David Duchovny regrets “working a lot” when his two children with ex-wife Téa Leoni were young on major TV shows like Fox’s The X-Files, Showtime’s Californication and NBC’s Aquarius.
‘I certainly worked a lot when my children were young. That’s something I might have changed,” the 63-year-old overachiever said People on Sunday.
“But on the other hand, it’s also cool to model someone who is involved in their life for a child. It may also not be best to dedicate your entire existence to your child, so it could go either way…
“I don’t have access to the other path that could have been taken. I just have the one I traveled with, so by no means a perfect parent, but I love my kids. I love my children so much.’
This Saturday, David and the 58-year-old Madam Secretary alum will celebrate the 22nd birthday of their son Kyd Miller Duchovny, who is currently an enrolled senior at Pitzer College.
David Duchovny regrets “working a lot” when his two children (pictured in 2020) with ex-wife Téa Leoni (2-L) were young on major TV shows like Fox’s The X-Files, Showtime’s Californication and NBC’s Aquarius
The 63-year-old overachiever (pictured February 10) told People on Sunday: ‘I definitely worked a lot when my kids were young. That’s something I may have changed… I don’t have access to the other path that could have been taken. I just have the one I traveled with, so by no means a perfect parent, but I love my kids. I love my children so much
Duchovny and Téa (born Elizabeth Pantaleoni) are also proud parents to 25-year-old daughter Madelaine West Duchovny, who graduated from Brown University and starred in the Netflix series Painkiller and Hulu series Saint X last year.
‘I felt loved unconditionally by my children… and I love them unconditionally. Just having them in the world has taught me that feeling from both sides, and I don’t think there’s anything deeper or more meaningful than that,” the Fail Better podcaster explained.
‘I will always feel inadequate [as a parent]. Maybe I was a good parent because my kids are great people, and they probably want to see me as a good parent, too. They don’t want to see me as a failure. I’m sure I’ve done bad things, I’m sure I’ve made mistakes, but we all have. So I try to give myself more rest.’
But David – who graduated from Princeton and Yale – never wanted everything to be smooth sailing for his privileged nepo babies.
“That’s a boring life,” Duchovny noted.
“I would want great difficulties for them, I would want obstacles for them, I would want victories for them, I would want successes and failures for them. So I try – as everything I do has shown me – [to show] that the best things come from the hardest experiences.”
The four-time Emmy nominee split from Leoni in 2008, just months before completing a stint in rehab for sex addiction, but they rekindled their romance in 2009 before splitting for a second time in 2011 and their divorce was finalized in 2014 .
David also reportedly loved and left Sharon Stone, Winona Ryder, Sheryl Lee and Lisa Loeb.
This Saturday, David and the 58-year-old Madam Secretary alum will celebrate the 22nd birthday of their son Kyd Miller Duchovny (M, photo in 2019), who is currently a senior enrolled at Pitzer College
Duchovny and Téa are also proud parents of 25-year-old daughter Madelaine West Duchovny (L, photo September 5), who graduated from Brown University and starred in the Netflix series Painkiller and Hulu series Saint X last year.
The Fail Better podcaster explained, “I felt loved unconditionally by my children… and I love them unconditionally. Just having them in the world has taught me that feeling from both sides, and I don’t think there’s anything deeper or more meaningful than that.
But David – who graduated from Princeton and Yale – never wanted everything to be smooth sailing for his privileged nepo babies, as ‘the best things come from the hardest experience’ (photo February 9)
Duchovny famously split from Leoni (R, pictured in 2010) in 2008, just months before completing a stint in rehab for sex addiction, but they rekindled their romance in 2009 before splitting for a second time in 2011 and their divorce was finalized in 2014.
The four-time Emmy nominee will next narrate the three-part 30 for 30 Podcast Searching for Hobey Baker, about the hockey legend whose name adorns the coveted collegiate trophy, premiering this Wednesday on the ESPN app and other podcast providers
David wrote, produced, directed and stars as Marty Fullilove in his third feature film Reverse the Curse, opening in select US theaters and VOD this Friday.
Duchovny will next narrate the three-part 30 for 30 Podcast Searching for Hobey Baker, about the hockey legend whose name adorns the coveted collegiate trophy, premiering this Wednesday on the ESPN app and other podcast providers.
The two-time Golden Globe winner wrote, produced, directed and stars as Marty Fullilove in his third feature film Reverse the Curse, opening in select US theaters and VOD this Friday.
David has adapted his own 2017 novel Bucky F***ing Dent to bring the dysfunctional father-son drama – also starring Logan Marshall-Green, Stephanie Beatriz and Evan Handler – to the big screen.
On the musical front, Duchovny – who gets 11,000 monthly listeners on Spotify – will perform with his band at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London on July 27.
