DAVID DUCHOVNY, INFP (Harmonizer Clarifier)
May 1997: "It's called Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror by John Ashbery. It's about a man who's painting his self-portrait, but he's looking into a mirrored ball, and the closer he gets to it, the further away his image seems to be going. For me, that would be the acting style that I'm trying to do. I'm trying to protect what I advertise. That's my stance on any kind of self-expression. That's as far as I need to go." He pauses, then says, "You could look at this poem for weeks, just weeks."
Duchovny reads for about five minutes, until I realize that if I don't stop him, he probably will read it for weeks. I take the poem out of his hands and shove it in my bag. He looks up, startled, and you can see the ironic, absentminded professor he might have become.
WRITE-UP
The Sixteen Personality Types: Descriptions for Self-Discovery, Dr. Linda Berens and Dr. Dario Nardi:
What's it like to be you?
I have a very internal focus. I think I look at myself through other people's eyes, but sometimes I can lose touch with how things work for me. Then I can get introspective, going very deep and staying there, not coming out too quickly or easily. Somehow I find it very difficult to put into words and communicate the things that really matter to me. Most people don't have the foggiest notion about what goes on with me.
I like harmony and seek consensus and do well with the deep issues. My values and the things that are important to me often feel outside the mainstream in the sense that I feel impinged upon and uncomfortable with so much of what goes on. I'm too private to push my values on to other people, but I am convinced that one ought to be congruent in their own life if they are going to expect congruence from others. In a sense I hold other people to that standard, and I worry about my own incongruities, inconsistencies, and contradictions. Groups can be hard. I can put myself in the group process so rapidly and so completely, and it's important not to get sucked in. I need to be predictable about what I believe.
I am a global thinker and I like to learn interactively. My thoughts need to be connected with some person or value. On reflection, don't all thoughts have to be connected to something? I feed new information into other things I've read and my thoughts, and I can have a marvelous time just sitting with ideas. And I like to discuss or write things because I seem to have a lot in my head and I've got to get it out. I love bringing together different eclectic ideas and seeing what's similar. I like to have my own ideas, hear others ideas, and have ideas challenged, bantering back and forth. Chitchat has no interest for me. I tend to do a lot of mental rehearsal and play in problem solving, and the fun part is figuring out how to do something. Motivation comes when something has real meaning or value for me, and while I enjoy ideas I don't like having my values challenged.
For me, asking questions is just a different form of being quiet, a way to explore an inner thought stream or check out of reality and back into my thoughts. Sometimes I chuckle at myself that there is really no sequential way that I work though tasks...
I'm concerned about how others feel when they are around me. Lack of honesty or ethics or integrity in interactions-when someone is saying one thing but doing another-really puts me off. So does when someone doesn't honor, or accept as valid, my communication or feeling as I try to talk to them about something that matters to me. And I don't need to talk about myself. I don't enjoy it. Sometimes I'm frustrated trying to communicate, and sometimes a metaphor or a joke or a story is a way to effectively express myself so what I'm saying can be heard by someone who hears or experiences things differently.
I don't know what I am going to do next, but I trust in myself that something will come in as a new idea, with challenge and inner meaning. Whatever it is, it will be right. Although I would never actually say it, it feels as though I am grounded in the very being of who I am when I talk like this.
EXPLANATION
Harmonizer Clarifier, INFP: (Note: first word describes self-perception, i.e. how he perceives himself; second word describes other perception, i.e. how others perceive him.)
Going with the flow. Knowing what is behind what is said. Uncovering mysteries. Exploring moral questions. Talent for facilitative listening. Relate through stories and metaphors. Balancing opposites. Getting reacquainted with themselves. Have a way of knowing what is believable. Struggling with structure and getting their lives in order.
Push for the best result, support the group's process, consultative decisions, understand the process focus.
