David Duchovny Jokes He 'Discovered' Angelina Jolie Since He Cast Her for 1997's 'Playing God': 'I Just Knew She Was a Movie Star'
Does Angelina Jolie have David Duchovny partly to thank for her booming success in Hollywood?
During the father-of-two's recent appearance on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live, he chatted about working with the Oscar winner on their 1997 thriller Playing God.
"I feel like I discovered Angelina Jolie," the X-Files alum, 63, confessed. "Because I was casting, I was part of the casting — I didn't discover her — but you know, she came in, and I just knew she was a movie star, and I told everybody we've gotta cast her."
The mom-of-six, 49, got her big break just two years later in Girl, Interrupted, which she won the Best Supporting Actress for at the Academy Awards.
Despite Jolie's success, she recently confessed that if she started her career in the environment the world is today, she wouldn't be an actress.
"When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much," she explained of social media and being followed by paparazzi.
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Though she grew up with famous parents, Jon Voight, 85, and the late Marcheline Bertrand, the Tomb Raider lead never found the glitz and glam aspect of Hollywood that enticing.
"I never bought into it as significant or important. I grew up in quite a shallow place," she told WSJ. "Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity."
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Last year, the movie star opened up about why she wasn't taking that many roles compared to her past.
"I don’t feel like I’ve been myself for a decade, in a way. Which I don’t want to get into," she admitted to Vogue, hinting at the stress she dealt with after filing for divorce from ex Brad Pitt, 60, whom she accused of being abusive.
Jolie said that starting seven years ago, she would only take on "jobs that didn’t require long shoots" so she could spend more time her kids. "We had a lot of healing to do. We’re still finding our footing."
As OK! reported, the Fight Club star isn't on good terms with his children, with several of them dropping "Pitt" from their name. Daughter Shiloh, 18, legally changed her name from Shiloh Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie on the day of her 18th birthday, a move that left her father "upset."
"Brad has made a tremendous effort to grow and learn from all of his experiences," a source told a news outlet of the situation. "He would love to find a way to continue to do this, repair things with his kids and for everyone to get to a better place."