Key Points

John Malkovich has broken his silence about regretting his affair with Michelle Pfeiffer during their Dangerous Liaisons filming. The actor admits the romance cost him both his marriage to Glenne Headly and a valuable professional relationship with Pfeiffer. He contrasts this with his decades-long platonic partnership with actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite, which he maintained by never crossing that line. Malkovich concludes that some relationships become unrecoverable once certain boundaries are crossed.

Key Points: John Malkovich Regrets Michelle Pfeiffer Affair Ruined Colleague Friendship

  • Malkovich says affair ruined professional bond with Pfeiffer
  • Contrasts it with 33-year platonic partnership with Ingeborga Dapkunaite
  • Admits behavior wasn't fair to late wife Glenne Headly
  • Reflects that crossing line makes relationship unrecoverable
3 min read

John Malkovich comments on his affair with Michelle Pfeiffer

John Malkovich opens up about regretting his affair with Michelle Pfeiffer during Dangerous Liaisons, saying it cost him a great colleague and wasn't fair to his late wife.

"I think I’ve learned that a great colleague is actually rarer than anything - John Malkovich"

Los Angeles, Sep 6

Hollywood actor John Malkovich, who is known for ‘Empire of the Sun’, ‘Bird Box’, ‘The Survivalist’ and others, has regretted his affair with actress Michelle Pfeiffer.

The 71-year-old actor's marriage to the late Glenne Headly ended in 1988 after six years when he began an illicit romance with his ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ co-star, and he doesn't think his behaviour was "fair" because not only did it ruin his relationship with his wife, he also lost a friend and collaborator as a result, reports ‘Female First UK’.

Speaking on the Fashion Neurosis podcast, he said, "It's not something I've ever really talked about. Put it in this way, in the work I do, you make emotional bonds with people very quickly. That's part of the work. Very rarely, those bonds extend beyond the work. For me, she was someone I valued greatly as a colleague, was great fun and moving and with me, incredibly fair. And I certainly wasn't. I think I've learned over the course of my life that a great colleague is actually rarer than anything. And when that relationship becomes more than collegial or more than a friendship - even a profound friendship - then at least in my experience, and it might be my particular psychology or stupidity or ineptness or all of the above... you lose a great colleague”.

As per ‘Female First UK, John contrasted his professional relationship with Michelle, who was married to Peter Horton at the time, with his decades-long partnership with Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite.

He said, "Ingeborga and I are still, 33 years now, working together and have remained great friends and colleagues because there is a line we never crossed’, he said. That's what I've learned, that when a thing like that happens, it probably, might be, not retrievable”.

John's marriage to Glenne , who died of complications from a pulmonary embolism aged 62 in 2017, ended the year ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ came out and she went on to marry musician Byron McCulloch. The ‘Burn After Reading’ actor went on to find love with Nicolette Peyran and is still in a relationship with the production designer now.

Meanwhile Michelle divorced Peter in 1990 and went on to marry and have two children with David E. Kelley. John has previously batted away questions about his affair with Michelle. He once said:,"It's hard to believe Michelle Pfeiffer ever said hello to me”.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Hollywood relationships seem so complicated yaar. In Bollywood also we see these affairs but at least our actors don't talk about decades-old relationships publicly. Some things should remain private.
A
Ananya R
Respect for his honesty though. How many people actually admit they were wrong in relationships? Most just blame the other person. His point about losing a great colleague is so true - professional boundaries matter.
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Michael C
Why is he talking about this after 30+ years? Seems like he's still trying to process it. Michelle Pfeiffer moved on and built a family - maybe he should let sleeping dogs lie.
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Shreya B
The contrast with his Lithuanian co-star says it all! When you maintain professional boundaries, you can have lifelong collaborations. Indian film industry should learn from this - too many affairs ruin professional equations.
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Karthik V
His late wife Glenne Headly was the real victim here. She passed away in 2017 and her marriage ended because of this affair. Sometimes Hollywood forgets the real people who get hurt in these stories. 😔

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