Actress Annie Archer has claimed that she won the role of Michael Douglas’s wife in the classic movie Fatal Attraction by having a nice tan and owning the right pair of sandals.
Archer apparently learned that Director Adrian Lyne already had her in mind for the role of Beth Gallagher in his 1987 movie because she had impressed him when she auditioned for a part in 9 1/2 Weeks.
At the time, Kim Basinger pipped her to that role, but the director kept her mind for his next movie, and Archer says she was determined to land the role of Beth Gallagher.
In a recent interview with SAG Foundation Conversations, Archer said she was concerned about the competition. “It wasn’t a sure thing at all because he was seeing a lot of different women [for the role], she revealed.
Fatal Attraction director loved Annie Archer’s outfit
But the actress said she nailed the audition and that Lyne loved her outfit. She said: “I did a great audition where I improvised a whole section at the end, which he loved, and he commented on my outfit and the way I looked and how tan my legs were, and my sandals!”
She credits the outfit for getting her the role, which changed her career, “So I realized it was wearing the right outfit that got me the role. The role changed everything for me. It had such an impact that it lives on to this day.”
Archer also claimed that she can now tell how male journalists feel about fidelity from their questions and reactions to the movie.
Anne Archer now knows how men feel about fidelity
She explained: “It really stirred things up with male interviewers. I’d always know how they felt about fidelity because they would say, ‘Boy, it [the movie] just made me want to go home and hug my wife and kids,’ or they’d say, ‘Don’t you think that was a little hard punishment for the guy!’ I knew everything about them from that; I could bust them!”
Anne Archer has also spoken about how the ending of Fatal Attraction that made it to the movie theaters was different from the original ending they had initially planned. She says at the time she was disappointed that they’d made the change.
Another actor who recently suggested that securing a vital movie role was down to luck was James Marsden. He recalled being at an interview for a role in 2007’s musical Hairspray when Julia Roberts tapped on his shoulder to say she was a fan of his work. Marsden says the director responded by offering him the role.