Annette Bening only had one film credit prior to Valmont

There's nothing she won't do for a part!

She's so crooked she can eat soup with a corkscrew.

Director Milos Foreman didn't want to use "name" actors. The film was a flop largely because Dangerous Liaisons beat it to the theaters.

R3, it’s not like Dangerous Liaisons had any name actors either.

Meg Tilly was a name actor back then r3. As was Henry Thomas sort of.

Notstarring says Michelle Pfeiffer was offered the role first but decided on taking the one in Dangerous Liaisons instead.

Fatal Attraction: $156.6M (1987 dollars unadjusted for inflation) Mamma Mia!: $144.1M (2008 dollars)

Thanks for playing Mary-Louise.

She gave great tit wanks to the Producers

She was already with Beatty by then, wasn't she?

She did rise up the ranks FAST, as I recall.

Bening and Beaty met when she audtioned for Bugsy or on the set in late 1990/early 1991. Valmont had already been released. The Grifters was already in the can.

They got married shortly after and have been together for over 30 years.

She was seductive and electric on screen. Eventually she became a whiny frau, much like Reese Witherspoon.

She didn't get a film role until she was in her 30's. What was she doing before that?

She graduated from San Francisco State University., was part of ACT, did regional theatre, and then made her way to Broadway, where she was nominated for a Tony. She then embarked on a career in Hollywood.

Back then, lots of actresses went to school, did theatre, etc. Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, etc. Starting off as a child star or in your early-to-mid 20s was the exception, not the norm.

She’s so actressy, I can’t imagine her doing anything else.

I remember finding it strange that she was originally cast as Catwoman in Batman Returns and that Michelle Pfieffer replaced her only after Bening got pregnant. Considering Pfiefer was pretty much at the peak of her career at that point, it seemed strange that she would be 'second choice' for a role, that as we discovered she was perfect for.

I thought she was great in Bugsy and the Grifters. She had “it”…

Bening was always good, but she’s really hit her stride in her 60s with performances in movies like Hope Gap, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, and the wonderful 20th Century Women, which features her best work. It helps that she never fucked up her face.

Being in 1980s film adaptations of Dangerous Liaisons isn’t the only thing Glenn and Annette have in common…

"Bening married choreographer James Steven White on May 26, 1984. They divorced in 1991. Bening married Warren Beatty on March 3, 1992."

Bening met Beatty in early 1990.

WHO????

Had Annette ever shown tits or fanny?

Milos Forman said he cast Bening in the lead because he prefers to cast the actor who most fits the role, ”star or no star.” He didn't cast big box office names in "Hair" or "Amadeus" either.

R5, Yes, Milos Forman wanted Michelle Pfeiffer for the Marquise de Merteuil role, but she turned him down to play Madame de Tourvel in "Dangerous Liaisons" instead.

Interestingly, Annette met with Stephen Frears for the Madame de Tourvel role in "Dangerous Liaisons" but she got called back to play the much lesser role of the courtesan whose backside John Malkovich's character pens a letter on. She passed.

R21, Have you ever seen The Grifters? Annette appears naked in that.

R24 hairy Bush and all?

She wiped Meryl Streep of the screen with her bit role in Postcards from the Edge.

"Endolphins!'

"It's endorphins"

"Yeah, whatever!"

How do two adaptations of a two hundred year old novel come out within a few months of each other? I assume it was too late to pull the plug on Valmont when Dangerous Liaisons came out and was a success.

Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation (1985) was a hit, and the play/novel was suddenly on Hollywood's radar.

But you’d think once the deal was made to turn the play into a film, that would be that. Why mount a different adaptation?

As I dimly recall from 32 years ago, Forman claimed it was a totally different take on the material, but the movie came out and it was just Dangerous Liaisons again without any of the things that were so good about it, and it sank without a trace. In particular Colin Firth couldn’t compete with Malkovich’s weird charisma. I do remember Annette was good in it — she played the part much more flirtatiously and mischievously than G. People thought she was too young for the part but I don’t know if the character is actually supposed to be any older than the other characters.

I caught Dangerous Liaisons on the TV and thought Glenn Close acted circles around John Malkovitch, who seemed stilted and one-note in comparison. He leans too heavily into Valmont's superciliousness (Malkovich's metier, I guess) while neglecting his Machioevelian charm.

