"X-Files" star David Duchovny, who currently plays a womanizing writer on the cable television series "Californication," said on Thursday he has entered a facility for treatment of sex addiction.

U.S. actors David Duchovny (L) and Gillian Anderson arrive for the British premiere of the film "The X-Files:I Want to Believe" in Leicester Square, London July 30, 2008. Duchovny said on Thursday he has entered a facility for treatment of sex addiction. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Duchovny, 48, sprang to fame starring as the conspiracy-minded FBI agent Fox Mulder on Fox network's paranormal thriller "The X-Files," which spawned two big-screen spinoffs, one of which ran in theaters this summer.

He has been married since 1997 to actress Tea Leoni, with whom he has a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son.

"I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction," he said in a statement released through his lawyer, Stanton "Larry" Stein. "I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family."

There were no further details in the statement, which was first reported on the Web site of People magazine, people.com.

In January, he won a Golden Globe Award as best comic actor for playing an oversexed single dad and novelist struggling with writer's block in the Showtime series "Californication."

(China Daily/Agencies August 30, 2008)