Michael Douglas' Steamy 'Basic Instinct' Action With Jeanne Tripplehorn 'Was REAL' – As Pair Were 'Having Steamy Affair Off-Set'
Michael Douglas and Jeanne Tripplehorn were said to have been an item in real life.
Jan. 17 2025, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Wall Street star Michael Douglas was roasted for the dark passion he portrayed in his rough sex scenes with up-and-coming actress Jeanne Tripplehorn in 1992's steamy noir thriller Basic Instinct – and now screenwriter Joe Eszterhas has said the erotic action was driven by a REAL fling between the pair.
The celebrated writer dropped the bomb during a panel discussion at the London Screenwriters Festival that the pair were very much into each other – both on-screen and off – even though the 19-years-older actor was very much married to Diandra Luker at the time, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The duo's 'great sexual charisma' on screen has been hailed by critics.
Moderator and filmmaking teacher Chris Jones commented that the action between the actors struck many filmgoers as disturbingly graphic and that they had "great sexual charisma" onscreen.
Eszterhas laughed and admitted: "It doesn't hurt that they were having a blazing affair while filming."
Despite being married, Douglas' on-screen chemistry with Tripplehorn sparked rumors of real-life dalliances at the time.
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At the time, 29-year-old Tripplehorn was single, but 48-year-old Douglas wouldn't divorce his wife and mother to his drug-plagued son Cameron for another three years.
Douglas was also the subject of rumors of dalliances with author Maureen Dowd, TV newsgal Elizabeth Vargas and Italian model-actress Loredana Romito in the early 1990s.
When he finally did split with Luker, she walked away with a whopping $45 million settlement.
