On this week's show Graham welcomes double-Oscar-winner Michael Douglas, Hollywood great Glenn Close, Succession star Kieran Culkin, British actor Naomi Ackie, and girl band Sugababes.
Michael, discussing his tell-all memoir One Helluva Ride, and asked why he has written it now, says, “I’m 82!” Adding, “I thought it was probably time. My dad (Kirk Douglas) wrote nine books including a great autobiography, so I started thinking about legacy. It was fabulous going back. I had forgotten so much.
“There were so many stories about the movies I have made but then the producer in me took over and I thought, ‘Let’s just go for the dirt!”
Asked if, when he wrote the book, he was surprised at the number of romantic liaisons he had had, he jokes, “I was a little surprised! It was very easy to get comfortable with co-stars and sometimes that got carried away. When I courted Catherine (Zeta Jones) she told me, ‘If we are doing this, you need to clean your act up.’ I was divorced and seeing some other people at the time, so I had to call five women to break things off.”
Talking about his and Glenn’s 1987 hit movie Fatal Attraction, he reveals, “We didn’t originally think Glenn was right for the part, but she insisted on auditioning and she blew us away. We had never been so wrong in our lives. We were idiots.”
Glenn, talking about the end of the movie changing, says, “It really was very film noir, and the original ending had Alex, my character, slitting her throat and him going to jail, but American audiences didn’t like it during testing. They were angry and wanted her dead. So, I was asked to re-shoot the ending six months later. I fought against it and was very cross as I didn’t see her as a psychopath.
But they wore me down and Alex became the most hated woman in America.” Glenn and Kieran chat about their roles in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Glenn, talking about her transformation into her character Drusilla, says, “It was mostly me but the contraption they pulled my face back with was awful. They let my face down occasionally so I could eat! It would have been less painful to have a facelift written into my contract!”
Kieran, on playing a younger version of Stanley Tucci’s character in the film, says, “Everyone loves him, so it was a nerve-wracking situation to walk into. I wanted the freedom of creating the character for myself, but I couldn’t ignore Stanley’s version, so I made the role my own while subtly connecting it to him.”
Reminded that she has been nominated for an Oscar eight times and has never won, Glenn says, “I am getting one this year – it is honorary. I’m sure it’s because the governors of the Academy felt guilty. I kind of hate to break my losing streak!”
Naomi, talking about starring in thriller Clayface, which she describes as “Body horror and gothic romance,” says, “It really is disgusting but so much fun to watch. I think horror movies are more fun than any other. I am obsessed with it and love all the blood and gore.”
Sugababes perform their current single Ghost live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about their new album.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 30th October 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.
Next week (6th November) Graham’s guests include Dame Judi Dench, Alan Cumming, Nicola Coughlan, and James Blunt.
