The one movie Michelle Pfeiffer refuses to watch: “It still kills me”
Michelle Pfeiffer went from pageant queen to Hollywood star in a matter of years, despite any formal training. She might have got off to a rocky start, appearing in the critically panned Grease 2, but Pfeiffer soon proved herself to be a captivating and talented actor with a role in Brian De Palma’s Scarface.
The filmmaker was reluctant to cast her following her role in Grease 2, but producer Martin Bregman knew she had what it took to become a star, and she was inevitably given the part of Elvira Hancock. This proved to be a breakout moment for Pfeiffer, and over the course of the decade, she began to appear in more movies, such as Into the Night, The Witches of Eastwick, Married to the Mob, and Dangerous Liaisons.
The latter film earned Pfeiffer her first Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’, which was followed by a nomination for ‘Best Actress’ just a year later after she starred in The Fabulous Baker Boys. In the space of just a decade, Pfeiffer had attained widespread success, something that she couldn’t quite believe.
The 1990s was an excellent decade for Pfeiffer, with roles in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, and Jonathan Kaplan’s Love Field, which earned her another Oscar nomination. However, Pfeiffer was inundated with job offers this decade, resulting in various regrets.
The actor turned down several parts in films that could’ve elevated her career even further, whether that be due to apprehension or because of scheduling conflicts. This is sadly the case for many actors; you can’t take every role that is offered to you, and this means seeing someone else playing a part that could’ve been yours.
For Pfeiffer, there’s still a film that she can’t watch because it hurts too much to know that she turned down the chance to play one of the leading roles. Talking to Variety, she revealed that she still regrets passing up the opportunity to star in Thelma and Louise, a role she initially secured alongside Jodie Foster.
In the end, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis played the titular duo, but Pfeiffer was sad to have to give up the part. Unfortunately, the pre-production of Thelma and Louise just took too long, and Pfeiffer had another project, Love Field, to start shooting.
She explained, “I still can’t watch Thelma & Louise. It was a direct conflict, so it was one film or the other. It still kills me. You can’t always do everything. You’ve got to give something up.” The actor just couldn’t commit to both projects at once, and while Love Field did earn her an Oscar nomination, Thelma and Louise is now much more widely remembered and heralded as a ‘90s classic.
That’s not the only cult classic that Pfeiffer turned down and then regretted. She passed up the chance to star in Pretty Woman, a role that went to Julia Roberts, and even the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. The actor also turned down the chance to appear in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of The Lambs, another iconic piece of ’90s cinema, because she was hesitant to appear in such a horrifying movie.
