X-Files Star Injured During Series Most Dangerous Episode
The X-Files was a show where the main characters, Mulder and Scully, were always in danger, but audiences watching at home usually didn’t worry about the actors themselves. After all, the show usually wasn’t that dangerous to film, and stunt doubles were available to keep our leads mostly out of danger. However, the X-Files episode “Fire” proved to be the show’s most dangerous outing, and the real-life flames ended up burning David Duchovny so intensely that they left a nasty scar.
Pyrokinetic Encounter
To understand what happened to X-Files star David Duchovny, you need to know a bit more about “Fire” and what made filming it so dangerous. The episode itself has Mulder, Scully, and Mulder’s old girlfriend, Phoebe Greene, working together to stop an arsonist. However, it turns out that the suspect actually has pyrokinetic powers, forcing Mulder to face his fear of fire to stop one of the most dangerous people in the entire world.
Inspired By Real Events
When X-Files creator Chris Carter was writing “Fire,” he had some major real-life inspiration. He was penning this episode when the Southern California wildfire of 1993 was first blazing. Carter later described how surreal it was to write about a superpowered pyromaniac “while the hills of Malibu were on fire,” but he had high hopes that his show’s set would be much safer while filming.
However, The X-Files episode “Fire” proved to be one of the most dangerous Carter ever worked on because the effects were created using real flames. CGI was not yet advanced enough to create realistic fire effects, and even if it was, chances are this fledgling show wouldn’t have been able to afford them. Ironically enough, this show about fake monsters, therefore, had to embrace some very real danger during production, and one of the series’ biggest stars ended up paying the price.
David Duchovny Was Burned
While shooting one of these dangerous scenes, X-Files lead David Duchovny got burned by the episode’s titular fire. Specifically, he was burned on the outside of his left hand. If you look closely during the scene where Mulder is waiting outside a ballroom, you can actually see the scar on the actor’s hand when he goes to wipe his forehead.
Handled It Like A Trooper
As for Duchovny, you might think that the X-Files star would be annoyed at Carter for writing “Fire,” the episode that put him in danger and left a nasty scar. However, the actor was surprisingly nonplussed, merely requesting that the showrunner use the footage where the hand was burned. With his usual dry humor, Duchovny told the other man, “You better put that in there because I got burned in that scene.”
Left The Star With A Scar
If you’re a relatively superstitious X-Files fan, you might conclude that Duchovny took one for the team: while “Fire” left him with a highly visible scar, nobody else among the cast or the crew received any major injuries. The closest thing to another injury happening was when guest star Mark Sheppard (who didn’t care for the heat but managed to avoid any major burns) asked for a demonstration of a self-lighting cigarette prop, which promptly blew up.
While that makes for a scary story, it does make us wonder if Mulder ever considered defeating the Cigarette Smoking Man with the weirdest weapon of all: a pack of incendiary Morleys.
