Gillian Anderson has revealed she “didn’t know” if she would ever be able to work on a TV or film set again after graduating The X-Files.

The actress portrayed FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in nine seasons of the sci-fi drama before it ended in 2002.

The 56-year-old reprized her role opposite Fox Mulder actor David Duchovny for two films and the 2016 reboot, a surprising feat considering she has now said she is “well prepared” for the series to end after the first broadcast.

Speech on Monday SmartLess On the podcast, the star opened up about her career to hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.

Fifteen minutes into the taping, Anderson was asked how she managed to shake off the sheer notoriety of the long-running hit show.

“It takes a while, it takes concentration to say no to a lot of things,” she said. “After the series ended, I didn’t know if I could be on set again.

“I didn’t know that myself. I knew I just had to get out of Los Angeles and get going.”

Anderson, who was born in Chicago before moving to the UK as a child, told how she returned to London, took up a play and made her West End debut in Michael Wellers What the night is for.

She explained: “The second thing I was offered was a British short series on the BBC Desolate house –Costume drama.

“When they offered it to me without an audition, I literally said to them in the meeting with the producers, ‘Why do you think I can do this?'”

She said she “knew” she could, but: “I just spent 10 years doing the exact opposite of that and I was so curious.”

Anderson couldn’t remember what they specifically responded to, noting that they had “figured out” what she could respond to The X-Files.

“We learned to be actors during this time,” she added in the interview.

Before Chris Carter’s famous series, Anderson had little success.

This also included the 1992s The turn Film starring Raymond J. Barry, who later also appeared in The X-FilesAnd Born in ’96 a year later – an American drama about seven students at Havenhurst College in New England.

However, X-Files brought Anderson into the spotlight and won numerous awards for her role, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

She said her fame exploded The Guardian in 2012: “It was almost too much to comprehend that I think I’ve split myself – ‘that’ is someone else, and I’m just going to work and raising a child and trying to get through these hours, without collapsing. It felt very separate from what the rest of the world thinks.