Lost 3 'Full House' roles: David Duchovny's crazy audition story
In a recent episode of his podcast Fail Better, Emmy-nominated actor David Duchovny took listeners back to his early days in Hollywood. Duchovny admitted to chasing his big break by trying out for all three male leads (Danny Tanner, Jesse Katsopolis, and Joey Gladstone) on the classic sitcom Full House, which aired from 1987 to 1995. The roles ultimately went to Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier, respectively.
'I was thinking, 'I've got to get one of these'
Recalling his audition antics, he stated, "At first, they had me for, I think, the dad." "And then they had me for the Stamos character. And then they had me for the other guy. I was thinking, 'I've got to get one of these, and it's going to change my life.'" However, Duchovny did not land any of the roles. The X-Files actor mentioned that he was relatively new in Hollywood during those auditions.
Early struggles and eventual success
Further, Duchovny shared his early struggles in Los Angeles, auditioning for numerous pilots in hopes of a big break. "I had plenty of those pilots...and I thought each one was going to be the break," he explained, adding, "I just needed to be able to pay my rent too." Despite missing out on Full House, he found success with the role of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in The X-Files.
Duchovny reflected on acting style: 'I was really bad...'
Duchovny reflected that he also recognized the style of acting required for a sitcom wasn't what he had at that time. "I was really bad at that kind of stuff," Duchovny confessed. "I didn't know how to do that sitcom stuff. I'm not sure what they were thinking, expecting me to fit into that world. I mean, I suppose I could have learned, but I wasn't prepared. I wasn't ready for that kind of high-energy performance they needed."
His later career and recent projects
Several years later, Duchovny finally found his breakthrough in Hollywood with the popular series The X-Files. He continued with the show for its first nine seasons and returned for a reboot series from 2016 to 2018, along with two feature films. Duchovny also starred in the dramedy series Californication in 2007. He recently appeared opposite Meg Ryan in the 2023 romantic comedy What Happens Later.
