What is 65-year-old David Duchovny doing now? "I am a connoisseur of failure."

His career was defined by two films – "The X-Files" and "Californication." David Duchovny's acting career has been less talked about in recent years. He doesn't consider it a failure. As the star, who turned 65 on August 7th, notes, his acting downtime allowed him to pursue other avenues – music and literature.

When we think of David Duchovny, we picture two characters: Fox Mulder and Hank Moody. Performances for which he won Golden Globes. In a sense, these characters, to which he devoted nearly two decades of his career, defined it.

Duchovny is less associated with films, although he has plenty of such projects in his portfolio ( "California," "Playing God," "Evolution" ). Duchovny has never pushed for big-budget productions.

"I think I've done really well in films that haven't been seen. And I've done quite well in films that have been seen a lot. (...) I didn't set out to be a blockbuster star," he admitted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year.

After the successes of "The X-Files" and "Californication," one might think Duchovny couldn't extend his winning streak. Some might call him a professional failure. But for the Princeton and Yale University graduate , failure is a familiar feeling. Instead of wallowing in it, he prefers to see opportunities to try new things and pursue fulfillment in other areas. In fact, he dedicated his podcast "Fail Better" to failure.

"I've long been a connoisseur of failure, obsessively thinking about the mistakes we make or fear," Duchovny told Variety. "I like to think about how these mistakes, coupled with the futility of trying to avoid them, shape our lives. If we all experience failure so often, why are we so afraid of it?" he continued.

His role as a podcast host, which he began pursuing while Hollywood was engulfed in high-profile strikes, isn't the only one he can add to his extensive artistic output. At 54, Duchovny has published his first novel and debut album. Subsequent musical and literary works have sweetened his acting impasse.

In an interview with the Guardian, he noted that both writing and creating music was like throwing off the shackles and taking control of his own life.

"I think the limitations of acting are that you use your tools, your skills, in service of someone else's words and vision. Not that I didn't love acting—quite the opposite. But there was something more I wanted to express, at least with words. Both forms gave me a point of view I wanted to share," he said in 2021, when his fourth novel, "Truly Like Lightning," and third music album, "Gestureland," debuted.

Moreover, Duchovny had no problem with the spotlight fading at a certain point in his career, which he considers a slow death for an actor. However, he happily remained in the shadows, explaining that for several years he hadn't noticed any interesting projects he wanted to get involved with.

This year has brought a revival. In May, Duchovny married his longtime partner, 31-year-old Monique Pendleberry, who is his second wife. From 1997 to 2014, he shared his life with actress Téa Leoni, with whom he has a daughter , Madelaine West, and a son, Kyd Miller.

As for his career, the actor is currently preparing for a new film role. He will play Kurt Vonnegut , the famous American writer who wrote "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Breakfast of Champions," among others. Duchovny's debut poetry collection, "About Time," will be published in September.