Despite their own success, several A-list stars have said they hope their children forge careers outside of Hollywood, explaining that while the industry may appear glamorous, the reality behind the scenes isn’t a life they want for their kids.
“The X Files” and “Californication” star David Duchovny is one of those celebrities, having revealed that he was initially “scared” when his daughter, Madelaine West Duchovny, who goes by West, followed in her parents’ footsteps.
David Duchovny Opens Up About Daughter West Duchovny Pursuing an Acting Career
GettyDavid Duchovny wasn’t so sure about his daughter following in his and her mom, actress Téa Leoni’s acting footsteps. However, the acting gene seemed to come naturally for West Duchovny, 27, who now stars in Peacock’s latest hit series, “The Five-Star Weekend,” which features an all-star cast including Jennifer Garner and Regina Hall.
When speaking to Closer in 2022 (via Hello!), “The X-Files” star shared, “I’m always scared of anybody getting into acting, especially a child of mine, but I think she has a toughness to her that can help her survive.”
Having a thick skin is almost a requirement in Hollywood these days, especially as so-called “nepo babies” continue to receive intense scrutiny from critics who argue they had an easier path into the industry.
David & His Daughter Will Star in an Upcoming Comedy
West has been acting since she was a teenager, with her first major role alongside her dad in “The X-Files” in 2018, when she was 19. West took on the role of Maddy in the tenth episode of season 11, which also happened to be the series finale.
The father-daughter duo is also set to star in the satirical comedy “Soapbox,” which David has also co-written, according to Deadline.
Speaking of working alongside his daughter, David told Hello!, “I had a wonderful time. You’d have to ask West if she had a wonderful time too, but it really was really a once in a lifetime experience. It was a gift, and speaking of agency, I just thought, ‘oh wow, I’m working on a movie that I wrote and I get to work with my daughter and these are great things.'”
He continued, “There were certain kinds of tensions in my mind going into it, but they were all ego-oriented of ‘I don’t want my daughter to see me fail,’ or ‘I don’t want my daughter to see me being a bad actor,’ or something like that. But they’re all very small minded things that in the actual doing of it went away very quickly.”
West Duchovny Was in Pre-Med Before Getting the Acting Bug
GettyDespite her famous parents, West had a normal childhood; she attended school and was going to college, where she was studying pre-med. However, she found herself getting the acting itch when a friend asked her to star in a play.
“And it was just like, ‘oh no’. I had never felt that way about anything. I never loved anything I had tried so effortlessly,” she told Women’s Wear Daily in 2023.
“I felt like I had been pushing myself to love school and love academics. But [acting] felt like the first thing that I wanted to commit to really getting to know and doing,” she added.
She told the outlet that while her parents were nervous about their daughter’s newfound love of acting, saying that her mom was “definitely was trepidatious,” they came to terms with it and supported her.
“They’re both super supportive now. I think it just took them a little bit to take me seriously,” she said. “Because it felt so random. But [I told them], ‘No, guys, this is what I need to do.’”
