Paramount Plus’ new series Fatal Attraction offers a reimagining of the iconic film. Dan Gallagher (Joshua Jackson) and Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan) still have a short-lived affair, but thanks to this being a series and not a movie, there is a lot more to explore. Because of that, new characters are added in that are extremely important to the story.
Toby Huss plays Mike Gerard, Reno Wilson plays Earl Broker, and Brian Goodman plays Arthur Tomlinson in Fatal Attraction. All three men know Dan quite well, with Mike and Earl having worked closely with him in his line of work. Arthur is a friend of the family, as his wife and Dan’s wife, Beth (Amanda Peet), are very close.
Screen Rant spoke to Toby Huss, Reno Wilson, and Brian Goodman about joining the Fatal Attraction series and bringing something new to it, as well as how they felt when they first read the scripts. They also praised Joshua Jackson for undergoing a true transformation between his past and present scenes.
Screen Rant: Oh, my goodness, this doesn’t play out at all like I expected it would. I would love to know what you guys thought when you first read the script.
Reno Wilson: It’s just a name, baby, it’s just a name. It’s just Fatal Attraction; a completely different story but the bones of the original idea but it’s just expanded.
Toby Huss: There’s all the musical numbers we do. It’s a whole different reinterpretation. No one expects the musical aspect of it.
Brian Goodman: I only read my part. [Laughs] You’ve heard that expression before? The thing is, I’m a big fan of Alex and Kevin. I got to work with them on Chance. Just flipping through the pages, one at a time, [the truth] is, I really enjoyed the writing on this. I won’t get into the backstory of them, but when I was reading about Broker, I’m thinking, “Wow, he must have dealt with the district attorney for years before this even came about. There has to be animosity because of the position he’s in.”
I love the fact that Toby’s character stayed behind this guy through thick and thin, without condoning and applauding him for his mistakes. So, as an audience and a fan, I enjoyed it.
Toby Huss: I like the way that we parallel this story and our characters; that Reno[‘s character] has more of a right angle to him, because his character is much more of the audience’s voice and thinking Gallagher did it. “Get rid of this asshole,” right? And I’m the guy who stuck with him. I think in every person, when something like that happens in your own life, you’re gonna have some friends that go, “This guy is an idiot.” And some people go, “Yeah, he’s kind of an idiot. But let’s stay with him.”
There’s this whole thing about the institution. In the final episode, there is a talk about what this does to people. How it breaks you down, and why he would cut off his wife and kid. Can you about weaving that in?
Brain Goodman: I’ll touch on that because it’s interesting to see what incarceration does. People end up locked up in prison, and you wonder, “What’s best for the people who really care about me? Drag them through this lifestyle, or let them go, so they can move on?”
It’s a big choice that I’ve actually watched a friend of mine go through. Where you think it’s the right, genuine thing to do. And it’s a very selfish act because it shouldn’t be your decision. That’s why there was a question about it, “How could he?” And Mike’s explanation of that lands where it lands with Arthur.
Reno Wilson: I also want to say that Josh did some great work. I got to do a bunch of scenes with him before he got put in and, in the scenes after he came out, and he did some really subtle, beautiful inner work, where I would look at him doing our scenes. I’m like, “What are you thinking about? What have you seen? What did you go through?” He really did some really beautiful stuff there. So, it’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch and go back and forth. I personally like getting older and younger.
About Fatal Attraction
An affair threatens the lives of Dan Gallagher and his wife, Beth, in this reimagining of the 1987 movie, exploring marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control.
Check out our other Fatal Attraction interviews here:
Fatal Attraction premieres April 30 on Paramount+.
