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'Californication' Far Cry From 'X-Files'

Posted on: Thursday, 19 June 2008, 00:00 CDT

By GREG HERNANDEZ

David Duchovny is stepping back into his role as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in this summer's feature film "The X-Files: I Want to Believe." Since the series on which the movie is based ended in 2002, David has taken on a series of different roles ranging from comedy ("Connie and Carla") to heavy drama ("Things We Lost in the Fire") and even starred and directed in his own film "House of D."

But the role that has really transformed perceptions of him is that of Hank Moody, a brilliant but troubled novelist in Showtime's terrific series "Californication." David, 47, is a comic revelation in the role, which earned him a Golden Globe Award in January and should be a shoo-in for an Emmy nod.

"I enjoy playing him mostly because in the comic tradition this is a guy who says what he thinks and does what he wants to do," David told me Monday at a party in Hancock Park celebrating the DVD release of the first season. "A lot of comedy is based on somebody breaking social norms, somebody who doesn't abide by the rules that we all have to. That's like the energy and the fun of comedy. We all wish that we didn't have to abide by the rules and yet we all do for the most part.

"It's either tragedy or comedy. Tragedy is when you don't abide by the rules and you hurt somebody; in comedy, nobody really gets hurt."

Hank is quite a handful. He drinks, he's promiscuous and leads a complicated life involving his ex-girlfriend (Natascha McElhone) and their daughter (Madeleine Martin). The real complications come from his sleeping -- unknowingly -- with his ex's new stepdaughter (Madeline Zima) who also turns out to be a minor.

It's a far cry from "The X-Files."

"There was always a lot of discussion directed at me when I was doing 'The X-Files' about typecasting and that kind of stuff and it never really was a concern for me," David said. "It's just really nice to be able to stretch in another direction and I hope there's more."

But he was more than happy to reprise his "X-Files" role in the new movie out July 25: "I was very excited to do it and I'm very excited now that I've seen the finished product. I think Chris Carter made just a great thriller. A really smart, scary 'X-Files' back in the tradition of the first couple of years of the show. I am just really proud of him and of us -- that we pulled it off."

Mariska becomes a household name

Mariska Hargitay has starred for many years now on NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," but that doesn't mean most people know how to pronounce her name. Mariska, the daughter of the late Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, was in for a real shock when Mike Myers decided to use her name as his mantra in his new comedy "The Love Guru," out on Friday.

"It's hilarious," Mariska said in the new issue of TV Guide. "It took Mike Myers to teach everybody how to say my name! I walk down the street and people chant 'Mariska Hargitay.' He used my name 60 times!"

He used it with her permission, of course. She also did a cameo in the flick, which she said was "a blast."

Source: Daily News; Los Angeles, Calif.

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