Michael Douglas has declared that Glenn Close deserved the 1988 best actress Oscar over Cher.
Douglas, 82, made the blunt assessment during a joint appearance with Close, 79, on the “Graham Norton Show” alongside Kieran Culkin, 42, and Naomi Ackie, 35. The British talk show taping became a flashpoint for Academy history when Douglas volunteered that Close’s turn in “Fatal Attraction” should have taken the prize.
“She should have won with ‘Fatal Attraction,'” Douglas said on the program. He then specified the competitive field that year, noting, “She was nominated, I believe, [for] her fourth [time for] ‘Fatal Attraction.’ Cher won that year.”
Host Graham Norton pressed for confirmation of the winning film, asking: “Was that for ‘Moonstruck?'” referring to Cher’s 1987 romantic comedy. Douglas’s response drew immediate reaction from the panel. “I know. That’s what we all said,” he replied, prompting laughter from Norton and the assembled celebrities.
Ackie seized on the moment’s tension. “The shade! The shade, mate!” she exclaimed.
Douglas did not retreat from his position. He added that he considers Close’s performance in “Fatal Attraction” one of “the greatest performances of all time.” The “Basic Instinct” star has maintained a decades-long working relationship with Close since their collaboration on the 1987 psychological thriller, in which Close portrayed Alex Forrest, a publishing editor whose affair with Douglas’s character spirals into obsession and violence.
Close herself had opened the exchange with dry humor about her Oscar drought. The “101 Dalmatians” actress, who has accumulated eight nominations without a competitive win, quipped that she’s receiving an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November because Academy members “probably don’t want to feel guilty anymore.”
Norton attempted to deflate the tension with a barb about Cher’s physical transformation for the role. “But Cher put some gray in her hair, so there you go,” the host joked.
The 1988 Academy Awards ceremony saw Cher, now 80, prevail for her portrayal of Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck.” The “Believe” singer played an Italian-American widow in Brooklyn who accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Johnny Cammareri, portrayed by Danny Aiello, then embarks on an affair with Johnny’s volatile younger brother Ronny, played by Nicolas Cage. Cher’s victory came over Close in “Fatal Attraction,” Holly Hunter in “Broadcast News,” Sally Kirkland in “Anna,” and Meryl Streep in “Ironweed.”
Douglas’s public second-guessing of the Academy’s choice arrives as Close prepares to accept her honorary Oscar at the 15th annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles.