David Duchovny Reveals If He Believes ‘The X-Files’ Conspiracy Theories Ahead of His New Series

David Duchovny, best known for starring in The X-Files is now hosting a new History Channel series called Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny, which uncovers some strange yet true government activities that were hidden for many years. In talking about the new show, he compared it to X-Files and opened up about conspiracy theories and if he “believes.”
Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny is a 10-episode series that premieres on Friday, April 4, 2025. The first episode focuses on Area 51, the highly classified United States military installation where rumors of aliens have swirled for decades. He recently spoke with our sister site, TV Insider, on whether the truth really is out there and if any of these episodes would make for a good X-Files episode. Duchovny said, “What makes The X-Files‘ stories work is personal investment in the characters and the kinds of ways that the story affects the character. So, you’d have to see it through the lens of Mulder and Scully [played by Gillian Anderson] to see if it really works. Truth is stranger than fiction. You get a great story where you can get it.”

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
But does he “Believe?” Duchovny recently admitted to People Magazine that because he was a part of The X-Files, people assume he believes that kind of thing in real life. “We’re living in a time when people are trying to figure out conspiracies,” Duchovny stated. “I know that I’m kind of part of that history because of The X-Files, but it’s not actually one of my beliefs. I usually believe that there aren’t grand conspiracies. There are bad actors and there are bad plans, but a conspiracy to hide the existence of extraterrestrials and stuff like that? I find it very hard for two people to keep a secret, let alone millions of people keeping a secret worth thousands.”
However, there is one conspiracy he does believe: downtime. When people ask what he likes to do in his downtime, he joked, “What is downtime? That’s a conspiracy to me. It doesn’t really exist.” Aside from acting, he is also a musician and writer and will be releasing a new album and poetry book later this year. He added that he doesn’t go on social media but enjoys watching music documentaries when he isn’t working.
Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny premieres on the History Channel on April 4, 2025.

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