'The X-Files' Star David Duchovny Auditioned for All Three Male Leads on 'Full House'

Most television viewers will recognize David Duchovny for his role as conspiracy theorist/FBI agent Fox Mulder on Fox’s The X-Files, which originally ran from 1993 to 2002 and has been revived periodically ever since.

In some strange alternative universe, Duchovny might have been best known as Uncle Jesse in Full House.

According to the AV Club, Duchovny made a recent appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and said he auditioned for the role of Jesse Katsopolis—which ultimately went to John Stamos—as well as the other two male leads, father Danny Tanner (played by Bob Saget) and Joey Gladstone (played by Dave Coulier).

“It was my first time out in L.A., and they brought me out for different shows,” he said. “I ended up with the Full House stuff, and they just kept on trying to plug me into different characters. And clearly, I was wrong for every single one.”

Duchovny had also related the story in 2018 to Jimmy Kimmel. “I was auditioning for every show that would have me,” he said. “I had actually auditioned for all three parts . They could not figure out how to use me.”

Full House premiered in 1987 and ran through 1995. At the time it was casting, Duchovny didn’t have any onscreen acting credits. His first would come with 1988’s Working Girl, although his appearance is so fleeting Duchovny himself has a hard time spotting it.

It’s unclear how far Duchovny made it in the Full House casting process, though finding the right Danny was apparently a struggle. Producers wanted Saget, but he was doing a CBS morning news and entertainment show titled The Morning Program. They also looked at actor Paul Reiser, who opted to do My Two Dads instead. They then cast John Posey for the pilot. When Saget became available, they re-shot it with him.