The Sixteen Personality Types:
Theme is mentoring, leading people to achieve their potential and become more of who they are. Talents lie in empathizing with profound interpersonal insight and in influencing others to learn, grow, and develop. Lead using their exceptional communication skills, enthusiasm, and warmth to gain cooperation toward meeting the ideals they hold for the individual or the organization. Catalysts who draw out the best in others. Thrive on empathic connections. Frequently called on to help others with personal problems.
Part of the "Behind-the-Scenes" Interaction style, specifically,
Theme is advocacy and integrity. Talents lie in helping people clarify issues, values, and identity. Support anything that allows the unfolding of the person. Encourage growth and development with quiet enthusiasm. Loyal advocates and champions, caring deeply about their causes and a few special people. Interested in contemplating life's mysteries, virtues, and vices in their search for wholeness. Thrive on healing conflicts, within and between, and taking people to the center of themselves.
Part of the Idealist (or Catalyst) Temperament, meaning:
Abstract/Affiliative: meaning and significance, unique Identity. Diplomatic-clarifying, unifying, individualizing, and inspiring.
Want to be authentic, benevolent, and empathic. Search for identity, meaning, and significance. Are relationship oriented, particularly valuing meaningful relationships. Tend to be idealistic and visionary, wanting to make the world a better place. Look to the future. Trust their intuition, imagination, and impressions. Focus on developing potential, fostering and facilitating growth through coaching, teaching, counseling, and communicating. Generally are enthusiastic. Think in terms of integration and similarities and look for universals. Often are gifted in the use of metaphors to bridge different perspectives. Usually are diplomatic. Frequently are drawn to work that inspires and develops people and relationships.
INTROVERTED FEELING
Introverted Feeling (Fi for short) primary function: Valuing; considering importance and worth; reviewing for incongruity; evaluating something based on the truths on which it is based; clarifying values to achieve accord; deciding if something is of significance and worth standing up for. Evaluating whether you like an outfit or not: "This outfit suits me and feels right."
INFPs operate primarily from Fi, meaning: Judgments [evaluations] based on appropriateness and values.
(You can read about Fi Dominant at length in this post here.)
QUOTES
May 1997: Q: Is there a responsibility that comes with celebrity?
DD: I don't know. I think you have a responsibility to develop some kind of integrity of your own and be true to yourself in some way. The most important thing you have to sacrifice when you become a celebrity is that you rally can't be that whimsical anymore.
May 1997: "I think teaching college is a very important job, yes, but these kids at Yale were already better educated than most people in the world when they got there. I think the real heroic teachers are the ones who work with kids, like my mom and my sister do...."
"I cringe when I see myself licking my lips. I think it's because I've got a big lower lip and it gets dry. If you'll notice, people with big lips tend to lick them a lot, because they're hanging out there in the wind, and they get chapped. I hate it because it looks self-conscious. Now you'll probably make me self-conscious about clenching my jaw, too."
June 18, 1998: I just remember I wanted to bring out the humanity in the character. I didn't want [Mulder] to be a mad scientist. I didn't want him to be Dr. Who. I wanted him to be somebody-- if you were gonna believe these things that we were going to be doing in the show, I wanted to have somebody as seemingly trustworthy and not kooky in any way. So, I just played him straight.
December 1998: PLAYBOY: What do you fear most?
DUCHOVNY: Not physical stuff. It's more emotional, like public humiliation, abject social failure, shame.
EXTRAVERTED INTUITION
Extraverted Intuition (Ne for short) secondary function: Interpreting situations and relationships; picking up meanings and interconnections; being drawn to change "what is" for "what could possibly be"; noticing what is not said and threads of meaning emerging across multiple contexts. Noticing the possible meanings of what you might wear: "Wearing this might communicate…"
INFPs operate secondarily from Ne, meaning: Perceptions [ways of accessing information] of conceptual aspects of life.
