She needs little introduction. Widely admired for both her confidence and graceful approach to beauty and ageing, Gillian Anderson has become an ambassador for embracing age. The 56-year-old star is best known for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on the television series The X-Files. Anderson’s latest film, The Salt Path, is set to release on May 30. Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, the film from first-time director Marianne Elliott adapts the real-life story of Raynor Winn and her husband, Moth. The couple set out on the South West Coast Path—the longest uninterrupted path in England—after a business deal gone wrong left them homeless.
Did you read The Salt Path before the chance to be part of this film came to you?
I actually read the book and listened to the audiobook as well and loved it. I was profoundly affected by it. I actually tried to get the screen rights only to find out they had already been optioned and that a screenplay was being written. But I knew I had to be a part of it. It meant that much to me. I feel very grateful that I was able to be part of telling such a beautiful and profound story.
What was it about Raynor Winn’s story that you connected with so deeply?
It was the journey of this couple and what happened to them could really happen to anybody, anywhere, not just in Britain. Ray and her husband found themselves in a state of difficulty just through innocent choices that went wrong. The injustice of it all was what really connected with me through first discovering Ray’s book and the making of this film. Ray went from a state of feeling resentment at losing their home to a place of acceptance, but it took a lot of wrestling with their situation to get to the point where they were really able to embrace the situation and become their true selves.
This is not the first time you have played a real-life character. Was there a particular challenge with this role?
I think there are specific challenges for an actor in playing any character. This was definitely a different kind of challenge for me. I don’t think I have ever had an opportunity to play somebody who has encountered so much tragedy in their lives in such a short period. I have certainly experienced numerous tragedies in my life, but I can’t say if I drew on any of that as an actor.
You and Jason have great chemistry together on screen. How did you go about building such a believable relationship together?
Jason is wonderful to work with. That’s just how he is as an actor. Also, I had an experience of working with the same actor every day on The X-Files. So, I know how to make that work. But Jason makes it very easy. We always felt like we were part of the same conversation.
What do fans tend to want to talk to you about the most when they meet you?
I still get a lot of X-Files. But I don’t really get recognised all that much in public. It’s weird. Sometimes I don’t get recognised in places where you’d think I would, and then in places where you’d swear to God they’d never seen anything ever, I get recognised.
You work in so many genres, both on the big and small screens. How do you go about choosing what project to do next?
I just try to make every project and every role as different and as surprising as I can make them. I keep saying I’m going to stop playing historical or real-life characters, and then I find somebody else who I find fascinating and want to jump into the shoes of. So, I can’t say what role is next, but there will definitely be powerhouses, in one form or another.