Gillian Anderson is still dreaming
- WritersJordan Rossi, Nimi Raja
- Photographer Rankin
Gillian Anderson is the ultimate dream-maker. Without even realising it, she has inspired a generation to believe they could go into Stem-related jobs. Coined as the “Scully effect”, it demonstrated that women who regularly tuned into The X Files were 50 per cent more likely to pursue a career in science, tech, engineering and maths, according to the Geena Davis Institute. Thirty years after the series first aired, Anderson, 55, is finally acknowledging and embracing the power she has to inspire people to dream. There’s a revolution happening not just in creativity but how we define our sense of self, she tells HUNGER.
Jordan Rossi: LA inspired this issue because it feels like it’s the place where dreams can happen. It’s constantly regenerating, and is very much about the now – would you agree?
Gillian Anderson: I feel like LA died for a bit. It used to be that in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties – the place you’d want to be that felt energetic – but then in the 2000s onward it felt like the last place you’d go to for inspo. But maybe there’s some kind of reawakening there. I can see that.
Nimi Raja: What does “The Dreamers” mean to you?
GA: It’s interesting, I feel for the first time that “dreamers” today is less of an age-specific thing and feels more cross-generational. I don’t think of it the way I did ten years ago, when I’d say it was a twenty or thirtysomething thing – someone fresh out of uni, with their whole life ahead of them. But right now it feels like we’re at a moment in time where anything goes. That’s not just being led by the youth, though. It’s anyone with some gumption. It is a multigenerational thing. Everyone is wearing rocket boosters.
This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 31: The Dreamers. Full story is available in stores worldwide now!
- StylistMartha Ward
- Make-up ArtistAmanda Grossman at The Only Agency using Votary and Surratt
- Hair StylistAshley Spirer
- ProducerSarah Stanbury
- Production Co-ordinatorAbby Rothwell
- RetouchingTrue Black Studio
