Californication: David Duchovny on Why He Understands His Character

As vice-laden novelist Hank Moody on the hit show Californication, star David Duchovny draws upon a similar time in his life for inspiration: college. Well, not exactly the beer-pong-prevalent time that most of us think of when it comes to college; instead, he reflects on his time at Princeton University, and then earning a doctorate's at Yale. Long before he rose to fame as Special Agent Fox Mulder, Duchovny "envisioned [a life] in academia" and "taking summers off to write…novels." It's this personal history that informs his Professor Moody on the show, which may explain why he is so good in the role in particular. And Duchovny's personal vices (the whole sex-addiction thing) are a good resource to draw upon for Professor Moody's other flaws. On understanding his character's work, Duchovny says:"I wrote a novel when I was in 23, which was lousy--more a work of perseverance than anything else, too formless and stream-of-consciousness--but it's still sitting in a drawer somew

Tags: David Duchovny, Californication, Showtime, Showtime Series, X Files, Fox Mulder