QUOTES
January 21, 1994: "I believe in the abstract, but not in the specific," he says. "If you ask me if I believe in the possibility of the things we do on the show, I would say yes. But if you ask me if I believe that they actually have happened, I'd say no."
May 1997: Q: "So what is it with all these chat rooms?"
DD: "They bring people together. It's like church. You know, we all go there saying that we're gonna pray to God, but we're actually there to meet people, right? And have a community. I mean, that's why church is great. It's not just faith, it's about community. Like God, I'm unnecessary at this point.
November 1998: Notes Duchovny, “[The X-Files's] fairly unique in the fact that it takes 100 clichéd elements, puts them all together and makes something new. It is the Night Stalker. It is sometimes a medical drama, as bogus as it can be. It’s bogus in its chastity and its repartee between Mulder and Scully. And it’s creepy for the kids. You take all of those things together and, somehow, it comes off as being fresh, unique and original.
December 1998: One of the nice things about acting is that it allows you to open up to the other people within you.
March 26, 2000: Anderson: Here's one for you. How do you perceive our relationship[.]
Duchovny: It's like the roots of a tree. It's very twisted, but it's growing. You know the tree is alive, and it works in its own treelike way, yet you couldn't untangle it. You could, but you'd need the help of a gifted professional.
February 22, 2020: I think better with a pen in my hand.
THE AUTHENTICATING MIND
Authenticating: a purity of values. The INFP wants to live an authentic life, and wants others to live authentically, as well. They "authenticate" according to values.
What Drives Each of the 16 Personality Types?, with Dr. Linda Berens,
Authenticating means that it’s real or accurate or justified. There’s this compelling intention to authenticate whatever the information is, and the outcome they want is that it’s valid. And that might show up in the STJ way of wanting the data to, you know, prove it to me. Show me the data. Or the NFP around, you know, the outcomes match the values-- like we’re congruent with our values. So it could be both of those.
The filter as they gather information: is it right? Is it right according to the standards, the rules; is it right according to the values that we’ve agreed upon or the values that I hold?
And morality and agreement is the rationale, like there’s a big focus here on morality and agreement.
The talent is for validating the information. And it’s instant: like, you just know if this doesn’t fit. (Whereas for the Enhancing Mind, I know instantly whether it fits “the model.”) For someone with an Authenticating mind, they will know whether it’s valid, whether it’s accurate, whether it is according to the rules, or whether it matches the values.
And what they talk about is… what’s important. “What’s important here is that we do ABCD, or what’s important here is…” whatever the value is. And they tend to investigate information to check that out; and the language tends to be narrative, so there’s often like a narration that goes with it: kind of a story if you will....
For the NFP, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in rules: people with patterns are interested in rules. Their focus with this particular aspect of life is authenticating, making sure that the rules serve an authentic purpose with a person. It’s the Introverted Feeling around valuing and Extraverted Thinking around, about organizing.
PORTRAIT OF AN INFP
Themes
For Harmonizer Clarifiers, life is a process of uncovering mysteries, the mysteries of life - personal values and meanings and the meaning of life in general. They like learning about people, why they do what they do and who they are. They want to relate on a deep level, to be touched deeply and to resolve issues. Exploring moral questions like what is right and wrong and the battle between good and evil fascinates them. Knowing people's intentions helps them feel comfortable with their relationships.
They enjoy getting reaquainted with themselves. To not have a sense of congruence with their values and unity with oneself is worse than death. They must have a sense of integrity and wholeness.
They have a talent for facilitive listening and knowing what is behind what is said. When they listen deeply to another person, they help that person clarify their identity, their wants, and their needs. They want to help others enjoy who they are, accept themselves, and believe in themselves. Sometimes it is hard to turn off the deep listening, and they pay the price for presenting a more acceptable, conventional persona to the world.
Life is full of paradoxes and they are constantly balancing opposites. They can be fun and playful yet serious and intense. Others rarely glimpse the whole, rich tapestry of their lives. They often relate to others through stories and metaphors to connect differences and to provide gentle encouragement. Stories tap into that wordless internal world that is the source of knowing what is right and important.
