How Getting Fired Launched Glenn Close's Legendary Career
Glenn Close is a Hollywood icon with a stunning number of award nominations, but no wins from the Academy. Yet, one of her most celebrated roles almost never happened due to a scheduling conflict that led to a shocking dismissal from another major film.
Ever heard the term ‘bunny boiler’? It didn't come from a new-age cooking show. It’s a direct nod to the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction, where Glenn Close’s character takes her anger out on a family pet in a rather unforgettable way. Some movies are so deeply rooted in their decade that they couldn't exist anywhere else, and Fatal Attraction is pure 1980s. Everything from the poster's font and the synth-heavy soundtrack to the perms and shoulder pads screams excess. It's a time capsule of giant cellphones and sprawling suburban homes, and it's fantastic.
But the real force of the movie is Close herself. She delivers a powerhouse performance, swinging between unhinged, seductive, and simmering with rage. She embodies the phrase ‘hell hath no fury’ and unleashes it on a cheating Michael Douglas, his family, and their pets, driving the story to a chaotic and violent climax.
A String of Accolades
Her stunning work in the film earned her a well-deserved Oscar nomination, one of eight she has received over her four-decade career. In a baffling twist of Hollywood history, she has never actually won one. Her incredible run started right at the beginning. She snagged her first nomination for her debut movie, 1982’s The World According to Garp, alongside Robin Williams. A year later, she did it again, earning a Best Supporting Actress nod for the comedy-drama The Big Chill. Then, in 1984, she made it a three-peat with a nomination for the Robert Redford baseball classic The Natural, which also starred Robert Duvall and Kim Basinger.
A Fortunate Firing
However, her role in that iconic sports drama almost didn't happen. She was originally cast in her first leading part in a period piece called The Bostonians, set to star with Superman's Christopher Reeve. As she explained to Vanity Fair, Redford tried to get her for his project and thought she could juggle both. “I had already been cast in The Bostonians when Bob [Redford] asked me to come and see him. It was during the negotiations of trying to make it work for me to do both that [The Bostonians producer] Ismail Merchant said, ‘She’s fired’. So, I did The Natural and loved it.”
Ironically, The Bostonians went on to receive two Academy Award nominations of its own, one of which was for British actress Vanessa Redgrave. But Close never looked back, and that same year she also won a Tony award for her stage performance in Tom Stoppard's Broadway play, The Real Thing.
An Enduring Legacy
Over the following decades, Close cemented her status as one of Hollywood's greatest actors. She racked up another five Oscar nominations, tying her with Peter O’Toole for the most acting nominations without a win. Her trophy case is hardly empty, though; it holds three Emmy awards, three Tonys, and three Golden Globes. Most recently, she appeared with Kim Kardashian in the Ryan Murphy series All’s Fair. She has several upcoming projects in the works, including a part in the new Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, and a rumored role in a remake of the classic Sunset Boulevard.