Fatal Attraction stars Michael Douglas and Glenn Close reunite 40 years on as he makes candid confession: 'We were idiots'

Michael Douglas has revealed that he initially doubted whether Glenn Close was right to play the iconic 'bunny boiler' Alex Forrest in the classic 1987 psychological thriller, Fatal Attraction.

The 82-year-old actor, who starred as New York attorney Dan Gallagher in the Oscar-nominated film, reunited with his former co-star on an episode of The Graham Norton Show, airing on BBC One on Friday 30 October.

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Reflecting on the acclaimed erotic film, Michael admitted: "We didn't originally think Glenn was right for the part, but she insisted on auditioning and she blew us away."

Acknowledging his initial mistake, he added: "We had never been so wrong in our lives. We were idiots."

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Meanwhile, Glenn, who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her performance, explained why the movie's original ending was ultimately changed.

"It really was very film noir, and the original ending had Alex, my character, slitting her throat and him going to jail, but American audiences didn’t like it during testing. They were angry and wanted her dead," she recalled. 

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"So, I was asked to re-shoot the ending six months later. I fought against it and was very cross as I didn’t see her as a psychopath. But they wore me down and Alex became the most hated woman in America.”

In a recent interview with GQ, Michael echoed how fervently Glenn resisted the reshoot, recalling: "It was a tremendously difficult time for Glenn," he said. "She fought like a warrior for that and wouldn’t do it. Refused. Everything."

What is Fatal Attraction about? 

Directed by Adrian Lyne, the erotic thriller tells the story of a casual encounter that goes horribly wrong. 

Michael Douglas plays Dan Gallagher, a New York attorney who has an affair with seductive Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) while his wife (Anne Archer) is away. 

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The synopsis continues: "Dan later shrugs off the affair as a mistake and considers it over. But Alex won't be ignored. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever…even if it means destroying Dan's family to keep him."

The film was a huge box office success, grossing over $320 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of the year in the United States.

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The thriller was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress.