David Duchovny regrets ‘working a lot’ when his two children with ex-wife Téa Leoni were young in major TV shows like Fox’s The X-Files, Showtime’s Californication, and NBC’s Aquarius.
‘I was certainly working a lot when my kids were young. That’s something I might have changed,’ the 63-year-old overachiever told People on Sunday.
‘But then again, it’s also cool to model a person who’s engaged with their life for a kid. It might not be the best thing to just devote your entire existence to your kid either, so it could go either way…
‘I don’t have access to the other road that could have been traveled. I just have the one that I did travel, so certainly not a perfect parent, but I love my kids. I love my kids so, 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’s currently a senior enrolled 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 in 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 was certainly working a lot when my kids were young. That’s something I might have changed…I don’t have access to the other road that could have been traveled. I just have the one that I did travel, so certainly not a perfect parent, but I love my kids. I love my kids so, so much’
Duchovny and Téa (born Elizabeth Pantaleoni) are also proud parents of 25-year-old daughter Madelaine West Duchovny, who graduated from Brown University and starred in Netflix series Painkiller and Hulu series Saint X last year.
‘I felt unconditionally loved by my children … and I love them unconditionally. Just them being 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’ll always feel inadequate [as a parent]. Maybe I was a good parent, because my kids are great people, and they probably want to think of me as a good parent, too. They don’t want to think of 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 and give myself more of a break.’
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 should want great difficulty for them, I should want obstacles for them, I should want overcoming for them, I should 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 experience.’
The four-time Emmy nominee famously separated from Leoni in 2008 a few months before he completed a rehab stint for sex addiction, but they rekindled their romance in 2009 before separating a second time in 2011 and their divorce was finalized in 2014.
David also reportedly loved and left the likes of 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, pictured in 2019), who’s currently a senior enrolled at Pitzer College
Duchovny and Téa are also proud parents of 25-year-old daughter Madelaine West Duchovny (L, pictured September 5), who graduated from Brown University and starred in Netflix series Painkiller and Hulu series Saint X last year
The Fail Better podcaster explained: ‘I felt unconditionally loved by my children … and I love them unconditionally. Just them being 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 since ‘the best things come from the hardest experience’ (pictured February 9)
Duchovny famously separated from Leoni (R, pictured in 2010) in 2008 a few months before he completed a rehab stint for sex addiction, but they rekindled their romance in 2009 before separating 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 graces 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 directorial effort Reverse the Curse, which hits 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 graces 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 directorial effort Reverse the Curse, which hits select US theaters and VOD this Friday.
David adapted his very 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.
Music-wise, Duchovny – who gets 11K monthly listeners on Spotify – is next scheduled to perform with his band on July 27 at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London.