contact with aliens? I don’t believe that, no. How often do I get asked if they are going to reboot The X-Files? I mean, that’s the default question people like to ask. If I was going to do it, I’d let y’all know. You wouldn’t have to ask me. I wouldn’t keep it a secret. Nowadays, I think people believe in conspiracies we never would have aired because they were just too stupid.

David Duchovny’s new film, Reverse the Curse, is now streaming on demand in the US. He plays O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 27 July and Latitude 28 July