Playing Dana Scully on The X-Files made Gillian Anderson a household name, but the role also cost her a shot at facing off with Hannibal Lecter. Well, for a decade or so anyway. While Anderson kept her schedule a bit light for a number of years after The X-Files ended, she's been quite active from the 2010s to the present. She currently stars in the acclaimed Netflix dramedy Sex Education and is also set to play legendary British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in season 4 of The Crown.
Those are just two more great roles in the career of Anderson, which didn't start with The X-Files but blossomed there. It doesn't look like fans will get to see Dana Scully in action again anytime soon though, as Anderson made it clear she was done when announcing she wouldn't return for a potential X-Files season 12. Even if she's grown tired of playing Scully after 25-plus years, one assumes she's never regretted accepting it in the first place.
However, there appears to be at least one known instance in which playing Scully cost Anderson what could've been quite the juicy role in a high profile film. Landing it could've made Anderson an even bigger name, although considering how divisive 2001's Hannibal movie turned out, it is perhaps fair to suggest she dodged a bullet.
How The X-Files Cost Gillian Anderson A Role In The Hannibal Movie
A large group of actresses was considered to play Clarice Starling in the 2001 Hannibal movie after Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster bowed out. These included Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Hilary Swank, Ashley Judd, Helen Hunt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gillian Anderson, and eventual choice Julianne Moore. Unfortunately for Anderson, she was ruled out quickly. The X-Files still had a couple of seasons left to go before it would be canceled for the first time, and reportedly, a bizarre rule in her contract with Fox kept her away from Hannibal.
Apparently, at least according to multiple online sources, Fox felt the roles of Mulder and Scully were so iconic that they had insisted David Duchovny and Anderson not be allowed to play other FBI agents while they were still starring on the show. Once that roadblock was noticed, Hannibal's producers moved on from considering Anderson to play Clarice Starling. If she had been cast, it would almost have been going full circle, as X-Files creator Chris Carter has said Clarice was a big influence on Scully's characterization. Of course, Anderson would eventually tangle with Dr. Lecter as Bedelia Du Maurier on the Hannibal TV show.