I wonder what role she was up for on the daytime soap, Loving?

Whiny frau? Yes she has 4 kids which took her out of commission for a while but her roles have been anything but - and she’s continued to take on interesting roles well into her 50s and now 60s.

One of my favorite actresses.

She was an experienced classical actress with regional theater companies.

Then she got great reviews and a Tony nomination for Coastal Disturbances on Broadway in '87. The hot youngish actress of that season in a hip play.

Then Hollywood came calling. Getting Valmont soon after was not a stretch, considering her experience.

I doubt she had to deepthroat Forman for the part.

Only one film credit?

The Great Outdoors is a cinematic masterpiece!

I also disagree that she's a whiny frau. She still gives great performances. The only faux pas was that horrible remake of The Women.

I saw Bening onstage at the Geffen about 7 years ago when I used to be a subscriber there. She did a show called Ruth Draper's Monologues. I had no idea who Ruth Draper was and I thought the show was *about* Ruth Draper, so I thought I was coming in to see a one woman show about her. First, Bening was fucking amazing in the show and it was the best thing I've ever seen her do and really made me feel differently about her as an actress. Second, it taught me about who Ruth Draper was and made me investigate her writings because the monologues she wrote were very clever and well written. A wonderful evening all around, and a surprise for the Geffen, who have been doing really terrible shows the past several years. I finally dumped my subscription in 2018.

Yes, r33, I remember it being Coastal Disturbances when she first got attention.

Meryl Streep only had one film credit prior to “The Deer Hunter.” What’s your point, OP? Most actresses, when they’ve made their first two films, have only made one film prior to their second film. Funny how it works out that way.

Michelle Pfeiffer was up for many parts that Annette got, the plum roles in Valmont, The Grifters, Bugsy, The American President, etc. She took over as Catwoman in Batman Returns when Annette dropped out due to pregnancy. I never really thought about it because they aren't similar in type, but it makes sense since they're the same age, and once upon a time Annette was a sexy young ingenue before she became Mrs. Beatty and turned matronly.

iirc, Michelle Pfeiffer and John Malkovich had an affair on the set of Dangerous Liaisons. When a gossip rag printed it, John's wife, Glenne Headley, filed for divorce. Headley and Malkovich seemed suited to me in terms of sensitive actor types.

Annette Benning is a very good actress and a very good business person. She is older than she claims by about 5 years. She was married to a director who did mostly regional theater, and divorced him when she got traction in NY. Her father was a Dale Carnegie type public speaker or something, when Annette focuses on you, it's with the intensity of 1000 suns, a technique, no doubt based on the "always be closing" type of advice of Dale Carnegie. She did a middling Tina Howe play in the late 80s at Second Stage with Tim Daly. They moved it to Broadway, and they both survived being replaced by "names" because Tina Howe insisted, but they were both nearly replaced by names you would laugh at now. Annette was a stunner in this play "Coastal Disturbances" you could not take your eyes off of her. Daly was hotter than fire in his swim trunks and they production only worked because of them. Annette was fired from more than one TV pilot she did, mostly because of bad material, and the audiences in tests didn't know what to make of her. She was too complex for television in that era. Coastal Disturbances got her some traction with film casting directors because that's the way the business worked back then. Milos Forman did want to cast relative unknowns in the lead roles of the film that became known as Valmont. Annette nearly did not get the role. Milos had become intrigued by a young actor he met and tested, and wanted him to play the role Colin Firth played. This actor had done literally no films whatsoever at the time and was somehow connected with a theater director living in Philadelphia who had recommended him. This actor also had the same agent as Annette. The problem was this actor looked too young next to Annette, and Milos went looking for a more age appropriate match. He simply couldn't find anyone. An offer was made to another actress, known but not famous, but she got pregnant and had to drop out. This meant Annette was back in and the actor who Milos wanted was out because he couldn't find an acceptable, younger looking alternative to Annette.. During this time, Annette's agent (who also represented the actor Milos wanted) played hardball and threatened to pull both Annette and the other actor out of the running if offers weren't made soon. This forced Milo to choose Annette and go with his other choice Colin Firth who Milos was concerned was too bland but he had no choice at this point and cast Colin to keep Annette. Annette is a better actress than most. If she were around in the 30s or 40s she would have worked the studio system like no other.

