Oscar-winning director Ryan Coogler needed almost no effort to convince Danielle Deadwyler to star in his upcoming The X-Files reboot.
“He said, ‘Hi, I’m Ryan Coogler.’ And I said, ‘Bet,’” Deadwyler, 44, joked on Obsessed: The Podcast.
“I think that we just had rich conversations about–I’m not telling y’all. It’s X. I have nothing to give," Deadwyler, who currently stars opposite Steve Carell on HBO’s Rooster, said, before stopping herself. “I believe in the spirit of surprise. I believe that it’s good to be patient and to wait for things. And I believe in privacy.”
The forthcoming X-Files reboot, helmed by the Sinners director, was announced in February. Deadwyler and Yesterday star Himesh Patel have been given the leading roles, taking the baton from acclaimed series originals Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Ever since, some fans of the show have been up in arms about its new “diverse” reimagining.
“Who? Who’s talking s--t?” Deadwyler exclaimed. “I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. I ain’t on the end of it, so y’all haven’t hurt my feelings.”
In March, Anderson, 57, pleaded with fans to give the new series a chance.
“Have an open mind and give it a chance because it is gonna be f---ing cool. It really is,” Anderson said.
“He’s such a cool guy, so talented,” said the original Dana Scully of Coogler, 39, adding “and the pilot script is really good.”
“It’s something different. It’s not… It’s different, and it’s special, so—give it a break," she concluded.
Deadwyler, who had not previously heard Anderson’s remarks, said the gesture was “kind” and “beautiful.”
“When handles are being passed over, I think we need to get out of this idea that something has to remain in this way. Allow the change to happen,” she said. “Change is—that’s the constant, that is the religion, right? And I think that that’s honorable and beautiful of Gillian to share that, to encourage folks to remain open-minded.”
Deadwyler and Patel, 35, will not directly reprise the previous X-Files characters. Instead, they will play two new FBI agents tasked with explaining the unexplainable. The original X-Files earned 15 Emmys over its 11-season run, including a two-season revival in 2016.
Deadwyler rose to fame through her roles in The Watchmen and in the Netflix western The Harder They Fall. She received several major award nominations for her role in the 2022 film Till, and is currently starring opposite Carell in Rooster, which has already been renewed for a second season.
“You get in a certain rhythm, and then you’ve got to change that thing up. And that’s what this is,” she said on the stark tonal shift in the projects she takes on. “I mean, we’re definitively in a new season, globally. Like things are doing—flipping the pancake over. And the s--t is bubbly. So if it’s hot, it’s showing it’s ready. You have to change."
“And I’m just allowing myself to go with the flow of this revolution of life and revolution of self,” she added.
On Rooster, Deadwyler plays Dylan Shepard, a college professor who invites Carell’s Greg Russo to speak to her class about his latest book. The actress said Carell, 63, helped make the transition to comedy seamless.
“I heard Steve say one time that the characters don’t know they’re in a comedy… They’re just living,” she said. “And I found that so beautiful to take into account, which is, you’re not playing for jokes, you’re not playing for tears. You’re playing the living, the being of the character.”
Rooster is currently streaming on HBO Max. The X-Files has not yet set a release date.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch new episodes of ‘Obsessed: The Podcast’ every Wednesday and Friday. And follow our feed to listen to the show the next morning on your favorite podcast platform.