Their thought processes tend to be relational and integrative. "Going with the flow" helps them connect the seemingly unconnectable, life's many opposites. They often start in the middle of an idea, grasping its importance, and love to have the freedom to flow from one thought to the next. They have a way of knowing what is believable.
Their incredible ability to be present with another on a deep level requires a different sense of time than structured time. They often speak of struggling with structure, forever trying to get their lives in order.
Relationships
For Harmonizer Clarifiers, relationships are about selfdiscovery - each person learning more about who he or she really is. There is an idealism in the process of relating, and everything has a symbolic significance. They want the other person, the group members, or the community to have a sense of purpose and ethics. They will just know when they are getting the "real" person in the relationship. Integrity, validation, and affirmation are very important. They can be an enigma with many aspects of themselves for different relationships. Sharing beliefs are important. They are often disappointed if the other person or the group doesn't share their beliefs and will tend to withdraw and be silent. There is a lot of self-reflectiveness about how to "be" in a relationship, and they may miss the moment for connecting; so much is internal, but they want so much to connect they may do it indirectly.
In their close relationships, they can be very subtle and are often the most romantic. Others may miss the significance of their symbolic gestures. When the other person is right for them, the person is totally right, and when the other person is not, then that person is totally wrong. They expect the relationship to be deep and meaningful. When it is, they are willing to commit.
Fi In-Depth (post here):
They may hold personal, unique versions of widely accepted cultural values. Some of their values may be unrelated to the existing cultural norms, and some may even conflict with them.
-They hold deep, not broad, beliefs.
-Their awareness of a conflict with their values often comes literally through gut feelings. These physical sensations signal when something is wrong or out of line with their internal values and beliefs.
-Sometimes it is only when their values are violated that they become aware of the values.
-They may view virtually anything as innately good or innately bad, as positive or negative.
-They use a decision-making process that is too personal to share. Discussing it is not generally a productive exercise.
-They need to “feel right” about things.
-Accepts life as it happens and embraces the individuality of others, up to a point.
-Quietly exudes a peaceful, grounded aura.
-Does not tolerate violations of its core beliefs.
-Relates to people one-on-one through a fine-tuned sensitivity to the inner life of others.
-Is the most subjective of the four decision-making processes.
-They may hold personal, unique versions of widely accepted cultural values. Some of their values may be unrelated to the existing cultural norms, and some may even conflict with them.
-Their awareness of a conflict with their values often comes literally through gut feelings. These physical sensations signal when something is wrong or out of line with their internal values and beliefs.
-They have difficulty consciously accessing their values. They may not even be consciously aware of what some of them are.
-They often have great sensitivity to internal harmony or disharmony in others.
-They are adept at knowing when something is wrong or right with others.
-Bringing their inner system of values to fruition in the real world is usually not important to them.
-May not be able to find the right words to adequately express their values, even when these values do come to the surface.
-Show so little of themselves to the outside world that who they are may remain a mystery to people around them, often even to their spouses.
-Are often not aware of how they affect the world and people around them.
-My values come from a gut level. If someone ever got me to talk about them, I would be explaining, not discussing, them. The values come first. They are just there.
-I use humor and sarcasm as a way to keep my values from becoming public. I need to deflect attention from this very personal place. If necessary, I may literally run away rather than reveal my values.
-My husband and younger brother both prefer Introverted Feeling. When they served as pallbearers at our mother’s funeral, they wore flannel shirts and blue jeans. They just knew it was the right way for them to honor her. They had been with her every day and had never dressed or behaved like anyone but themselves for her. They were not going to change that for her funeral just to please others. It did not bother them in the least that most of my aunts and uncles, concerned about what is appropriate and customary, were appalled.
