‘The X-Files’ revival: Gillian Anderson secures equal pay with David Duchovny

The struggle for equal pay among actors and actresses is something that has been brought up fairly often in the movie industry, but has it really been brought up very much as of late in the world TV? Certainly not enough, which is why we’re glad to see Gillian Anderson broaching the subject while promoting the upcoming revival of “The X-Files” premiering on Sunday after the NFC Championship Game.

The biggest surprise that came out of some of her discussions was just how drastic the pay divide really was. She first revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she was originally offered only half of the salary as her co-star David Duchovny, but after some lengthy discussion she elaborated to the Daily Beast:

“I’m surprised that more [interviewers] haven’t brought that up because it’s the truth … Especially in this climate of women talking about the reality of [unequal pay] in this business, I think it’s important that it gets heard and voiced. It was shocking to me, given all the work that I had done in the past to get us to be paid fairly. I worked really hard toward that and finally got somewhere with it.”

Anderson certainly had every right to fight for it. Fox has plenty of money and will make plenty more with the revival; not only that, both you can’t have the show without Scully or Mulder. Both are equally important to it being a hit, and both have roles that have the same level of attention cast upon them.

We’re glad to see that (finally) the matter has been taken care of properly, and we can now move on to talking about what many are excited about: The show itself.

If you do want to see some other news when it comes to “The X-Files” right now, head over here to watch a new, extended video detailing what lies ahead for the show. Also, sign up over here to get some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)