Gillian Anderson: "The pressure not to fail for women has always been high up there for me"

Gillian Anderson has lived life in her characters. Some have become woven into the tapestry of contemporary culture today, like Stella Gibson from The Fall, Jean Milburn from Sex Education and, of course, Dana Scully from The X Files. But Anderson, now 56, has also transcended fiction by stepping into the shoes of history’s most influential—and complex, controversial and even downright dislikeable women—like Margaret Thatcher, Eleanor Roosevelt and Wallis Simpson.

There’s a theme here. In past interviews, Anderson chalks it up to having a face that looks “intellectual”... when, in fact, she’s mulling over her dinner options. On the day of our interview, her presence is undeniable—still and poised, she exudes an air of regality, which is peppered with a quick sense of humour. “It takes a village doesn’t it,” she laughs, waving a hand at the nearly dozen people crammed into the Claridges hotel room.

She’s as radiant as you’d expect a new L’Oreal Paris spokesperson to be, but throughout our conversation, Anderson keeps returning to the surprise of it all: the fame, the roles, and the impact they have had, even 30 years down the line. We can’t speak about this without discussing the impact of her most seminal character: Scully, the doctor and FBI agent who launched thousands of women's careers in STEM, literally. “There hadn’t really been anyone like her before,” Anderson exclaims, “... And there hadn’t been someone who looked like me on the telly either.”

And so, at the heart of her career has been a deep commitment to representing and championing women and girls, especially in the nuances of their experiences—a space that Hollywood is only now starting to explore. It’s a fitting conversation to have around International Women’s Day, and below, we dig into it.

On using beauty as a vehicle into characters...

"When it came to Margaret Thatcher, she didn't actually wear that much make-up, but she was very, very particular about the shades of blue she wore on her eyes. It was really important for the make-up artist on The Crown, Cate Hall, to find that very particular blue that showed up in the right way on camera. And we didn't use any prosthetics or anything, so we had to strike a very important balance between the dated items that we found on eBay, and mixing them with the more contemporary products, which felt as if they were from the 70s. Make-up is always a very big part of getting into a character—it adds to it."

The character that has had the most lasting impact:

"The role that had the biggest impact on me as a person was Stella Gibson from The Fall, and the one that had the biggest impact on me while I was performing it was Blanche DuBois in [the Young Vic’s 2014 production of] A Streetcar Named Desire."

On inspiring a generation of women...

"I was 27 when I started on The X Files, which went on to be a very long-running television show— I ended up playing [Dana] Scully for nine years. At the time, what I was hearing from young, female audiences was how grateful they were to see me—someone they felt represented an aspect of themselves that they hadn't seen on telly before, not least someone who was a scientist, forensic pathologist and FBI agent. It's incredible just the impact that this one character had when it came to something called 'The Scully Effect' on science, mass technology and engineering... Just the sheer amount of women who were inspired to major in STEM increased exponentially because of her!

But as a 27-year-old, the pressure of having people write to me and tell me that I was a role model freaked me out, to be honest. There was so much responsibility on me. I was like what does that mean? I felt like it meant that I couldn't put a step wrong, that I couldn't fail. The pressure not to fail for women has always been high up there for me, but as I got older, I realised that actually, seeing me fail, get up again, make mistakes and be completely honest about my shortcomings and fallibility, was just as important as any example of success I might show them. So I've had an interesting journey with it."

The importance of International Women's Day:

"To me, it's about celebrating the sorority of womanhood. It's so important that we continue to support each other and lift each other up. We need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not be discouraged by attempts from the outside to move us back into the dark ages."

On playing strong, independent, and challenging women...

"I was very shocked when I was asked to play Eleanor Roosevelt. She was such an extraordinary woman, and you know, I'm five foot three, and she was five foot nine or ten [laughs]. She was just very tall, and we didn't look anything like each other.

Then there was the challenge of it. First of all, I couldn't believe I could do it. I really had to stop my self-doubt from getting in the way. And yet, the opportunity to play someone like her, and to live in her shoes for a period of time, was extraordinary. Part of the reason I said yes was to experience it and to study her. That's part of reaching the end goal... You have to convince yourself that you can do things you might not yet be able to do. And by doing it, or acting like you can do it, suddenly you can, and you're no longer afraid."

On navigating the Hollywood beauty standard...

"It's become less difficult, and especially since the Me Too movement, there's been a shift. Women being cast as the leads in shows when they are 40, 50 or 60 didn't used to happen. So the fact that it is happening today, and we're quite used to it, is important.

But when I was younger, around the time I was cast as Scully, I was very conscious of the fact that I didn't look like what the studio wanted—tall, thin and blonde. So even the fact that I was cast was amazing, but I had to navigate the wider expectations. I had to show up daily, knowing that they wanted something different. But this is what they got, and I owned that space, and I was successful in it... Eventually, the narrative and perception changed just from me being there. It's funny, we're here for L'Oreal but the experience did tell me that I was worth it; I am who I am, I am this height, and I'm not your typical star. It has meant that other women could follow suit too."

Working with L'Oréal:

"It's interesting, because L'Oréal always felt like it was just something just over there. I grew up between London and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and so those big, iconic brands felt far from my reality. It's an incredible honour to be invited into the family, especially when you have the likes of Helen Mirren, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis and all the other wonderful, strong women in there."

On beauty rituals...

"For the longest time, I didn't have a ritual. I would go to sleep with my make-up on and not care for my skin at all. I've gotten a lot better with that, and one of the products I love from L'Oreal is their Age Perfect Collagen Expert Day Cream. It's become part of my morning routine and has had an impact on age spots and elasticity. I just know I'm getting all the things that are good for ageing skin."