Washington DC [US], July 2 (ANI): Actress Gillian Anderson was honoured with the CineMerit Award at the Munich International Film Festival, reported Deadline.

Expressing her gratitude, she said, 'I feel unbelievably honoured and I feel like I have been a little bit of a hole. I'm a bit of a hermit, so when these things happen, it feels like they are even more shocking because I feel like I have been going on, putting one foot in front of the other and doing my thing, and sometimes I forget that people pay attention.'

Anderson, who played the character of Dana Scully, shared whether the passage of time has changed how she felt about any of the characters she has played.

'It does, I think, particularly for Scully, because it was such a whirlwind for me. It felt like too big of a responsibility to take ownership of at the time. Hearing firsthand from people the impact that she had on their lives, and also the impact on the STEM community and also on the gay and lesbian community... it's easier to celebrate something in retrospect. The demographic range that she has impacted, and continues to impact still, is real,' said Gillian, reported Deadline.

Anderson added, 'There are a few things that I'm working on that feel like they have aspects of Scully. Not in terms of character necessarily, but in terms of her lineage, [which] is built within them. One's a film and one's a book and they make sense because of her. And so, she continues. She continues to impact my life.'

Anderson also spoke about 'The Salt Path', which is directed by Marianne Elliott from Rebecca Lenkiewicz's screenplay.

It revolves around the story of a married couple who lose their home, find out the husband has a terminal illness, and decide to embark upon an epic coastal walk. The movie talks about homelessness, relationships, and how society cares for people in tough circumstances. Anderson said that nowadays she's focused on making projects that really count, reported Deadline.

'When you do a project like this, that has so much to say that really moves an audience, and even potentially moves an audience to think differently, behave differently, be more compassionate, be more questioning about the state of the world, the state of our politics, the state of our governments, the state of our relationships... it makes me think differently about the things that I spend my time doing.'

In TV, she is known for her role as Hannibal Lecter's psychiatrist in the NBC series Hannibal from 2012 to 2015. In 2020, she portrayed Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, earning her an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Anderson is also an author and producer. She compiled the book 'Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous', produced and starred in the television series The Fall, and narrated documentaries such as The Widowmaker, reported Deadline.

The International Munich Film Festival runs until July 6. (ANI)