John Malkovich has spoken candidly about his past relationship with Michelle Pfeiffer. The romance between the Dangerous Liaisons co-stars reportedly led to the end of both of their marriages, a detail John shared in a new podcast interview with Fashion Neurosis.
“It’s not something I’ve ever really talked about. Put it this way, in the work I do, you make emotional bonds with people very quickly,” said John, who starred opposite Michelle in the intense 1988 period drama. He added, “That’s part of 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.”
The award-winning actor admitted that his own lack of “fairness” was what led to their eventual falling out. “I’ve learned over the course of my life that a great colleague is actually rarer than anything,” he explained.
John continued, “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.” John Malkovich, who played a wealthy playboy in the movie, was married to actress Glenne Headly but the couple had separated by the time the film was completed. Meanwhile, Michelle Pfeiffer divorced her then-husband Peter Horton in 1988.
