David William Duchovny (born August 7, 1960) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for playing Fox Mulder on The X-Files and Hank Moody on Californication, both of which have earned him Golden Globe awards Duchovny was born in New York City, New York in 1960. He is the son of Margaret "Meg" (née Miller), a school administrator and teacher, and Amram "Ami" Ducovny (1927–2003), a writer and publicist who worked for the American Jewish Committee. His father was Jewish, from a family that immigrated from the Russian Empire and Poland. His mother is a Lutheran emigrant from Aberdeen, Scotland. His father dropped the h in his last name to avoid the sort of mispronunciations he encountered while serving in the Army.