The truth is out: Gillian Anderson is trying to conquer the world. Perhaps that is an exaggeration but only slightly. Recently, the actress - who rose to fame playing Dana Scully on The X-Files (1993-2002) - has been pretty much everywhere and into everything, including theater, film and television.

The truth is out: Gillian Anderson is trying to conquer the world.

Perhaps that is an exaggeration but only slightly.

Recently, the actress - who rose to fame playing Dana Scully on The X-Files (1993-2002) - has been pretty much everywhere and into everything, including theater, film and television.

She played Blanche DuBois in a recent London production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.

She starred in the short-lived midseason series Crisis (2014) on NBC. She has enjoyed greater success with The Fall, a British TV drama that will begin its second season in November, and Hannibal, which will return early next year for its third season on NBC.

Anderson has also wrapped production on the upcoming sci-fi film Robot Overlords and has co-written her first novel, A Vision of Fire, released this month by Simon & Schuster.

The 46-year-old single mom to three children spoke recently about her life and work.

Q: You're going to be back on Hannibal. The show is so dark and ambitious, and your character - Bedelia, the therapist to Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) - fits right in with the madness, wouldn't you agree?

A: Yes, most definitely she does. And we'll get to see to what degree she does in season three. I think it will surprise people.

Q: Your character on The Fall, detective superintendent Stella Gibson, is hot on the trail of the serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan). Beyond the obvious goal of bringing him to justice, what does she want?

A: What drives her is what drives any serious, passionate investigative officer: She's absolutely fascinated by Spector and by the mind of a serial killer.

It's a hard question to answer when you think about the difference between a regular human being who has violent fantasies and one who carries them out, and I'm not sure anyone has really quantified what makes that difference.

Q: When The X-Files ended, were you worried about what might come next, or whether anything would come next?

A: I remember being excited that the world was before me and realizing that suddenly I had choices.

I chose to do a play in London, and that - a play and London - was where my mind needed to be after such a long run.

I still live in London.

Q: What inspired you to write A Vision of Fire, and how did you end up collaborating on it with Jeff Rovin?

A: I was approached by a mutual friend of mine and Jeff Rovin, who said, "Is this something you'd remotely consider?"

We got together in New York and talked about what a book might potentially look like if we were to do this. After a couple of hours of brainstorming, we'd essentially established the arc of this first book of what will be a trilogy.

Q: Your central character is Caitlin O'Hara. Who is she?

A: Caitlin is a single mother living in New York. She's a psychiatrist and has a very rewarding job working with troubled teens.