"I often play women who are not essentially good or likable, and I often go through a stage where I hate them. Then I end up loving and defending them."
Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American film and stage actress and director. Turner came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in Body Heat (1981), Romancing the Stone (1984), Prizzi's Honor (1985), the latter two earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, The Accidental Tourist (1988), The War of the Roses (1989) and Serial Mom (1994).
Turner also guest-starred on the sitcom Friends as Chandler Bing's father, Charles Bing,note and in the third season of Californication as Sue Collini, the jaded, sex-crazed owner of a talent agency. Known for her distinctive deep, husky voice, Turner has also done considerable work as a voice actress, namely as Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, uncredited), as well as Monster House (2006), and the television series The Simpsons and King of the Hill.
In addition to film, Turner has worked in the theater, and has been nominated for the Tony Award twice for her Broadway roles as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Turner has also taught acting classes at New York University.
Kathleen Turner works with pages on TV Tropes:
- Body Heat (1981)
- The Man with Two Brains (1983)
- Romancing the Stone (1984)
- The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
- Prizzi's Honor (1985)
- Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
- Switching Channels (1988)
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988; uncredited voice)
- The Accidental Tourist (1988)
- The War of the Roses (1989)
- House of Cards (1993)
- Undercover Blues (1993)
- Serial Mom (1994)
- The Simpsons (1994; one episode, voice)
- A Simple Wish (1997)
- The Virgin Suicides (1999)
- Baby Geniuses (1999)
- King of the Hill (2000; 3 episodes, voice)
- Friends (2001; 3 episodes)
- Monster House (2006; voice)
- Nip/Tuck (2006; one episode)
- Marley & Me (2008)
- Californication (2009; 10 episodes)
- Dumb and Dumber To (2014)
Tropes associated with her work:
- Actor Allusion: Michael Douglas cuts the high heels off her shoes in both Romancing the Stone and The War of the Roses.
- Approval of God: Although Sara Paretsky, author of the novels on which VI Warshawski was based, hated the film, she praised Kathleen's performance, and she would later get to reprise the role for a BBC radio adaptation.
- Awesome, Dear Boy:
- The Man with Two Brains she agreed to because the character was so outrageous.
- She similarly loved playing a Dirty Old Woman on Californication because of the outrageousness.
- She almost wasn't asked to do Dumb and Dumber To, fearing she'd be offended that Fraida is said to have once looked more beautiful, but she actually found that liberating and did the film for that reason.
"I think they thought I’d be upset when in the script Jim and Jeff meet this woman and she says, “I’m Fraida”, and they say, “No. Fraida’s hot. Fraida’s smoking. That’s not you.” But I felt quite the opposite, thank goodness. This is where I can say, “Do you know what? I don’t look like I did 30 years ago. Get over it.” - Contractual Obligation Project: She only made The Jewel of the Nile because she was under contract to star in a sequel to Romancing the Stone, and was threatened with a $25 million lawsuit if she walked. She did at least haggle for some rewrites to the script.
- Creator Backlash: She regrets playing Chandler's father on Friends, saying that a trans actor should have played the role.
- Creator-Chosen Casting: She was the only choice for Jessica Rabbit.
- Dawson Casting: A justified example in Peggy Sue Got Married. At 32, she plays Peggy Sue's teenage self along with all the other adult actors because we first meet her as an adult (who's actually 43, making this Underage Casting too) and she goes back in time.
- Friendship on the Set:
- She and Michael Douglas became friends making Romancing the Stone, and starred together three more times.
- She called Jack Nicholson, who she starred with on Prizzi's Honor, the best actor she'd ever worked with.
- Hide Your Pregnancy: She was pregnant making Switching Channels.
- Hostility on the Set:
- She clashed with Robert Zemeckis on Romancing the Stone, since he was more preoccupied with "cameras and effects" and didn't pay much attention to the actors having to adjust their performances to accommodate "ridiculous postures".
- She didn't think highly of Nicolas Cage while making Peggy Sue Got Married. She actually got sued for libel when she claimed he got drunk and stole a chihuahua in her autobiography.
- She called working with Burt Reynolds in Switching Channels the worst experience of her career, as he antagonised her repeatedly over being miffed that he had to be second billed to a woman.
- Lighter and Softer: Having got famous for a sexual role in Body Heat, she sought to avoid typecasting and took on more wholesome roles like Peggy Sue Got Married.
- Playing with Character Type: Body Heat had typecast her as a Femme Fatale, so she played that character for comedy in The Man with Two Brains, and in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica is assumed to be one but turns out to be a Good Bad Girl.
- Star-Derailing Role: By the early 90s, she was one of the biggest stars and most respected actresses. VI Warshawski was her first flop in a while, and it coincided with her rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. The medication she had to take for the disease resulted in weight gain, and the flopping of Undercover Blues and Serial Mom coincided with that and her struggle with alcoholism to deal with her illness saw her falling from the spotlight. She did end up having a more lucrative career on the stage in the 2000s however, starring in the likes of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate, getting nominated for several Tony awards. By the 2010s, she had reached a full on Career Resurrection, saying she was now busier than ever.
- Star-Making Role: Body Heat made her a star instantly.
- Throw It In!: The famous dance scene in Romancing the Stone was actually her and Michael Douglas goofing around with some extras, and they didn't realise Robert Zemeckis was filming them at first.
- Uncredited Role: She's uncredited for voicing Jessica Rabbit, but she did host a Behind the Scenes special referring to herself as the voice of the character, so everyone knew it was her.
- What Could Have Been:
- Her breakout role in Body Heat was turned down by Kim Basinger and Sigourney Weaver, and Romancing the Stone by Debra Winger.
- There was meant to be a sequel to The Jewel of the Nile, but the Box Office performance and her and Michael Douglas's preference for The War of the Roses meant the latter was made instead.