DAVID DUCHOVNY, IN HIS OWN WORDS
1994: "I was a sports fanatic, really. Acting gave me a sense of team that I hadn't had for a while, one of the things I liked about it."
1994: "I think [The X-Files] is simply of our time. I don't believe that art creates what happens in life. They are definitely connected, not just causally. There are literal-minded folks who say, 'You know, ever since Jurassic Park came out, people have been getting killed by dinosaurs, and it's Steven Spielberg's fault.' To me, that kind of connection never makes much sense. The people who advocate thought police have always been with us. They date as far back as Plato. But art and life are connected. Unfortunately, when artists are under attack, they try to make the case that there is no connection---that art is over here and life is over there. Well, there is and always will be a connection.
There is a story to tell and it well get told no matter what," Duchovny goes on. "It will be told religiously, financially, artistically, politically, even fanatically. Yeats said, 'A terrible beauty is born.' That's what we're watching now. It's always scary to see who you really are. People are trying to ascribe blame---'If you hadn't made The X-Files, the world would be a better place.' I'm not saying the world's a better or worse place because of the show. I'm just saying that it's a little more crowded."
When I point out that some fans believe the program is practically a documentary, he says, "There are people who think Melrose Place is true. That's a much scarier prospect...."
"The best actors," he says, "convey the idea that they never truly get there. The viewer senses failure and disappointment from them. I love when you can smell failure in an actor's performance, because acting is really about displaying yourself for money and for people you don't know. There is a great cost to your personal life. With Brando, for example, I always feel he's showing me that it's painful, certainly humiliating, maybe even wrong and bad to act. The best actors have an air of failure even at the height of their success."
May 1997: "I cringe when I see myself licking my lips. I think it's because I've got a big lower lip and it gets dry. If you'll notice, people with big lips tend to lick them a lot, because they're hanging out there in the wind, and they get chapped. I hate it because it looks self-conscious. Now you'll probably make me self-conscious about clenching my jaw, too."
2001: "I never used to be comfortable in my own skin," he says. "I was ashamed of everything. Of being a failure, sex, money, knowing my feelings. I was just very afraid to have everyone know what I really wanted or who I really was."
February 22, 2020: DD: It’s just that conundrum. It’s so difficult to address [climate change], because first of all, yes, the science is in, but it’s not perfect science. Nobody can actually predict what’s going to happen. We can have scenarios…
Also, there are natural ice ages and natural hotter ages for this planet that humans have nothing to do with. I’m a hundred-percent believer that we are responsible and we’re screwing it up, but also, I can’t say a hundred percent that the earth doesn’t have its own nature, and is going through its own hot flashes and cold flashes.
There’s always going to be wiggle room on the other side for people to say, “...there was an ice age; it’s going to come back. There’s nothing we can do about that. Let’s use this earth that God has supposedly given us. He’s given it to us to use.” I’m not a subscriber to that. I would say more [that] we have been given it to take care of or to be stewards of.
2021: THE BELIEVER: You have a grounded, relaxed way about you. You’re known for this. Is this outward appearance reflective of what your inner life is like?
DAVID DUCHOVNY: I don’t know where that relaxed thing comes from. I really don’t. I don’t feel relaxed most of the time....
BLVR: People generally think of acting as an art form of manipulating external expressions and movements, but it sounds like you’re entirely focused on the internal side of things.
DD: Yeah. I mean, it took me a while to trust that I could work from the outside in. At first it was always: I can only work from the inside out.
August 23, 2021: “I’m not interested in telling my specific story musically, or as a fiction writer. I’m not going to write a memoir,” Duchovny told me during a Glide interview in 2018 about his songwriting. “That kind of stuff doesn’t interest me. I’m not saying I’m not interested in reading other people’s memoirs, sure. But I do think of each song almost as a different person.”
CONCLUSION
IN-DEPTH FILE: DAVID DUCHOVNY
Thanks for reading~
Enjoy!
