Michael, why on god’s green ...

Question: Michael, why on gods green Earth did you spend five minutes in bed with Gillian Anderson on Saturday?

Answer: Man, news travels fast in this town. OK, while I can't divulge what Gillian and I discussed in bed (not yet, anyway), I can share with you some snippets from the Bleak House session she attended just prior to our rendezvous.

 * On why she's been so reticent to do TV again: "After doing nine years of [The X-Files], I didn't want to do anything that involved going to a set and being in front of a camera for a while. And when I did start to want to do things, I wanted to focus more on film."

* On why she fled Hollywood for London: "I find a large aspect of life in Hollywood unbelievably soul-decaying."

* On whether or not she would have done The X-Files had she known ahead of time it would go on for nine years: "Not on your life. But in retrospect, I'm really glad that I did it."

* On a possible second X-flick: "David and I and Chris Carter have been excited about and determined to do [it]. Now it has become complicated. There are contracts involved... and it's become a bit messy. I think the intention is that we will and we hope to. And that, hopefully by the time we actually do, whenever that is, people will still give a damn." I think I speak for all X-Philes when I say, "Trust me, we will!"