Could you imagine watching The X-Files with someone other than David Duchovny playing Fox Mulder? Well according to what he told
WENN that could've been the case. The actor had already committed to doing a short film for his friend that would have conflicted with the filming of the pilot of the Fox show that spawned two movies.
He told WENN, "I had another job – a two-day role or something – and I had promised the director that I would do this role. It conflicted with The X-Files… and I told my agents that I'm not gonna do The X-Files. I said, 'There's a lot of other shows like that that'll come along.'" He added that it was show's casting director Randy Stone, who convinced him to dump the short for the show, "He said to me, 'I've only said this to one other actor: If you take this job, you'll never have to work again. I said that to Woody Harrelson on Cheers.'" Sounds like Randy Stone knows who is going to continue to work in this town, or is that not work in this town? Seriously if Duchovny didn't do X-Files, he might not have done Californication either because no one probably would have ever known who he was without it.
BTW I can't imagine the show without him because when he left it was never the same or as good.
