David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson enjoyed a The X-Files reunion onstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday.
Gillian, 56, and David, 64, became household names thanks to their starring roles on the sci-fi drama, which ran from 1993 to 2002.
Now, more than two decades after the series drew to a close, its leads found themselves together again while handing out a prize to their colleagues.
They took the stage at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles to present the award for outstanding ensemble cast in a drama series.
The pair hilariously fumbled through the task, to the point that a woman could at one point be heard shouting instructions at them from backstage.
‘We still got it,’ said Gillian drily, before she and her old co-star handed out the prize to the cast of the buzzy period drama Shogun.
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson enjoyed a The X-Files reunion onstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday
The bit began promisingly, with David delivering the joke: ‘”Ensemble,” I believe that’s a French word that means: “Thank God I only have to work three days a week.”‘
However, once the pair had to work through a bit of back-and-forth banter, the pair of them began to trip over their pre-written dialogue.
The biggest stumbling block came when they had to name the ‘one thing’ that they both felt was essential to creating a ‘great drama.’
Evidently, the idea was for them to agree that the secret ingredient was ‘a special thing’ they could neither ‘buy’ nor ‘fake’ – but when the time came for them to say what the quality was, they would give different answers simultaneously.
However, a wrench was thrown in the works when David said his answer first: ‘Timing,’ leaving Gillian to awkwardly throw in: ‘Chemistry,’ a few seconds later.
‘We still got it,’ Gillian deadpanned, before breaking into a forced smile and saying: ‘Hilarious! It’s hilarious! It was so good. We did that so well.’
David then tried to quickly announce the winner so that he and Gillian could ‘get out of here as soon as we can,’ and made to open the envelope.
Gillian then attempted to haltingly remind him that they had yet to announce any of the nominees, which they were supposed to do before declaring a winner.
More than two decades after the series drew to a close, its leads found themselves together again while handing out a prize to their colleagues
They took the stage at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles to present the award
for outstanding ensemble cast in a drama series
The pair hilariously fumbled through the task, to the point that a woman could at one point be heard shouting instructions at them from backstage
Gillian, 56, and David, 64, became household names thanks to their starring roles on the sci-fi drama, which ran from 1993 to 2002
Eventually, after a woman backstage was heard bellowing instructions at them, the pair managed to complete their task as assigned.
Gillian and David’s latest award show appearance comes 28 years after she famously kissed him at the Emmy Awards when she won for The X-Files.
The moment fell under searing public scrutiny because Gillian planted a smooch on David before she kissed her then-boyfriend Rodney Rowland.
Last year, Gillian posted an Instagram video in which she finally revealed why she turned her attention to David before her real-life love interest.
‘I don’t know why I kissed him first,’ Gillian confessed: ‘I guess because he was on the show with me and we were practically married because we spent more time with each other than we did with our loved ones. We were there to celebrate the series and so yeah. Maybe? Maybe that’s what it was?’
Meanwhile David and Gillian shared last year that they clashed severely during the making of The X-Files, to the point of sometimes not speaking for weeks on end.
‘There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off-camera,’ David said.
Gillian, who was his guest on his podcast Fail Better, observed that they had been in a ‘kinda crazy’ situation but had managed to work through it professionally.
‘I mean, it’s crazy that we were able to present on camera, you know, the various feelings and emotions and attraction and all that kind of stuff,’ she said: ‘but then not speak to each other for weeks at a time.’
David said their friction ‘didn’t matter, apparently, for the work cause we’re both f***ing crazy, I guess – we could just go out there and do what we needed to do.’
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2025 winners
MOVIES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown — WINNER
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Timothée Chalamet scored an upset win for his portrayal of folk legend Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance — WINNER
Pamela Anderson earned her first-ever nod for Sofia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, but Demi Moore continued her comeback run
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Jonathan Bailey – Wicked
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain — WINNER
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Jamie Lee Curtis – The Last Showgirl
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez — WINNER
Emilia Pérez’s Zoe Saldaña revived her film’s Oscars prospects with a win in the film supporting role category
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
A Complete Unknown
Anora
Conclave — WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and the cast of Wicked were shut out in all categories
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy — WINNER
Gladiator II
Wicked
TELEVISION
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Javier Bardem – ‘Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story’
Colin Farrell – ‘The Penguin’ — WINNER
Richard Gadd – ‘Baby Reindeer’
Kevin Kline – ‘Disclaimer’
Andrew Scott – ‘Ripley’
Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd is nominated for his lead role in the hit Netflix series, but lost out to Colin Farrell again
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Kathy Bates – ‘The Great Lillian Hall’
Cate Blanchett – ‘Disclaimer’
Jodie Foster – ‘True Detective: Night Country’
Lily Gladstone – ‘Under The Bridge’
Jessica Gunning – ‘Baby Reindeer’ — WINNER
Cristin Milioti – ‘The Penguin’
Cristin Milioti’s work in HBO’s The Penguin earned her a nod, but Jessica Gunning was triumphant for Baby Reindeer
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Tadanobu Asano – ‘Shōgun’
Jeff Bridges – ‘The Old Man’
Gary Oldman – ‘Slow Horses’
Eddie Redmayne – ‘The Day Of The Jackal’
Hiroyuki Sanada – ‘Shōgun’ — WINNER
Jeff Bridges’s performance in FX’s The Old Man earned him a best actor nom, but Hiroyuki Sanada continued his winning streak for Shōgun
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates – ‘Matlock’
Nicola Coughlan – ‘Bridgerton’
Allison Janney – ‘The Diplomat’
Keri Russell – ‘The Diplomat’
Anna Sawai – ‘Shōgun’ — WINNER
Anna Sawai was overcome by emotion as she won for the FX series Shōgun
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Brody – ‘Nobody Wants This’
Ted Danson – ‘A Man On The Inside’
Harrison Ford – ‘Shrinking’
Martin Short – ‘Only Murders In The Building’ — WINNER
Jeremy Allen White – ‘The Bear’
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell – ‘Nobody Wants This’
Quinta Brunson – ‘Abbott Elementary’
Liza Colón-Zayas – ‘The Bear’
Ayo Edebiri – ‘The Bear’
Jean Smart – ‘Hacks’ — WINNER
Jean Smart took home the prize in the lead female actor category but she was busy shooting and didn’t attend
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Bridgerton
The Day Of The Jackal
The Diplomat
Shōgun — WINNER
Slow Horses
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Only Murders In The Building — WINNER
Shrinking
The cast of FX’s The Bear, featuring Jeremy Allen White, was nominated, but it was Only Murders In The Building that won
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a TV series
The Boys
Fallout
House Of The Dragon
The Penguin
Shōgun — WINNER