R41 Interesting, but is she really five years older, given that she kids in her 40s?

That was fascinating read R41 , but I have the same question as R42. That would mean pushing out four babies from age 38 to 46 with seemingly no complications back in the 1990s.

I know people love to rag on Bening because she looks “old.” But the fact is she graduated from Patrick Henry High in 1975. She was 17.

Who knows. Maybe she shaved a year off. But not five.

Yeah, she has wrinkles and has chosen to get minimal cosmetic work done (if any). She’s 63 (or 64). She isn’t the glamorous tart she played in The Grifters where she was mouth-wateringly gorgeous. And, yes, her contemporary Pfeiffer looks amazing, and one might argue Frances McDormand looks “better” than Bening (it wouldn’t surprise me if McDormand—who, true, has zero fucks to give—hasn’t tried non-invasive procedures; she is an actress and it’s no different than straightening one’s teeth, as long as it doesn’t make you look like a clown). But if you grouped these actresses together along with Hunter, Stone, Davis, etc, I wouldn’t think that Bening didn’t belong there age-wise and instead belongs with Streep, Weaver, Spacek, or Lange (who, let’s face it, the work she has done on her face has not been kind to her).

Bening also isn’t into fashion and never embraced glamour like her contemporaries—which will also age her. And when you compare her to someone like Julianne Moore (3 1/2 years younger), I can see the difference in those years. But Moore is stunning. She’s the exception. Who knows how much work she has done, but it has been incredible, and it doesn’t hurt that she has great genes (and her consistent smoky eye plays a role at concealing her age as well).

It’s crazy to me that people project their ill-defined ideas of beauty on actresses who have evolved and created an astonishing body of performances over decades, and judge them by these impossible standards. I certainly do it unconsciously, but I also try to keep myself in check.

As it has been mentioned, Bening—30 years after she broke—is doing some of the most interesting work of her career. It’s too bad she is not getting continuous offers of the 20th Century caliber (high film quality and the opportunity to deliver a great performance), but she is still knocking roles out of the park with Liverpool and Hope Gap. Pfeiffer is trying, but Davis and Stone haven’t come anywhere near what Bening has done in the last five years.

I’d like to see her delve into a Dale Carnegie role. She has skirted that world with The Grifters and American Beauty, but she has never really played the part of a motivational speaker (who presents as perfect and in control, but has secrets, and her resolve gets tested). Perhaps Carolyn Burnhan came close enough. But her ability to “go big” in the 1990s verses the subtle, more reserved work she has done especially in the last five years makes me interested in her being given the chance to marry those two extremes in one role.

[quote] I remember finding it strange that she was originally cast as Catwoman in Batman Returns and that Michelle Pfieffer replaced her only after Bening got pregnant. Considering Pfiefer was pretty much at the peak of her career at that point, it seemed strange that she would be 'second choice' for a role, that as we discovered she was perfect for.

Tim Burton chose her after seeing “The Grifters”. There was no considering anyone else. Thank his she got knocked up because no one has been able to top Pfeiffer’s performance. Interesting Bening and Pfeiffer have taken each other’s roles on more than one occasion. They were supposed to be doing a film together “Turn of Mind” before the pandemic happened.

Malkovich Is such a sexy weirdo.

[quote] She is older than she claims by about 5 years.

this is r41: Just to clarify, Annette's former agent told me she was older than the age she was given. I thought the number was around 5 years, but most actresses shave 3-5 off. Everything else I wrote is as I remember it and I believe it is completely accurate

Hi R41. Your info was great. And I don't exactly doubt the former agent you spoke with about her lying regarding her age. But, I don't think the facts bear that she shaved off more than a year. Maybe two, but that seems unlikely. She graduated high school in 1975. Most Americans born in May are 18 at graduation. A few are 17. A few are 19. She claims to have been 17. She took some time off after high school and worked on a charter boat, but then went to college. Perhaps she was 19 (which would mean shaving two years off). But, my money is 18.

But, 3 - 5? No.

To put it in further perspective, Bening claims to have been 31 when she filmed The Grifters. Your agent friend is saying 34 - 36.

These look like 30-year-old tits to me.