`Fatal Attraction` played into mental illness stigma: Close

New York: Actress Glenn Close believes her famous role in `Fatal Attraction` contributed to misunderstanding surrounding mental illness.

Close is behind `Bring Change 2 Mind`, an organisation that works to end discrimination against mental illness, regrets that her character of an obsessive lover was not approached correctly. The actress played Alex Forrest in "Fatal Attraction", who becomes character becomes obsessed with Dan Gallagher, played by Michael Douglas, after a brief fling. When Dan cuts her off, Alex, a single publishing executive, goes after his family, attacking him with a knife and infamously boiling a bunny, the New York Daily News reported. In an interview with CBS News, Close said she "would have a different outlook" on Alex today. "I was in `Fatal Attraction,` and that played into the stigma," she said. Close said the idea that Alex was mentally ill did never come up for discussion. "The astounding thing was that in my research for `Fatal Attraction` I talked to two psychiatrists. Never did a mental disorder come up. Never did the possibility of that come up. That, of course, would be the first thing I would think of now." Close`s interview coincided with her participation in a panel discussion at the National Conference on Mental Health at the White House. She founded the organization Bring Change 2 Mind after getting inspired by her sister with bipolar disorder and a nephew with mental illness. "I think as public figures, as entertainers, that we have a moral responsibility to only portray characters, that if, if they have disruptive behavior or behavior that is negative that it has to be responsibly explained," she said. PTI