Glenn Close recently shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes revelation about Fatal Attraction during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. While the film’s climactic scene, where her character Alex Forrest is shot after attempting to harm Michael Douglas’s character’s family, became iconic, Close revealed that the original ending was far more shocking.
In the initial script, after a violent confrontation between Forrest and Douglas’s character, Dan Gallagher, Forrest takes the same knife used in the fight and, to the somber strains of Madam Butterfly, cuts her throat in a dramatic, self-inflicted death. Close confirmed that this alternate ending had been filmed but was ultimately scrapped. The reason? Audience reactions were not favorable toward Forrest’s character, and the filmmakers decided she needed a more fitting, “punitive” ending.
Close, initially against the change, felt her character had been portrayed as so villainous that audiences wouldn’t accept such an easy exit. She recalled being furious at the filmmakers’ decision to reshoot the scene and even challenged them by asking, “What if it was your character? What did you do?” After some discussions with director Adrian Lyne, producers, and Douglas, Close ultimately agreed to the reshoot, which resulted in the much more memorable ending where Forrest meets her fate at the hands of Douglas’s wife.
The decision to change the ending paid off, and Close’s performance was widely acclaimed, earning her an Oscar nomination. The film, and particularly that climactic moment, has since become a defining part of her career.