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With a career spanning three decades, Joshua Jackson has well and truly proved his worth in Hollywood. But in a frank admission, the acclaimed actor says signing onto his latest project, Fatal Attraction, was a high-wire act that “comes with pitfalls” if it fails to deliver.
The psychological thriller series, adapted from the 1987 film starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, is a bold retelling of an affair gone wrong. Knowing its legacy, the Canadian star says he needed a compelling reason to take it on. Now, he’s thankful he did.
Joshua rose to fame in the 90s.
(Image: Supplied)“I asked [showrunner] Alex Cunningham, ‘Why does this need to be retold?’ She said that the movie is great, but it’s great for its time,” Joshua, 44, explains to TV WEEK. “The narrative of a sweet man being ruined by a crazy lady is not supportable today from a modern cultural perspective.”
Joshua stars as Dan Gallagher, a lawyer whose chance encounter with Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan) leads to events that explore marriage, infidelity, strong women and the power of control – all with shifting perspectives.
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“By doing a series, we’re [viewers] afforded the time to look at who Alex really is and how she came to be, then flip the lens to question this man and ask why he went down this path and why he hasn’t taken responsibility for it,” Joshua says. “It doesn’t end like the movie either. We find them all years later, because repercussions don’t happen now – they happen at the dinner table 20 years from now.”
Joshua applauds his co-star Lizzy for “having the chops” to take on the role of Alex, “She did a lot of work with humility and grace,” he says. “And went to places that aren’t pleasant.”
“She did a lot of work with humility and grace.”
(Image: Supplied)As a child actor who rose to fame in the ’90s in The Mighty Ducks and Dawson’s Creek, it would be a few years before Joshua would see the original film – “It was one of those snuck-in movies on VHS that I watched as a teenager in a parent’s basement. We definitely knew we shouldn’t be,” he says with a laugh.
But now married to actress and model Jodie Turner-Smith and with a three-year-old daughter, he understands and appreciates the complexities of the story far better than his younger self did.
Despite his inclination for darker roles in The Affair, Dr Death and Little Fires Everywhere, Joshua says he’s looking to take on a lighter affair next.
“I definitely need somewhere I can throw my arms around somebody and have it not be a problem,” he says with a laugh, adding that he’s currently working on a romantic drama in North Carolina in the US.
Then there’s the pull of family. Joshua and Jodie are focused on being present for their daughter, whose name, he says, has never been revealed publicly despite several misleading reports.
“I don’t know who did that or how it was reported, but it’s not her name,” he says. “It drives my wife up the wall.”
But should she take an interest in the arts, like her parents, Joshua doesn’t dismiss the idea of returning to the rink in a Mighty Ducks sequel.
“I would never would have thought I’d be in a place in my career where I’d be like, ‘You know what? Maybe I could play the coach of the Mighty Ducks.’ But it’s not a bad idea,” he says. “Maybe in a couple of years, we’ll reboot the Mighty Ducks, but my daughter can be me and I’ll be her coach.”
