Glenn Close shares her strong feelings about the ending of Fatal Attraction on The Drew Barrymore Show, revealing her research and objections.
New York: Glenn Close was really upset about how Fatal Attraction ended. On The Drew Barrymore Show, she opened up about it.
Before taking on the role of Alex Forrest, she did a ton of research with psychiatrists. Alex is the woman who becomes obsessed with Dan Gallagher, played by Michael Douglas, after a brief affair. In the original ending, Alex mimics her love for Madame Butterfly by taking her own life with a knife.
Close explained that audiences hated Alex for breaking up Dan’s family, even though he cheated. So, the filmmakers thought she needed a harsher punishment. They wanted to change the ending to have Alex attack Dan’s wife before dying, but Close wasn’t having it.
She argued that Alex had a traumatic past and wouldn’t have acted that way. “She was not a psychopath,” Close insisted. She even had a heated discussion with the director and Douglas, passionately defending her character.
Close recalled saying, “What if it was you?! What would you do?!” She got really fired up, and Douglas joked, “Hey, babe. I’m a whore.”
In the end, she didn’t win that battle, but her performance earned her an Oscar nomination. So, it turned out alright for her in the end.
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on CBS during the week. Check your local listings for times.
